Didn't your parents teach you any manners?!

The answer to that is mostly a big NO but, in this case, it's a resounding YES.  This post is how to do rejection the right way.  

I applied for a position at a large mfg company in early August.  I had a phone interview with HR  about 2 weeks later and an in-person interview 4 days afterward.  My interviewers were Dick - who'd be my supervisor; Jane - a VP who was Dick's manager; and Spot - who was observing to learn how interviews were to be conducted.

It was a great interview and I felt I connected with Dick & Jane.  Spot?  He just sat there and licked his bits. Actually, he was mostly silent but did ask two questions.  As I was one of the first interviews, they said they'd make a decision about mid-September.  Mid-Sept. rolls around, I haven't heard anything so I fire of an email to Dick to follow up and express my continued interest in the job.  Dick responds that interviews will finish up in a few days and a decision will be made the following week.  The end of September arrives and nada, not a word.

I know day-to-day stuff can delay even the most motivated hiring managers but I figured that they'd chosen someone else and I'd never hear a word.  Which is what you hear from almost EVERY employer and many staffing agencies.  Imagine my surprise when I received this email today.  You could have knocked me over with a feather!

I am sorry it took so long to follow up with you.  I wanted to let you know that we have selected an internal candidate for the XXXX position and they accepted the offer.    I apologize for the bad news.   Jane, Spot and I all thought you did really well when we interviewed you and felt that you would be a good fit, but unfortunately we had a few internal candidates with XXXX experience that applied for the position after we interviewed you.   The fact that some of the internal candidates had XXXX experience within LargeCo gave them the slight edge when we had to make a final decision.  If you happen to see any other positions on our site that you are interested in applying for, please let me know.   I will be happy to speak to whomever is interviewing for the position(s) and put in a good word for you because I think you have a lot to offer to a company.  Thanks for your time and interest in the position.

In my entire working career, I've never received a rejection letter that was so nice. If you get a rejection email/letter at all, it's the generic "we're pursuing candidates that are a better fit." Dick's parents raised him right.