I did the same thing for the October thread and had a much better response rate for real emails versus applications/jobs@company. I ended applying to about 25,

I did the same thing for the October thread and had a much better response rate for real emails versus applications/jobs@company. I ended applying to about 25, 15 direct emails, 5 HR emails (jobs@company), and 5 applications. Only about half of the direct emails got back, but the ones that did all ended up having interviews with (about 3/15 are in later stages of interviews or have an offer). 4/5 HR emails replied, only 2-3 were genuine and of that 1 got me an interview (ended up not being a good fit anyway). Of the 5 applications, I nearly got automated rejections within 24 hours :(. Even though the emails had lower response rates, they work much better in my experience. You get to talk to someone (usually an engineer or manager, sometimes a founder or exec) at the company. Wish you the best!