Most candidates that I speak with get that employers receive dozens and sometimes hundreds of resumes for each job opening and that the recruiters don't have time to send personalized emails let alone make phone calls to each rejected candidate. But it seems to easy to me for employers to simply set up an autoresponder in their applicant tracking system to thank the candidates for applying and telling them what will happen and when. Then, when the candidate is no longer being considered for the position, the employer can use the ATS to send another emailing again thanking the candidate and telling them not only that they weren't hired but also describing the person who was hired. That will allow the candidates to better understand why they weren't hired so they can either better target their future applications, get the additional experience they need, or both.

Some employers will argue that telling a candidate that they've been rejected and why could open them up to legal liability. Bull unless you've got a flawed hiring process. And if you do, then you know that you need to fix that. And when you do fix that, don't forget that part of that hiring process should be treating your candidates with the same consideration as you would extend to your loved ones.