I think recruiters are great. I've been working with them for almost 20 years. As long as they are local recruiters working with local companies. I have 20 recruiters all from different companies in my contacts.

- They have always asked me for permission before submitting me to a company.

- My application never goes into a black hole like it would if I were applying for a company directly. I don't think I've ever been submitted to a company by a recruiter without going through the entire process -- resume submittal, phone screen -> in person interview -> offer. Unless I decided to stop the process somewhere.

- Going through a recruiter is the only way that I've found to filter based on salary requirements. Most job posting don't include them and it's only at the offer stage that you even know if you and the company are in the same ball park.

- I'm able to just sit back and wait for jobs to come to me. I don't have to scour career sites.

I have had recruiters that don't understand that no means no and that while money is the an important reason I work, it's not the only reason. Recruiters were shocked last time that I took a job that wasn't in the top of my pay range but offered more autonomy (the architect at a small company as opposed to just another developer at a large company), and a better commute with little travel.