I'm sure there are great recruiters out there (somewhere), but totally agree on this. Had real days of my life wasted on interviews and such, sometimes only to have everyone at the table realize it was a completely bad fit with no hurt feelings about a minute into us talking directly and not through "the process". Meanwhile got an out of the blue referral from a guy I had worked with ten years prior that started my consulting years.

Not everyone is a superstar networker but be kind, supportive, and professional to your coworkers. People talk.