Can You Apply To The Same Job Twice?

Dear Evil HR Lady,

There is a great job with a great company that I am interested in and well qualified for. I took a lot of time to customize my resume and cover letter and applied for the job three weeks back but haven’t heard anything. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to network my way in so I had to use the company website to apply and it made you choose a desired salary (not even a range). I picked the midpoint of the range I thought was right for the job and my qualifications and hoped for the best.

Now, given some new information from someone I met who works for the company in a different location, I think I might have given too high of a figure and excluded myself from consideration. If it really is as great of a job as it sounds like I would work for less. What are your thoughts on applying again with a lower salary since the job is still posted? Will that look even worse if they see two exact resumes with different salaries or will the hiring manager never even realize that I submitted twice?

Part of what I am looking for is some insight into how in the world company HR sites work anyway. Are they big black holes that make decisions and spit out the best candidates based on a magical formula? Or do they just help organize the information and forward all resumes onto the hiring managers?

Can You Apply To The Same Job Twice?