Dealing with Career Setbacks
McLaren Recruitment
As a specialist recruitment and HR consulting company we pride ourselves on delivering results, not surprises.
Whether it’s a result of redundancy, restructuring, missing out on a promotion or making a mistake, career setbacks can happen to anyone. While the circumstances can sometimes be out of your control, how you handle these kinds of challenges will determine how successfully you move forward.
If you let it, even the biggest disappointment can become your greatest tool. Our top tips are here to help you deal with career setbacks in a productive way so that you can confidently get back on track.
What went wrong?
It’s time to do some soul-searching and potentially have some uncomfortable conversations. It’s hard to move forward without a clear understanding of where you may have missed the mark. Kiwis are often accused of dancing around the subject when it comes to giving constructive feedback or worse yet, simply keeping our thoughts to ourselves. While that might save face in the short term, in the long run it’s a recipe for future disappointments.
If you’re going to seek feedback or have some conversations about where things have gone wrong for you career wise, make sure you’re having them with the people that’re going to provide you with the right insights. There’s nothing wrong with venting to friends and family, but remember they’ll be holding unconscious biases of their own and are far more likely to join your echo chamber rather than give you anything constructive to work with. If for example, you didn’t get the promotion you were hoping for, find the right time and space to speak with your manager about the reasons why.
Keep your own biases in check. It’s human nature to take credit for our own achievements and successes, while blaming others when things go wrong. We’ve also likely all had times in our lives where we can’t help but focus on the negative, sometimes at the expense of everything else. This way of thinking is known as self-serving bias and it’s something we’re all guilty of whether we realise it or not. Letting this kind of unproductive thinking get in your way will hinder your ability to do better in future.
On the hunt for your next role?
Take a look at the current vacancies we're working on! See something you like? Follow the link to learn more or get in touch with the team!
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You can find our current vacancies, job hunting advice, interview prep tips and more at mclaren.co.nz
We are proud to have remained New Zealand owned and operated, since opening in 1989. We’re also proud of our relationship with the not-for-profit sector. This business is personal to us. It’s about connecting people, not collecting commissions.