What percentage of people actually use recruiters? I'm genuinely curious. I imagine it varies greatly by geographic location. Personally, although I have interacted with recruiters, I never found work through them nor did I ever feel the need to rely on them. I was able to find the jobs I wanted through a personal network or by simply applying to postings. So while I do feel the recruiters are a pain to deal with, isn't the alternative simply to do the work yourself? I see recruiters as a convenience service - like a mortgage or insurance broker.