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With artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly integrated into recruitment processes, understanding the emotional impact of rejection by algorithmic versus human agents is crucial. This study examined emotional reactions and coping strategies following online job application rejections from either a human or an algorithmic decision-maker. Quantitative analyses revealed no significant differences in immediate emotional reactions between conditions (negative emotions: p =.070, d = -0.33; positive emotions: p =.201, d = -0.22). In contrast, significant group differences emerged in maladaptive coping: applicants rejected by humans reported more rumination (p =.004, d = -0.51) and self-blame (p =.009, d = -0.46) than those rejected by algorithms. Positive reappraisal, an adaptive strategy, did not differ significantly (p =.311, d = -0.17). Qualitative analyses revealed nuanced differences in how applicants explained their rejection: algorithmic rejections were more frequently attributed to impersonal mismatch criteria (e.g., to be a better fit for a different task), whereas human rejections often triggered personal inadequacy beliefs (e.g., to have sent a weak application or to be worse than other candidates) that may foster maladaptive strategies such as rumination and self-blame more strongly. These findings suggest that while immediate emotional responses to rejection appear comparable, human rejection may carry greater long-term psychological risks due to higher reliance on maladaptive coping. Practitioners should therefore consider not only short-term emotional outcomes but also longer-term psychological implications when designing rejection communication. Although human rejections may not feel worse in the moment, they may prompt more harmful self-focused coping over time. Rejection by humans may leave deeper scars than rejection from machines – not because of how it feels in the moment, but because of how we cope with it. Arlinghaus, C. S., Schedler, C. J., & Maier, G. W. (2025). "Why Always Me?" Rumination and self-blame are stronger after human than algorithmic rejection in job applications. In Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (pp. 29-39). https://doi.org/10.1145/3765766.3765782