With the economy in its current funk, many job candidates pound the pavement daily in search of employment.

The resume can be top-notch, the prospective company well researched. The interview seems to go very well.

Then comes the rejection, usually in the form of email or regular mail.

"At this time we have decided to move forward with other candidates whose experience more closely matches our requirements."

Candidates rarely get constructive feedback on why they weren't chosen. They put time and energy into a face-to-face interview, only to get little to no information on why the job wasn't offered.

Unfortunately, this is becoming commonplace throughout the work world, as more and more hiring managers opt to ditch civility and do little to follow-up with desperate job applicants.

There are several reasons why.

- Companies are so fearful of lawsuits they want to limit the amount of information they give candidates after they've decided not to hire them. There is a risk if someone makes a slip and say something that can be taken as discriminatory.

- Many human resource personnel and hiring managers are too busy to take the time to provide a self-help session for job seekers who are looking for advice on what not to do next time.

- Others just don't want to have to talk to someone they've rejected, opting to use e-mail as a safe haven from a rejected candidate's wrath or disappointment. Often these rejection e-mails aren't even personalized.

Job candidates need to deal with job rejection frequently. The key is to deal with it in a way that won't affect the next interview.

1. Don't take it personally. Don't use the job interview as a measure of professional worth.

2. Don't be in a position where personal needs are met through the interview. The interview should not satisfy professional validation.

3. Don't bring up the past. It's funny how failures have a way of drudging up past failures, as well as negative feelings associated with the failures.

4. Focus on strengths. It's easy for a candidate to blame themselves and focus on imperfections when faced with job rejection.

5. Ask questions. Ask questions to learn from the experience. What could have been done differently?

6. Accept reality. Accept that rejections are a part of the job search. It may be repeated several times before success is found.

7. Keep it in perspective. Being rejected doesn't mean that one's professional qualifications and personal attributes are anything less than spectacular.

8. Accept responsibility; don't blame others. It's not someone else's fault if minimum job requirements are not fulfilled.

9. Know that every day, countless others are sharing the same rejection experience. Mutual support and shared knowledge will be enormously helpful.

10. Balance. It's important for job candidates to find a stress relief activity, such as exercise or yoga to help relieve tension.

A job hunt is never fun. The longer it goes on, the more stressful it becomes. The daily headlines about unemployment and the dismal news about the economy make it worse. But the key for job candidates is to stay optimistic and look forward to the next interview.