Typical reactions to receiving a rejection letter vary wildly, going from quiet disappointment for some to loud swearing while tearing up the letter for others. Although there's no doubt that getting rejected sucks (pardon my French), if you can manage to be gracious in the face of defeat (or even downright pleasant) you might just turn that "thanks but no thanks" into a "won't you please work for us?"How can that happen exactly? Well, admittedly it's a long-shot, but if you send a gracious reply that says something like 'Thank you for your time' and 'I would still love to work for you' you might get a call back if the company's first choice changes their mind or is unexpectedly unable to take the position.
It's not uncommon for people to accept a job and then back out before starting, so why not angle to be the next in line?
