Hiring and recruiter outreach mostly happens on LinkedIn. Your unwillingness to use the platform is holding you back severely. I suggest you work on updating your profile and using it for job applications.
Yeah, about 80% of it happened on LinkedIn. Even had one who was from someone I knew personally. It's hard to ask someone if they want a new job, and the resume platform makes it a lot easier.
You are right. I am a little reluctant to do so because my current employer/colleagues will also notice it. Anyways, lets see
FYI there is a setting under Privacy that will prevent notifying your current connections when you make changes to your profile.