I think this is still a matter of terminology unless there are legal agreements of exclusivity in place. The recruiter/job seeker relationship can also be long-

I think this is still a matter of terminology unless there are legal agreements of exclusivity in place. The recruiter/job seeker relationship can also be long-term (though I agree it usually isn't). I've been in recruiting for over 15 years, and some people that I first interacted with around 98-2001 didn't result in any placement ($) for me until the past few years. Part of the reason this type of experience is rare is because most recruiters don't have much of a specialty, so if they get a position seeking a specific skill set they may be unlikely to get that same mix again. Therefore, the candidate becomes somewhat 'disposable' and can't be worked with for future searches. If you have a specialty, which I've had for years, almost all candidates may be a fit for a future position. Your example about termination could be valid in some cases, but a recruiter who treats candidates as an agent will get the same level of trust. An agent isn't likely to expose that info - whether a recruiter exposes all potentially negative information probably varies by individual. I think the difference between recruiters and agents is non-existent when we are referring to solid 3rd party recruiters (good clients, excellent reputation, valuable relationships), except for in rare circumstances like you mention (hiding information about your talent). I would love to see more of an agent mentality for recruiters. But someone has to pay for that, and the lion's share of work in tech is done by salaried employees and not consultants. Consultants know and accept that their $200/hr rate will get eaten into a bit if they use an agent. Will someone making 200K a year pay a fee to an agent during a job search? How much should that representation cost?