Having been on both sides of the coin I can tell you that if/when i send an application, I know it is another piece of paper on a mountain. I have come to expect that it will either mature into a job or get lost in the post/email ether and nothing in between. If I do get a response I am simply surprised and nothing more.
I know how challenging it is for recruiters and I also know how frustrating it is for candidates.
When young and unemployed I estimate I applied to over 800 companies world wide and received maybe 50 responses. Not typical I know as I took a very unscientific approach to applications, but that's life.