What @seanflyon said. Plus part of the perceived value of working with a 3rd party recruiter as a company is that they are actively sourcing and screening candi

What @seanflyon said. Plus part of the perceived value of working with a 3rd party recruiter as a company is that they are actively sourcing and screening candidates to make sure they are a good fit. Just simply contacting them doesn't mean you screened them up front. There are situations where a candidate learns about the job through a recruiter, speaks with them, and then applies to the job on their own. In those cases a recruiter have a more legitimate claim, depending on the contract they've negotiated with the company. For the company, there is a strong incentive not to pay a 20-25% finders fee if they don't have to so recruiters have to be their own advocates in these situations.