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&lt;p&gt;Passed over for a job you really want? Hold off throwing in the towel just yet.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&quot;If there&#39;s an organization you really want to work for, don&#39;t let your first rejection be your defining moment,&quot; says Shelia Gray, director of global talent acquisition for International Paper Co., a forest-products manufacturer based in Stamford, Conn. &quot;Continue to pursue the organization.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Within days of being denied a marketing-associate internship at L&#39;Orial USA Inc. last spring, Andy Rah, 32, urged recruiters in an email to label him a backup candidate. &quot;I said that I was really disappointed because the company was my No. 1 choice and asked them to reconsider me if somebody backs out or if another position opens up,&quot; says the M.B.A. at Georgetown University&#39;s McDonough School of Business. A week later, the New York-based company retracted its rejection and offered him the job, which he accepted, he says.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are four tips for staying on recruiters&#39; radars for new job opportunities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. Keep cool following a rejection.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Being turned down for a job can hurt, but avoid expressing anger or resentment toward recruiters, cautions Melissa Shober, general manager at Professional Document Solutions Inc., a Xerox Corp. sales agency based in Fort Collins, Colo. &quot;Some people almost act like you owe them an apology,&quot; she says. &quot;You never want to tell recruiters that they were in the wrong.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ms. Shober says she recalls an email from a candidate accusing her of making a mistake by not hiring her for a sales position. Up until that point, &quot;I was impressed with the gal and thought about calling her back in a few months if a position opened up,&quot; she says. &quot;But her email took away that chance.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. Write a thank-you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ms. Gray says she once received a thank-you from a candidate after he&#39;d been denied a director-of-engineering position at a high-tech firm where she was a recruiter. &quot;He acknowledged that it would&#39;ve been a great company to work for, but that he understood he was not the right person for the particular opportunity,&quot; she recalls. &quot;Most recruiters remember great candidates, and that letter kept him top of mind.&quot; When another engineering position opened up at the company a few months later, Ms. Gray invited the former candidate to interview for it, and he was subsequently hired, she says.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A thank-you can help reinforce your strong desire to work for a company, adds Jennifer Randolph, vice president, organizational development at Courtroom Television LLC in New York. &quot;Hiring managers want to see how interested you are in the job,&quot; she explains. In 2003 a junior marketing executive quit the media company after three days on the job. For a replacement, Ms. Randolph turned to a runner-up who&#39;d called to thank her soon after being rejected in an email. The candidate had made it clear that she really wanted the job, she says.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;3. Send friendly reminders.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Keep in touch with recruiters after being passed over for a job, advises Susan McWhirter, staffing manager at InBev USA, a manufacturer and distributor of premium beers. In July she notified three candidates for a junior-level customer-service job that the Norwalk, Conn.-based company was putting the position on hold. One candidate followed up in an email about a month later, she says. Coincidentally, the company was ready to fill the position around that time, and he was offered the job. &quot;This was someone who just kept us informed of his status and interest level in the company,&quot; notes Ms. McWhirter. &quot;He asked us to consider him in the future and we did.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In some cases, following up may require several calls or emails over time, says Ms. Shober. One a month is sufficient, she says. A job hunter who was denied a sales position at Professional Document Solutions in March called Ms. Shober once a month for three months afterward. &quot;She took a risk again and again, which showed determination and confidence,&quot; she says. &quot;She was professional and polite, each time thanking me for taking her call.&quot; When the company later decided to create a new sales position, the former candidate was offered the job, and she accepted, says Ms. Shober.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;4. Request feedback.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Following a rejection, ask interviewers for advice on how you could have performed better, suggests Andrea Hough, senior vice president, recruiting manager, at Wachovia Corp., a banking institution based in Charlotte, N.C. &quot;You might say, &#39;If I were to show up again, what would you want me to do differently?&#39; That demonstrates a sincere interest in personal development and career progression,&quot; she explains.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Be professional, even if you don&#39;t like what you hear, warns Ms. Hough. She recalls a candidate for a middle-management position who took issue with feedback he&#39;d received after being declined a job. &quot;He started to argue some of the developmental points, which showed a lack of maturity and a true lack of commitment for personal development,&quot; she says. He might have gotten the job had he reacted differently, she adds, because the winning candidate declined it.&lt;/p&gt;

Sarah E. Needleman

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