[marcinzm]

The problem as I see it is that good applicants don't bother with job boards. When you have recruiters banging on your door and begging to handle all the details for you (and provide proper communication) it's no wonder candidates don't bother applying. That, however, means the expectation is that job board candidates are bad and desperate. So companies will filter them more aggressively than recruiter candidates. So candidates now have even more incentive to go with recruiters since it actually gives them a better chance to get hired.

[hsuresh]

That's true. Recruiters provide the initial screening, which is lacking in a job board.

But the hiring process is broken beyond the initial screening as well, biggest reason being lack of incentives for the involved parties to close a position quickly.

[marcinzm]

>That's true. Recruiters provide the initial screening, which is lacking in a job board.

It's not just the initial screening. They actively go out and find candidates who otherwise wouldn't be looking for jobs directly. And as I said before, those tend to be prime candidates since they get so many recruiters they have little need to apply directly.

>But the hiring process is broken beyond the initial screening as well, biggest reason being lack of incentives for the involved parties to close a position quickly.

Again, recruiters are a solution to this because their paycheck is based on closing the deal. They will hound the company and the candidate to get the process finalized.