Are you the product or the customer?
Recruiting these days resembles sales more than it does HR. If you are unemployed I am sure you might not care but you should.
Recruiters sometimes just want to get a butt in the seat and they do not care whose butt it is. I am by no means saying that all or even most recruiters do this but it does happen. If you are talking to an agency recruiter they have a monetary incentive to get you, or another one of their candidates, in that job. They are often up against a time constraint and candidates from other agencies or that have applied directly to the company. This may sound good as some recruiters are pushy with companies to get their candidates hired. The recruiter might even spend time prepping you for the interview and telling you what to say.
One ugly truth is that you may be the wingman for the “right” candidate. Sometimes recruiters send a few mediocre candidate along with one “good” candidate to make the one candidate seem better. Again, this is not a usual practice but it may happen. Why do you thing most bridesmaids dresses are ugly?
Just keep all this in mind when you are interviewing with a company or through an agency.
The Man
Life is hard; it’s even harder if you’re stupid.
John Wayne