.. how having a recruiter present you for a contract position could ruin your chance for being hired direct based on an earlier resume you sent the company. Because in that case, the recruiter SHOULD get paid his fee, and the company may not want to pay that for a permanent hire.

But that would only be a problem IF the company wanted to hire you direct (instead of the contract position).

But that's apples/oranges. The hiring company loses NOTHING by hiring you for the CONTRACTOR position. They are paying the fee for you anyway, in that case. That is why it makes no sense that an earlier direct resume (from you) should eliminate you from a contract position. Of course I know that just because it "makes no sense" isn't going to stop it from being company policy! I wOULD like to get a feel for how prevalent this is. It's a lame catch-22 for sure.

Note that this has NOTHING to do with the entanglements of being presented by multiple recruiters.