Interview tips : Is there anything else I can do here

Here's the situation in a nut shell.

I saw an ad for a position posted on a company web site. It was not posted anywhere else--a possible sign of an internal applicant, but I applied anyway.

After not hearing back from HR for a week, I did some web research, found out the hiring manager's name, and e-mailed my resume to her directly. She responded that she had forwarded it to her boss and that he (the boss) would let me know if he was interested in interviewing me.

Fastforward 3 weeks after I e-mailed the HM (a month after the initial posting date). No phone call, and the job is still not advertised anywhere else besides the company web site. I e-mailed HR under a different name and from a different e-mail address inquiring about the status of the position and if it was too late to apply, and they responded that they are still accepting applications.

I know I have to be one of a handful of applicants since they are not a hugely well-known company and I doubt that many job-seekers see their web site. It also appears to me that if they indeed had an internal applicant, they either would've hired him/her by now, or started advertising the position more agressively if the internal applicant had not worked out. It's an entry-level position, the kind that doesn't usually take long to fill.

What would you make of this? Should I e-mail the hiring manager again? I really like this job, but now I am not sure what's going on. If I do e-mail her, what should I say? Does it sound like something is off here, or are there legitimate reasons why a position that should be so easy to fill should remain open for this long while the employer seems to be making no effort to advertise it?

Any input is appreciated.

I cannot give you a straight answer because what you are saying and your arguments sound pretty good and you might be right. But when it comes to un-advertised jobs (is this job advertised or not? cause you said you saw it on the website, so it is...), things may be a little bit more difficult. They might have been offended by your request. You don' t even have the certitude your resume has been forwarded to the boss, you realize that.
What you can do is a cold contact technique because otherwise I' m afraid they will take you as a desperate person.

I am not sure I understand. Who may have been offended by my request? The hiring manager? She didn't sound offended, she sounded very friendly. Why would she be offended at being forwarded a resume when she is listed as the hiring manager for this position in the ad? So I did some research and found out her name and contact information (only her title was listed in the ad), that just shows initiative. I didn't pester her or call her and leave 10 messages on her VM. One e-mail is not offensive, and if you don't want to read it, you don't have to, and you don't have to respond (she did). Plus, if she had lied about forwarding my resume to her boss, why would she have stated that person's name and title?

If you are talking about HR being offended at my asking if the position was still open, I used a different name and e-mail address, and even if I hadn't I don't see how checking on the status of a position is offensive.

Anyway, I don't believe in cold calling, but thanks for the advice.

There are many possible reasons why the employer may not be in a particular hurry to fill this position. Here are some possible explanations:

-It could be a newly created position and they haven't worked out all the details yet.
-Key decision makers may not have had the time to get together and discuss the position, or to start interviewing.
-They may be advertising a position they are anticipating, but which has not yet been finalized, which is why no outside ads.
-Other departments may be fighting them for the position.
-The person leaving the position may have given a longer than average notice, or they may simply be moving up the ladder or making an internal lateral move, in which case there may not be an immediate time limit at all (internal moves often take a VERY long time to implement because the candidate already works there, so there is no hurry and they can afford to wait while the parties involved are tying up loose ends).

IMO, you have done all you could on your end. For whatever it's worth, I think you did the right thing by contacting the hiring manager. However, I wouldn't recommend contacting her again. At this point, there are 2 possible things that could be happening. 1) Your resume is in the 'Maybe' pile, but they have not started interviewing yet, in which case if you start bugging them, you won't make the process go any faster AND may actually take yourself out of consideration. 2) They decided not to consider you and, while becoming a pest will not change that, it will ruin your chances of being considered for positions at that company in the future.

You did all you could. The only thing to do at this point is move on with your job search, and if they contact you and you are still interested and available, great. If not, it wasn't meant to be.

I've been in your situation (i.e. position that's not widely advertised remains open for an extended period of time and no response to my resume). This usually means that they are not ready to fill the position or it's simply not a priority. You did all you could. You expressed your interest by applying for the job, you showed initiative by researching the hiring manager and contacting her directly, there is nothing more to do here. I know the temptation is to call up the hiring manager and HR and scream "Why hasn't anyone called me? What's wrong with my resume? Why advertise a position when you aren't serious about filling it? Who the hell do you think you are, playing with people's emotions like that?" Tempting as it may be, this wouldn't be a good idea.

Either they decided not to consider you, or they aren't considering anyone just yet. Either way, there is nothing you can do. Continue your job search and don't look back. If they call you, fine. Otherwise, just let it go.

Just recently, my company created a new position and started advertising it, only to decide a month later that they didn't really need this position after all. This stuff happens. Budgets change, key decision makers leave and are replaced by people with different views, unexpected projects are dumped on people, changing their plans and making them unable to review resumes and interview anyone in the near future.

You don't know what's going on with this job, and there is no way you can find out anything beyond what HR told you when you e-mailed them--that the job is still open. Many times when applicants see a 'perfect' job advertised, they immediately become emotionally invested and begin to view the job as practically theirs, since they are such a shoe in. I've fallen victim to this myself on a number of occasions. But the truth is, you have no idea what's going on behind the scenes or how many other 'perfect' applicants there are. You should try to separate your personal feelings from the process as much as you can if you want to retain your health and sanity.

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Is there anything else I can do here