Any polite reply is good
Yes, I agree that any polite reply is nice. I was shocked recently when, having turned down a company's low salary offer via email, the recruiter who got me the interview never acknowledged my rejection. Then she called back about another position and seemed to have forgotten that she had arranged an interview for me the previous month.
I just got a rejection letter that ran very close to this one. "Your background is good, but the other candidates were also highly qualified...". I do appreciate a prompt, polite letter, but nowadays it seems that is considered optional. I consider no reply just bad form.
What really took the sting out of the last rejection letter was the suggestion that I would be suitable for a different position. This was followed up with an email soliciting my re-application. Can't beat that, eh? I guess they really were impressed with my qualifications.
Now the question is, how do I write back and tell them I'm not interested at this time without implying that I am not interested in working there later. Having interviewed there, I decided I preferred where I am working now, but things have a way of changing and, who knows, maybe next year I will be back out there looking.
