>One problem I find here is that often the agency will filter people out who aren't an exact match . You've got to persuade them to get past them to the client.

Yeah, many lifetimes ago I did IT recruitment and there is a fine balance that you keep between the client and the applicant. Most clients don't like to interview and don't want to waste their time with applicants that are not going to fit nicely into their specs. That's what the recruiter is there for; to filter so they only see what they want to see. Usually, after a certain amount of time with no one hired, the recruiter will suggest removing some of the more nit picky requirements to open the field a bit more.