[ryandrake]

I'd guess that over my nearly 20 year career, I've been rejected from more companies than most HNers have even applied to. I've listened to tons of employers tell me what they think I'm not capable of, and that was back when you would actually get personalized feedback from a failed interview. My grades, my lack of a "prestigious" education, my technical skills, my people skills, my background, my previous employment history, my potential, and, of course, the catch-all "cultural fit" have all been used as reasons that Company X was sure I'm an idiot. I don't let interview rejections bother me for even a millisecond anymore--it doesn't mean anything whatsoever, and I'm convinced getting hired at any given company is more of a dice roll than anything else.