Advice for plan B after rejection

So I applied to 8 graduate schools (combination of PhD and Master's programs) and just got my first rejection. These are all programs in engineering, with the department being selected based on what research topics interested me the most. My GPA is weak (3.1 at a top 15 school), but my GRE's are better (88th percentile quantitative reasoning, 98th percentile verbal reasoning, and 80th percentile analytical writing). I have two years research experience with a professor at my university; no publications yet, but getting close possibly.

I haven't really seen advice forums for grad school until now, and was wondering what the best course of action would be if I get rejected from everywhere. I assume I need to work for a couple of years; is there a particular sort of job I should be looking at to make my application more attractive? What else makes an application better? I've spoken with professors whose research interested me at 6 of the schools I applied to (2 by email, 2 over the phone, 2 in person), so are there any other ways to connect better with the departments? I guess I just really appreciate whatever advice more knowledgeable people can provide me.