[Justen]

> You're not like to negotiate a higher salary than you would without the recruiter

This is a bit facile because it depends on if you know how to ask, the financial standing of the company, if you can actually find a recruiter that'll go to bat for you, and a dozen other things that can affect the final outcome. I think the average outcome to expect however from the recruiter side of things is that they would rather make a deal now, than spend time negotiating for you. The same can be said for real estate agents. This is admittedly anecdotal from my experience, but I think a lot of people will agree.

[peteretep]

Perhaps, but the recruiter's cut is based on your salary, and they also usually know how much the client is willing to pay - and quite possibly what they're previously paid for people of your calibre.

[michaelt]

If I ask for more money and the company says no, I can walk away and keep my current job, losing nothing. If a recruiter walks away they lose their huge commission.

Companies know this, so recruiters have no negotiating leverage.

[peteretep]

But if you walk away from the recruiter's offer, because they negotiated too shitty a deal for you, they also get nothing.

[Justen]

That's why I also made the comparison to real estate agents. They get commission as well.