What is the difference between corporate and agency recruiting?

I am new to this field and would like to know a little about everyone's experience as both a corporate recruiter and as an agency recruiter.

Comment by Cristina Lewis on August 21, 2012 at 1:50am: Wow...this has become quite the topic...I am loving the response! I guess I have my work cut out for me, but the pay off seems worth it!

Comment by David Wright on August 22, 2012 at 10:32pm: Great question and a fun discussion. Agency certainly can provide the freedom and opportunity to choose when and who you work with, when you are hitting your quota. Corporate recruiting has a quota as well, but you are closer to the managers and the jobs you are filling. Stacey is correct, corporate politics and the interruptions are very frustrating. Administrative/compliance work is a huge time suck. I manage a team of recruiters in the corporate world and admin responsibilities are the biggest difference from my time in agency. Corporate can be very rewarding, but not if you hate administrative distractions. I enjoy the the direct impact I can make, being an important member of the team and this is why I have stayed in the corporate world.