I used to live in Ohio and I applied with this agency that was advertising that they could help people looking for IT jobs. Well, I responded to the ad right away and then I got a call the next day asking if I wanted to come in for an interview - okay, so far, no problem

well, I got there and the "recruiter" told me about 2 different job openings that he was going to check on for me, and I thought with my degree and background that I could definitely do the job. Well, he said he would call me within 2 days and let me know the outcome as to whether or not I would get an interview

well, 2 weeks later after not hearing anything, I decided to call him, and he never called me back. I tried emailing him and got a very rude response and so I called him and he started yelling at me as if I had some nerve following up with him and all he kept saying was "what do you want from me, I can't help you"

but the other thing that bothered me was that they also advertised things like negotiating benefits and salary, and he told me that one of the jobs was paying $9 an hour, and I told him I needed more than that, as I was already making $10 at my current job, and he said that is what it pays and there is no negotiation - now to me, that sounds different than what they advertised in the paper

it turns out that all this guy did was send out my resume to the client that I didn't even know anything about and hope to get a response and didn't even make good on his promise to call me back and let me know what was going on

my question is why would an agency do something like this? Obviously I should not deal with this agency again, and I made a decision not to, and never dealt with them again

but how do agencies stay in business if they treat their applicants like that?

and what kind of advice could you give me when choosing what kind of agencies to deal with in the future?

Agencies like this seek to be middlemen between employers and prospective employees--and be paid for it. Finding a good job means contacting employers directly, letting all your friends know that you're looking--doing your own legwork. You don't need an agency. Polish up that resume, write a good cover letter, and start applying!