Some years before "The Workplace" existed, I interviewed for the position of software developer at a small software company (around 70 employees). The interviewer told me he did not work for the company: he was an independent recruiter, but he handled the whole recruiting for that company. He handled all the interviews and made the decision whether to hire or not: the owner completely trusted his judgement.
During the interview we discussed the issue of outside placements. One might choose to join a company to be part of its culture and amenities and yet never experience any of it because one works for months or years at other companies. Which may work out well, or not well at all. At this point, he said that all the open positions were for outside placements, although the company was considering starting an inside development department. Then he asked if I would be able to develop an app on a topic he was very interested in. I pointed out that it was a complicated topic and asked whether that app would be a project for the new inside department. He said, no, that it was his personal pet project and that he would pay for it himself. I considered it but could not foresee a good outcome and finally declined. When we parted, he said he saw me as a good candidate for the new department and would contact me if it ever went ahead.
I got a rejection letter some weeks later. I was not surprised at this, and do not regret turning down his offer, but I have always wondered how appropriate or ethical this recruiter's behavior was.