In theory, sure, but in reality, please god no. 99% of LinkedIn messages you get as a hiring manager are “Hi I applied to your role”, “Hi I applied to your role and I’d be a great fit when can we talk?”, “Hi I’m really interested in learning about your work can we meet for coffee?”, or “Hi I’d be a great fit for your role because <insert enormous AI-written cover letter>.”

> "Would you have found it reasonable for interested candidates to have reached out directly..."

If that worked, someone would automate a way to bulk spam that too.

What does "reaching out directly" mean?

I assume that they mean sending either a direct Linkedin message or an email to the recruiter or hiring manager.

When I was recently unemployed I started doing that after months of getting ignored by most companies and, in my experience, the only difference is that I got far more acks ("Hi! Sure, I'll take a look at your resume and reach out!") but I got a similar rate of applications-to-interview compared to applying through the official platforms.

At this point, probably forming a line on the door of the hiring manager.

this means finding a way to directly reach out to the hiring manager. like sending an email, asking a colleague for an introduction, sending a linkedin message, etc