My experience was fairly negative. I should clarify that I live in the Netherlands, which is probably rather different than the US (salaries are much lower at least). All recruiters were paid by the employers in some form and they all contacted me after I let my CV someplace (linkedin, jobsite etc.)
Now to answer your questions:
I first got matched with the large well-known corporations who offer nothing interesting (banks, secondmend etc.). It should have been very clear from the start that these were not interesting to me. I guess they pay a higher fee to the recruiter. Only after I refused several offers from such clients did they allow me a peek at the stuff I couldn't find myself.
I don't think I've ever needed more visibility for the kind of jobs recruiters have.
When it comes to negotiating employment terms, I feel I'm better off without recruiter. One once called the nationally average salary I was asking "ridiculously high". Companies are more willing to pay you more if they don't also need to pay the recruiter that introduced you.
One interesting thing that happened: there was one job I applied for through a recruiter that seemed interesting (after many total misses). Unfortunately the company turned me down... for a job I didn't apply for. The recruiter urged me to call them to ask for clarification, which I wouldn't otherwise have done, and they did eventually offer me a position. I did turn it down because of the whole chaotic ordeal though.
In short: I would never recommend working for a recruiter that contacts you. They just see you as a product to be shipped. Much better to attend interesting meetups where you will find the companies that share your passions.
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My experience was fairly negative. I should clarify that I live in the Netherlands, which is probably rather different than the US (salaries are much lower at least). All recruiters were paid by the employers in some form and they all contacted me after I let my CV someplace (linkedin, jobsite etc.)
Now to answer your questions:
One interesting thing that happened: there was one job I applied for through a recruiter that seemed interesting (after many total misses). Unfortunately the company turned me down... for a job I didn't apply for. The recruiter urged me to call them to ask for clarification, which I wouldn't otherwise have done, and they did eventually offer me a position. I did turn it down because of the whole chaotic ordeal though.
In short: I would never recommend working for a recruiter that contacts you. They just see you as a product to be shipped. Much better to attend interesting meetups where you will find the companies that share your passions.