Sooner or later you'll look to get promotion in your company. But not every candidate ca be successful and sometimes that unlucky candidate may be you. How you respond when you don't get promotion can be just as important, if not more important, then getting the job you wanted. How you bounce back from not winning promotion will seriously impact your next shot of moving up the career ladder.
So here are a few steps of what to do when you don't get the promotion you wanted.
1. Stay calm
No-one want to hear bad news but it i very important to stay calm. The last thing you want to do is have a melt-down, get angry at your boss and burning bridges that are beyond repair. After all, you were looking for promotion rather than looking to get fired.
Staying calm but saying you feel disappointed is good. It shows your boss that you are level-headed and can deal with stress positively, which will stand you in good stead if you look for promotion in the future.
2. Take your mind off it
If you don't get the promotion you were looking for try not to dwell for very long on being unsuccessful. Not getting promotion doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you weren't right for a step up at that time. So, take your mind of it by spending time doing something you really enjoy. Distracting yourself will activities you like will enable you to think positive thoughts rather than thinking yourself as a failure.
Spend time with family or friend, have a good time and be thankful for everything you have right now. After all there will be promotions to be had in the future, but what you have right now is what really counts.
3. Ask for feedback
Anyone who fails to get a promotion should always ask for feedback from the interviewer. They will highlight some issues that you had never considered before aiming for promotion. Getting constructive feedback is the first step on the path to improving your performance and improving your chances of winning promotion in the future. Rememver nterviewers love to hear of a time that you learnt from your mistakes and turned them into strengths.
4. Starting planning for your future promotion now
Okay, this time you didn't get the promotion you wanted. But armed with feedback from your interviewer you can use the whole process as a learning experience that will help you achieve a promotion next time round. You can start by looking to improve your performance, showing your boss that you're committed to your job and will seek promotion in the future.
5. Learn the skills you need to get your promotion
Whether you need to work on soft skills like communication and diplomacy or you need to learn essential new technical skills needed for your future role, you should start to gain these skills straight away.
To help you focus on the steps needed following these points:
- Keep working on your weaknesses while maintaining your strengths
- Keeping asking for regular feedback from the people above you
- Ask the advice of co-workers - you work with them every day so their input will be invaluable
6. Highlight all your good work
Typically the people who win promotion are the people who celebrated their successes loud and clear. No one is asking you to become arrogant but the best way for your boss to value what you do and consider you for promotion is to show them what value you bring to the organisation. Tell the decision makers what successes you have achieved and highlight how you are working hard to continue to develop and build on these acheivements.
7. Reassess your job
Not winning promotion might mean that you reassess your position at your current organisation. Perhaps you have hit your perceived limits at work. Perhaps applying for a job elsewhere is required. If so, start looking around to find another job in your current field that will offer promotional opportunities in the future or make a change in direction completely and try something new that you think you will enjoy.
Either way, continue to do a stellar job in your current role as you'll want to leave your current place of work with a glowing reference. Parting on bad terms is never the best way to find a new job.
