I have had some good experiences with recruiters, but I give time and preference to the ones that bring me the best opportunities while still considering my car

I have had some good experiences with recruiters, but I give time and preference to the ones that bring me the best opportunities while still considering my career objectives. If I don't like dealing with the recruiter on a personal level, then I don't give them priority. I currently work with a recruiter who used to do programming. He understands what we do and provides some level of mentoring, however self-serving. I also found him to be incredibly understanding when I turned down several offers. Other recruiters in the past nearly ripped my head off for doing the same thing. So, like anything else, when dealing with people you will get different results. I wouldn't close off a whole channel because of general anti-recruiter sentiment. Also, when an ad states "no recruiters", it could mean that they are not willing to pay the recruiter fees or that they want to have control over the candidates they see.