firstly, the fact that many companies, after interviewing candidates, don't bother to contact interviewees afterwards is a big problem. it reflects personally on the people who run these companies and hire their workers. if your someone they want, they will kiss your ass to no end, but the second they don't want you, you're treated like a worthless piece of shit.
as i went through the recruitment process, i interviewed with a bunch of companies, from startups to larger, more established companies. i have to say that the situation was a lot more improved than a few years ago. a few years ago, i would talk to companies like ebay, and even getting all the way up to discussing salary, both ebay and the recruiters stopped talking to me abruptly, for unexplained reasons. i was pretty much put off paypal and ebay for those reasons.
this time around, it was mainly the startups that were pretty rude in notifying me that i was no longer being considered.
when i finally decided on a job, i was still in talks with several companies. i was sooo tempted to just stop responding to their emails, but instead i did the right thing and emailed them all personally, telling them that i had accepted another offer. most of the companies responded back congratulating me, and only a single startup didn't bother responding.
i am hopeful that we have turned the corner, and that being professional in one's correspondence, especially during the hiring process, is important.