Site is down, but as for the title from the OP, I agree to some extent. I think recruiters are a decent way to find some of the jobs that aren't found via inde

Site is down, but as for the title from the OP, I agree to some extent. I think recruiters are a decent way to find some of the jobs that aren't found via indeed.com alerts, fog creek's careers 2.0, top*jobs.com, dice (nasty), execunet, HN, etc. But on the bad side: Once you are on the list, they will look up your work number and call you if you just put your employer's name on your resume. The only way to get them not to do this is to remove employer names from linkedin.com experience, which you shouldn't do, so it is inevitable. They will not pay attention to requests not to do this. They equate pay rate without benefits for short-term contract to salary rate full-time with lots of benefits. If you decide to give them pay rate expectation (not always a good idea), give them both your salary expectation and a much higher contract rate that assumes a 3-6 month contract- divide your annual salary expectation by 1000 and that is your per hour, in general. Why they are what they are: Average larger sized recruiting companies take almost anymore to get on the phones, and those companies burn them up and move to the next, so it isn't the actual person's fault in many cases. They are given visions of dollar signs when hired and see us like an untapped oil field, and they don't know what they are doing. They want to make the "sale", so they are going to fudge it, and when they later feel used and like the scum of the earth because they got stepped on by us, they quit and someone takes their place. The ones that can justify running through us like we are numbers to be manipulated stay, so it is natural evolution that is not in our best interest. Advice for those really serious about using a recruiter: Don't treat them like scum and spend the time with them, even though it might take 10x or more of your time. Let them take you to free lunches and breakfasts. Don't lie to them, but don't tell them everything. They will remember and appreciate the love and will at least maybe write good notes on you and keep you on the hot list so when something comes up, they might call you first. What I do: I am an introvert, so I push all conversation to email that I can and don't take calls, ever, until there is an opp I'm interested in that I know is in the right salary range, right location (not just city), and right job description. They still email positions that don't match all the time, but I don't like the idea of lunches, etc. with someone I don't know about positions I might never want.