I have made a great living through recruiters. But, it did take me a while to figure out which are worthwhile and who are not. Yes, you'll get spammed and you w

I have made a great living through recruiters. But, it did take me a while to figure out which are worthwhile and who are not. Yes, you'll get spammed and you will never get off those spam lists but none the less, it has all worked out for me. Some things from my experiences: 1. 99% won't read your resume and just auto mail you anything that matches a keyword in your resume. Just auto delete or block those companies 2. Only talk to recruiters who actually call you. They tend to actually have more valuable jobs. But there will be lots of spam here too 3. Recruiters will bring you jobs which you can't get on your own. They have priority access and many positions fill before they ever hit the boards. If you are just applying by yourself, you won't see 50% of what's actually out there 4. You can bargain with recruiters. If you are hourly and you stand your ground, you can often push the rate higher. A recruiter will rather fill a position through his company than make a few extra dollars. Filling positions gives them return business, that pays loads in the long term for them so they are motivated to negotiate 5. They are often aware of positions other than what you are interviewing for. If you are interested in a different role within the same company, they can talk directly to the hiring manager about a role which is in the works 6. Beware the hierarchy of recruitment companies. You always want to be talking to the primary org, not a subcontractor to the primary..or worse. Rates get worse the further you get from the primary recruitment company which actually holds the contract with the client