Ask HN: Recruiter culture in your city

Without getting into too many details...

I don't live in one of the cities in the US known for its tech, but am in a relatively large metropolitan area.

I have been "poking my head into" the job market for about 1 month now, after deciding to leave my last company. With my last job search I spoke with plenty of recruiters, but the job I landed was a position with a company who was recruiting internally. It was my first in-person interview in this area since I've lived here, and it looked to be a good fit. They made an offer about 1 week later.

But in this area most companies seem to go through recruitment firms. I've noticed a trend that recruiters in this area appear to be taking their jobs way too seriously as the "gatekeepers" for their clients. In fact now that I think of it all of the jobs I've landed throughout my career were as a result of companies recruiting directly. Not having the ability to actively sell my skillset at the moment has become somewhat frustrating.

How has the "recruiter culture" affected the job market in your area? If you're a company do you feel you're receiving top notch candidates from recruiters? As a "recruitee" with a strong background / experience in your selected field do you feel your "resume submissions / interviews" ratio to be extremely high? Any thoughts as to why this is the case?