Where nobody is calling
Six roles. For each: the trap, three pools the other four agencies skip, the search for each pool, and the first line to send.
Role 01 · GTM Recruiter
Find the recruiters who used to sell.
The trap: search "Sales Recruiter" and the top results are bench sales: IT staffing, placing contractors already on the bench. Different job, same words.
- Recruiters who were SDRs or AEs firstThey've carried a quota, so they can tell a real seller from a good talker in the first call.
current title: Recruiter · past title: SDR OR BDR OR Account Executive
- In-house recruiters at software companies hiring sellersSearch every way the job is written: GTM, Go-to-Market, Sales or Revenue Recruiter, and drop anything with "Bench".
title: GTM OR Go-to-Market OR Sales OR Revenue Recruiter · exclude: Bench · industry: software
- Agency recruiters who only place SaaS salesSmall agencies that work one desk: SDRs, AEs, sales leaders. Their whole network is the network you need.
title: Recruiter · company: small agency · their placements: SDR, AE, sales leadership
First line
"You were an AE before you moved into recruiting. This team hires sellers and wants a recruiter who has sold. [range]. Interested?"
SkipAny title with "Bench" in it.
Role 02 · Account Executive
Same title, completely different job.
The trap: an "Account Executive" can close a few hundred dollars a month or a seven-figure contract. Search the title and you get both, sorted the same way for every agency.
- SDRs who were promoted inside a strong sales teamThey learned the process from the inside and have their first year of closing behind them. Most agencies search for years as an AE and skip them.
past title: SDR OR BDR · current title: Account Executive · time in current role: 1 to 2 years
- Customer success managers who carry an expansion numberThey renew and upsell existing accounts. They already sell, under a title nobody searches for AEs.
title: Customer Success Manager OR Account Manager · keywords: expansion OR upsell OR renewals
- The first seller at a startup that shut downThey built a sales process from nothing and are now between roles or underemployed.
past title: Founding Account Executive OR first sales hire · past company: closed or acquired startup
First line
"You closed [deal type] at [company] in your first year as an AE. This team sells to the same buyers, deal size [size], [range]. Open to a 15-minute call?"
SkipAEs at the three sales orgs everyone in your market recruits from. They get these messages every week.
Role 03 · Data Engineer
Half the people with the title move spreadsheets.
The trap: the title covers everyone from people who schedule exports in a no-code tool to people who build the platform the company runs on.
- Backend engineers who built the pipelinesSoftware engineers whose work was ingestion, queues and storage. They did data engineering under a general title.
title: Software Engineer OR Backend Engineer · skills: Kafka OR Spark OR Airflow OR data pipelines
- Analytics engineers ready for the next stepPeople who model data in the warehouse every day and want to own the infrastructure under it.
title: Analytics Engineer · skills: dbt AND SQL AND Python
- Platform engineers at data-heavy companiesInfrastructure people at companies where data is the product. They run the systems data engineers depend on.
title: Platform Engineer OR Infrastructure Engineer · industry: data, analytics or adtech
First line
"You built the ingestion pipeline at [company] as a backend engineer. This team needs someone to own the whole data platform, [range], remote. Worth a call?"
SkipProfiles where the only tools listed are spreadsheets and a single no-code connector.
Role 04 · Product Designer
The title tells you nothing. The work tells you everything.
The trap: "Product Designer" covers visual designers, UX researchers and people who design and ship whole products. A title search can't tell them apart, so everyone messages the same famous names.
- Designers at agencies and studiosThey've shipped for many clients and often want to own one product end to end.
title: Product Designer OR UX Designer · company type: design agency or studio
- Design engineersDesigners who also write front-end code. Small teams value them most and few recruiters search for them.
title: Design Engineer OR Product Designer · skills: React OR front-end development
- Designers from a different industrySame craft, different product: games, fintech, healthcare. They bring patterns the obvious candidates don't.
title: Product Designer · industry: any industry other than the hiring company's
First line
"Your work on [project] at [company] is the kind of product this team is building next. Full ownership of the product, [range]. Open to a conversation?"
SkipDesigners at the two or three companies every design recruiter in your market targets.
Role 05 · Nurse Practitioner
Everyone waits for applications. The licence is public.
The trap: most agencies post the same job, buy the same job-board access and call the same applicants.
- Practitioners in the public provider registryClinicians in the US are listed in the NPI Registry by specialty and practice location. An NPI doesn't prove a licence, so confirm it on the state board.
NPI Registry: taxonomy: Nurse Practitioner + specialty · city or state · then verify the licence with the state board
- Hospital NPs who want outpatient hoursPractitioners in inpatient or emergency settings who want predictable schedules.
title: Nurse Practitioner · employer: hospital or health system · current role: 2+ years
- Experienced RNs who finished their NP trainingNurses who recently completed a nurse practitioner programme and are moving into their first NP role.
current title: Registered Nurse · education: nurse practitioner programme, recently completed
First line
"You've worked in [specialty] at [hospital] for [years]. This clinic offers [schedule], [range], and no overnight shifts. Worth a call this week?"
SkipApplicants who already applied through every job board. Four agencies have their CV.
Role 06 · Security Engineer
Search "security" and you get guards.
The trap: the word "security" also means physical security: officers, supervisors and guard services. Search it alone and they fill the list.
- Infrastructure engineers who own securityPlatform and site reliability engineers who run identity, access and cloud security on their team.
title: Site Reliability Engineer OR Platform Engineer · skills: IAM OR cloud security OR SOC 2
- Consultants at penetration testing firmsThey test many companies' systems and often want to defend one.
title: Penetration Tester OR Security Consultant · company: security consultancy
- Engineers who moved into security from softwareDevelopers who took on application security for their team.
past title: Software Engineer · current title: Application Security Engineer OR Product Security
First line
"You run cloud security for [company]'s platform as an SRE. This team needs that as a full-time role, [range], remote. Open to hearing more?"
SkipAny title with "officer", "guard" or "supervisor". Different profession, same word.
The Cognitive