I have had both good and bad alike.  I have had people contact me just to get information from me, albeit in a very sly way.  I have had some that actually had jobs and wanted to see if I was interested.  Some are good people and some are snake oil salesmen.  I even had some contact me via LinkedIn for jobs.  That's how I got my current position,a dn have gotten most of my jobs through staffing agencies.  A lot of companies have no luck looking on their own and that's why they turn to recruiters.  Some offer contract-to-hire type positions that are 6 months contract-to-hire and some are less.  My best suggestion is to use your best judgment when dealing with them and to research the company they work for.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Thanks for the replies!  I have had quite a few contacts from recruiters who obviously hadn't even bothered to read my resume and try and match me with anything to do with technology. 

I've found that some just don't understand the technology, and only find you based on their searches on the job sites. Usually how I get found.

Even then I question if the recruiters do as much as they claim. I worked with a local one in December. After 2 weeks, they said the company wasn't interested in me. A week later, the internal HR guy for said company called me asking if I was interested.

I've had a mixed bag for using them over all. Some have been great jobs, some have been bad jobs, and some have lead me on for a month before cutting me lose. The worst I had, was for a job in another state. I made it past 2 interviews, plus the recruiter saying Not my skill set (looking for an Oracle and DB2 DBA). They all said "but we need your other skills". Got to the hiring manger (third interview and drive down there) and we're talking while going through my resume. "Why are you even here? You're not qualified for this job."

For the most part, until you start filling out paper work for background checks, don't take anything for granted with the recruiter. Even then don't hold you're breath.

Or maybe it's just worse here because it's Michigan.