Yikes!  I think it is terrible that they link credit to job performance.  I had a bad spell with credit right out of undergrad that took me several years to clean up.  Boy did I learn my lesson!

Anyway, I can tell you that my experience as a recruiter was so-so.  It was over 10 years ago, but it really irked me that I was placing people with less education and skills than myself at jobs paying considerably more than what I was making.  I was working at a temp agency, so that might be different than working with more professional level prospects.  The best thing about the job was the networking and learning about all different types of career paths.  I had an art degree, so I really had no exposure to business before that.  The recruiting job eventually led to a great job at a bank that launched my career in the right direction.

I think you really have to be a people person to succeed at recruiting.  If I remember correctly, my friends in the professional level recrutiing practice said there was a lot of cold calling and trying to persuade people to hire your candidate or get a candidate to leave for your corporate client. So, there is a definite sales aspect to it.  If that is what you like, then go for it!  Never to late to make a shift to something new.