Recruiter or No Recruiter?

What type of recruiter and what types of jobs are you interested in?

Are you an experienced nurse looking for a leadership postition and willing to relocate for the right fit for your particular set of skills? ... Or are you a new grad looking for a routine staff nurse position?

Is the recruiter a "head hunter" for a company that helps employers find people with particular skills to fit "hard to fill" leadership positions? Or is the recruiter the employee of a particular hospital who contacted you while making a "wide sweep" seeking lots of applicants for staff nurse positions?

The situations I described above are vastly different and would merit different answers. You'll need to give us more information if you want the best possible responses.

I'd say YES. Recruiters offer one additional way to get your foot in the door of a potential employer.

Understand, though, that recruiters have themselves first & foremost in their minds. Their job is to "sell" you on the job and "sell" you to the employer, so they can earn their referral fee.

Take what they tell you with a large grain of salt, and do your own fact checking.

With the job market being as lousy as it is now, you may need to use all possible techniques to get a good job.

Good luck!