Anyone had good experience with recruiters?

All depends on the ones you work with..

I'd check out LinkedIn & see what types of recommendations they have & possibly if any of your friends have used one before with a good experience.

They get a commission percentage from the company that hires you.. commission is based off of your salary amount.

I've had nothing but positive experiences. Some can be a little pushy trying to get you into jobs out of your area

What line of work? I've had good luck with them. They get pushy but if I don't want something I just stay firm.

There are so many in the Houston area that it's kind of mind boggling. When I 1st moved here after LSU in '01, I applied to a job in the Houston Chronicle (times have obviously changed). A recruiter called me back and did a short interview. I got the job and never talked to the recruiter again.

A recruiter also helped to get me a better job in '04 after I had obtained my CPA.

Since then, I've spoken with a few. Some apparently work closely with bigger companies such as Exxon while others will contact you when they are attempting to fill specific positions that happen to come their way.

Recruiters are typically paid by the hiring company, sometimes as a percentage of the base pay offered to the new hire.

I've gotten jobs from recruiters. Don't write them off because they contact you through LinkedIn. That's how they work these days. But they should be doing the work. If you get a message from one that says 'schedule a time to call me by going to this link', delete it. You are the hot girl; they should be chasing you, not the other way around.

Rules:
1. Only work with recruiters who are paid by the company they are recruiting for.
2. Only work with recruiters who specialize in a niche.

Otherwise, you are dealing with a bullshitter or a scam artist.

They should also work for a firm that has a legitimate website with their bio on it. They're researching you, you should research them.