I applied for a ton of jobs after finishing grad school. I dug up the spreadsheet and, nearly five years later, I still haven't heard from > 50 percent of them.

I applied for a ton of jobs after finishing grad school. I dug up the spreadsheet and, nearly five years later, I still haven't heard from > 50 percent of them. It's understandable that companies don't put effort into candidates that got screened out automatically or by HR (though really, how much work would a form email be). However, a few of these places spent literally thousands of dollars (transcontinental flight, hotel, rental car, plus a day worth of interviews). A short email afterward really seems like the least they could do!