They find candidates, go through many CVs to find applicants and filter our applicants they feel will not be suitable for the role. The problem is many of these recruitment agencies have people from a sales background with little understanding of HR. Based on feedback this is the major issue and flaw with many recruitment agencies which may explain why many employers state No Recruitment Agencies.
To much emphasis is placed on sealing the deal with the average deal worth £15,000 to an agent you can see why sales are so important. Due to this many viable applicants who may not have the experience or proven track record or the key words on their CV will not get put forward for a role which they could easily do given the chance.
Direct Recruitment in other words applying direct to employers can help avoid being trapped in a circle where only the candidates that match key words based on the
Sites such as www.jobsite.co.uk do post direct recruitment jobs many are from agencies but www.joblinksdirect.com filter out agencies and have no recruitment agency jobs.