<p>“How is a menial job a bad thing?”</p>
<p>It is bad because it shows you could not get anything else. </p>
<p>“Are you trying to say that a gap in one’s resume is better than a non-skilled job?”</p>
<p>No, I never said that. </p>
<p>“If so, I’m not sure where you’re applying to jobs, but I don’t know of anybody who would rather see nothing than something.”</p>
<p>Absolutely. Volunteer, take a couple community college classes, work on a project. All of that is looked upon much better than if you worked a job picking trash for 6 months.</p>
<p>“Without arguing over reality, is there any reason for you not to ask why you were not chosen? Saying, “this probably won’t happen” in this sense adds absolutely no value for someone. Asking why you were not chosen for a job poses the applicant no risk because the worst that happens is that you don’t find out anything, and the best that happens is that you learn something to improve for next time.”</p>
<p>@chrisw: The reality is that more often than not, they won’t tell you. I am neither advocating nor discouraging rejected applicants from asking, I am merely correcting a previous poster who said that you will often get a response. That was the entire point of my two little sentences that you took issue with.</p>