Full disclosure: I do staffing, but I'm also a 20-year software developer and 15 year manager, so I'm an outlier. Assuming you're talking about regular staffing

Full disclosure: I do staffing, but I'm also a 20-year software developer and 15 year manager, so I'm an outlier. Assuming you're talking about regular staffing companies, but here are some general reasons. When you're hiring, you're often too busy do recruit yourself. What can hinder your chances further is believing you don't have time to educate the recruiters you've hired, and I've seen that, too. Of course, you may believe that spending time with a typical recruiter will not help your cause. You may not have a good network, either. Whether the typical recruiter has a meaningful network depends on them, but it doesn't happen overnight. Most recruiters are very friendly and extroverted, so at least face to face it's a pleasant interaction. You may be poor at marketing your company/open position to developers. This I see a lot, in the same way I see great developers who don't market themselves well. I recently came across a job description where the first three paragraphs were about the company and the parent company - a very big name! Even at the hiring company, there can be a disconnect about what developers care about. Finally, there are a lot of good developers who have no problem with recruiters. What prompted me to enter staffing was the number and quality of developers who came to me for help with their job searches, but I wasn't in a great position to help. Truth is, job searches suck and if you can find someone trustworthy to help with that, it's a relief.