Years ago, when I worked at Company A, Colleague A joined my team near the end of the tenure. Though I only knew them for six to eight months, we had a good working relationship and I left the team and company on good terms. Now, I see an opening at Company A that I feel I am a fit for, and come to find out, Colleague A leads that team. Is it considered professional and acceptable to directly reach out to Colleague A for a referral?
100% acceptable! Even if people might view it as nepotism… who cares? You do what you can with what you have in life.