I'm guessing the logic might be that there's a certain percentage chance that once communications are open with the hiring manager, the recruiter may be able to

I'm guessing the logic might be that there's a certain percentage chance that once communications are open with the hiring manager, the recruiter may be able to talk his/her way into getting the hiring manager to look at some of the recruiter's candidates. From an EV perspective: Contacting company as a recruiter: 0% or very low % of success Posing as an applicant at first: - x% chance of initial reply from hiring manager - y% chance of "conversion" of manager into "client" - x*y is perceived to be greater than other options I imagine that the recruiter can either, (a) submit a "real" resume that he/she has, or (b) submit a "fake" resume that looks really good, eliciting a response, then bait and switching to a different "real" candidate, saying that the initial one is no longer available.