Ever since you worked with your company, you’ve always given your best. You believe you’re a productive team member and an asset to the organization. You know this because you usually get good performance reviews and your track record is impeccable. Naturally, you expect to be promoted when the opportunity for a promotion opened. However, it didn’t happen.
Unfortunately, this is a common reality. Setbacks such as this are an inevitable part of career advancement. It can be difficult to recover from the disappointment, but the thing is, you have to.
If you’ve recently experienced a major career disappointment, here are three ways you can try to help you recover.
1. Analyze what could have gone wrong
You need to be aware of the possible reasons why you didn’t get the promotion or advancement you expected. This way, you can work towards further improvement or decide what to do next — would staying in the same position be worth it?
Here are some of the possible reasons why you didn’t get that promotion:
- You didn’t fit the position’s requirements – Even if you’ve been doing great in your current position, it doesn’t always guarantee that your boss sees you as fit for the other position — at least not yet. There may be qualifications that you may still need to improve on.
- Someone else fit the position better – You’ve been working hard and you do your job well, you can give yourself that. However, you should remember that someone else may have been doing the same thing and they may have exhibited the specific skills needed for the position.
- You’re badly needed where you at – Maybe you’re just so great at doing your job that your boss can’t think of someone else who could replace you, so he or she decided to keep you in that position.
For your peace of mind, you may consider asking your manager why you weren’t promoted when you thought you would be. With you as one of the good employees, your manager might be more than happy to give you some clarity.
2. Reevaluate your goals
Once you’ve learned the real reason behind the rejection, it’s best to reevaluate your goals. You need to set time-bound and measurable professional goals that will help you move forward. For instance, do you want to pursue further education that will allow you to have an advantage? Do you want to attend more seminars? Maybe expand your network?
3. Consider your options
If you find setting new goals a bit challenging, reconsidering your options may help. When you know your career options, it will be easier to focus and envision your future.
Typically, you have three general options after a career setback:
If you’ve come to love your company, then staying to wait for the next opportunity may not be so bad. However, if you believe you’ve been stuck in your current position for so long and you can’t wait for the next promotion opportunity to come again, it’s alright to consider looking for that advancement from another company.
- Stay with the company, work hard like you’ve always done, and wait for the next promotion opportunity.
- Stay with the company and focus on a new career goal.
- Look for the advancement you want from another company.
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Photo by Saulo Mohana on Unsplash
