I think I'm an excellent fit for the job I've applied for, but I have reason to fear that my application will simply "get lost in the pile" because of the person who seems to be in charge of the hiring process (let's call him Steve).
And so I am considering reaching out to other employees or perhaps even the founder/boss of the company (it is a small start-up). In particular, I would like to better explain to someone else how and why I would be a valuable addition to the team.
I am wondering if this would be appropriate and how one might go about this.
(By the way, there is only one other employee that I've had any sort of contact with and only through their website's forum and a brief email exchange following our contact on the forum. He seems very intelligent and fast-moving. He also seemed to be impressed by a piece of work I did using their platform -- though of course it could be that he was just being nice/polite. Should I perhaps attempt to speak with this employee?)
To elaborate on my exchanges with Steve: I applied for the job as usual by sending in my CV and a cover letter. It took a month before Steve responded, expressing interest and asking me to tell him more about myself and how I would fit with the company.
I gave an admittedly (very) lengthy reply in a PDF document, but clearly organized in upside-down newspaper fashion. That is, with the most important stuff first and the least important stuff last (so for example, the end of the document contained trivial typos and broken links I had come across on their websites and documents). I fully expected that Steve would read at least the first page or two of my document.
It took another week before Steve responded, saying he'd like to take more time to review what I sent him, but would like to go ahead and schedule an (online) interview for the following week. He asked for my availability and I responded promptly. But it then took another week before Steve responded suggesting a date and time for the interview.
I've finally (just) had this first interview, which lasted about 20 minutes.
For most of the interview, I operated under the assumption that Steve had at least read the first page or two of what I sent him; and that I was simply fleshing out or elaborating on what I had already said in that document. He often seemed confused about what I was talking about and repeatedly asked me to explain myself.
It was only towards the end of the interview that I realized he hadn't spent any time reading my document at all or learning about me or my previous work. This is because near the end of the interview he said, "Oh usually we give some 'homework' to interviewees."
Whereupon I pointed out that, as already mentioned on the first page of my document, I had already taken two days to create two little rudimentary projects on their platform. Then he said, "Oh OK. Then let me take the time to look at them. I'll also speak with the rest of the team."
So it appears that Steve did not even spend 5-10 minutes studying me before the interview. And now he will report to the rest of the team about our interview. I am therefore concerned that he will not correctly convey to the others how and why I will be able to contribute.
I believe that if I can get the ear of some other employees in the company, I will be far better able to explain how I will add to the team. I am thus thinking of contacting others in the company.
One possibility I've thought of is to politely ask Steve if it would be OK if I spoke directly to someone else. But from past experience, it will take at least a week (if ever) before Steve replies to this request. So I don't know if this is the best action for me to take now.
Clarification asked for in comments: Yes this was a position with a title and a detailed job description in their posting. (What was a little strange though was then when Steve first got back to me, he asked me to explain a bit more about what work I've been doing and how I can contribute. He specifically pointed out that this would not necessarily have to be along the lines of the job description they put out. So it seems like they aren't entirely sure what they want, which I guess isn't uncommon for a small start-up.)