I used to do that, too. Now, I realize, if the recruiter is hitting me up for, say, a vmware admin position, the recruiter probably can't tell the difference between a high quality candidate and a low-quality candidate, and is someone who is not worth doing business with. The spam belongs in the spam bucket, not my friend's inbox.
As far as I can tell, most of those recruiters are just building up a list of resumes. even if you respond with relevant resumes, the hit rate is no better than what you'd get responding to ads on dice or craigslist.
Sure, sometimes recruiters take the time to actually figure out who or what I am and send me appropriate jobs. And in those cases, if I'm busy, sure, I'll pass it on to people I know who are able to do the job. But those are extremely rare.
As far as I can tell, most of those recruiters are just building up a list of resumes. even if you respond with relevant resumes, the hit rate is no better than what you'd get responding to ads on dice or craigslist.
Sure, sometimes recruiters take the time to actually figure out who or what I am and send me appropriate jobs. And in those cases, if I'm busy, sure, I'll pass it on to people I know who are able to do the job. But those are extremely rare.