Simon Bucknell: Stealth mode activated
Intro text
View Simon Bucknell’s graphic link Simon BucknellSimon Bucknell • 1stPremium • 1st Founder, EMBS & GenX Talent | Expert Tech & Engineering Recruiter | Delivering Perm, Contract & Fractional IT Leaders | Champion for Age-Inclusive Hiring | Author of Stand Out, Get Hired I Personal Brand & Career CoachFounder, EMBS & GenX Talent | Expert Tech & Engineering Recruiter | Delivering Perm, Contract & Fractional IT Leaders | Champion for Age-Inclusive Hiring | Author of Stand Out, Get Hired I Personal Brand & Career Coach Visit my website 2h • Edited • 2 hours ago • Edited • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn
Recruiters have gone into stealth mode. Most of you don’t even realise it.
We’ve stopped using job ads. They’re broken. One software engineering role gets 300+ applications.
9 out of 10 are “Easy Apply” clicks from people who never read the description. People from the other side of the world.
So we changed the playbook.
Yes we use our own CRMs but mostly we live inside LinkedIn Recruiter.
We search for you directly. We scan your profile for maybe 3–5 seconds.
We know exactly what good looks like, then we either
✅ Message Or ❌ Move on
And you’ll never know we were there. No profile view. No trace. Nothing, nada!
If your profile doesn’t hit hard in those 3 seconds, you’re toast.
And in a market where 70% of jobs never even get posted, that’s killing your chances big time.
What makes us stop scrolling? Good question!
-
Crystal-clear headline ❌ “Software Engineer at TechCorp” ✅ “Senior Backend Engineer | Python & AWS | Scaling fintech platforms for 10M+ users”
-
Professional photo Clear, current, solo. No group shots. No blurry selfies, nothing weird. Head and a shoulders, smile ☺️
-
Backdrop that says something about who you are: Company logo, conference stage, branded graphic. Your rock climbing or salsa dancing obsession. Just not a stock beach photo.
Where this matters most Tech (especially Ldr roles) Sales Marketing Product management Data and analytics
Red flags that kill your chances 🚩
No updates in 6 months Headline that’s just a job title Zero activity or posts Incomplete experience Old photo from another era
How you’ll know it’s working?
🟡 Recruiters start messaging you out of nowhere 🟡 More connection requests get accepted 🟡More connection requests recieved from recruiters
Bottom line👇🏻
The best jobs never hit a job board. They get filled by people who show up sharp and searchable, especially in the ‘leadership layer’.
So, your LinkedIn isn’t just an online CV anymore. It’s your 24/7 sales asset for the hidden market most candidates never see.
Get it? Good!
My question to you is….What’s the one change you’ll change today to stand out in those first 3 seconds?
In
Employment
(comments disabled)