Jobs @ Career Consulting Limited

Return to career-consulting-limited.com
Managing
People
Managing Your Career
CV Examples
Coaching
Cover Letter Examples
Pre-Employment Tests


Tips for Handling On the Job Setbacks


If you've chosen a business career, you will inevitably experience some type of setback. And whether your pet project is canceled, your performance review is a bust, you get turned down for a promotion, or you're asked to leave the company, setbacks hurt big time. Nevertheless, if you start thinking of yourself as a victim or allow yourself to lapse into prolonged negativity, you won't be hurting anyone except yourself. Worrying until you get sick, abusing drugs or denying that you've reached an impasse won't help either. The best strategy for making a comeback is to recognize the reality of the situation, acknowledge your feelings and find a way to cope productively. Here are some other tips you might find helpful:

* Remind yourself that in a month, this will be a memory. When setbacks happen, the tendency is to feel like your bad luck will last forever. By keeping in mind that the situation is temporary, you'll be strong enough emotionally to take the necessary steps to overcome your misfortune.

* Recognize that a setback does not make you a total failure. Treat your setback as the isolated incident that it is. Regardless of what happened, chances are it's not going to significantly affect your life one way or the other. And I don't know any successful people who've learned the right way to do things without trying several wrong ones first.

* Care for your self-esteem. Your identity and self-worth are too precious to leave in the hands of the volatile business world. Your job does not define who you are. You existed before it and will exist after. In the meantime, rather than focusing on your own inadequacies, remind yourself that you are doing the best you can under the circumstances.

* Reach out to your support systems. During a crisis, it always helps to know you are not alone and that you are justified in feeling the way you do. Instead of withdrawing from the people you care about, make an effort to connect with them and lean on them for support. Your network of friends and family is most critical, but you can also receive comfort and insight from spiritual support systems and prayer as well.

* Look for humor in the situation. Having a good laugh can counteract the effects of stress and restore your sense of perspective and your ability to think clearly. It's been proven that when one is happy, the body recovers more quickly from the biological arousal of upsetting emotions. Use whatever humor floats your boat - corny, silly, dry or satirical - as long as it makes you crack a smile.

* Be good to your body. As we've talked about, regular exercise and relaxation techniques like stretching, meditating or doing yoga are great ways to reduce negativity and get back on track. Eating reasonable portions of healthy foods can also increase your overall well being while you are recovering from the setback.

* Commit yourself to a new project. New goals and projects provide fresh perspective and a sorely needed dose of enthusiasm. You'll be motivated to work harder and will probably be too busy to think much about the setback.

About The Author

Alexandra Levit worked for a Fortune 500 software company and an international public relations firm before starting Inspiration @Work, an independent marketing communications business. She's the author of They Don't Teach Corporate in College: A Twenty-Something's Guide to the Business World (Career Press 2004; http://www.corporateincollege.com). This excerpt was reprinted, with permission of the publisher, from THEY DON'T TEACH CORPORATE IN COLLEGE © 2004 Alexandra Levit. Published by Career Press, Franklin Lakes, NJ. All rights reserved.


MORE RESOURCES:
Careers  University of Northern Colorado



Supply Chain  Lowe's



Careers  City of Phoenix (.gov)




Working for ICE  ice.gov



Careers  City of Ontario, California (.gov)


Careers | Home  USDA (.gov)

Careers at FEMA  FEMA.gov



Careers and Jobs at CRS  Catholic Relief Services

Careers - MDOT  Maryland.gov

Careers  Baxter

Current Job Opportunities  City of Keene (.gov)

Work at Fairfield  Fairfield University

Jobs  City of Rochester, New York (.gov)


Employment Opportunities | Game Commission  Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (.gov)


Careers at USCIS  USCIS (.gov)


Careers at TWU  Texas Woman's University


Work at Butler  Butler University

Employment | Department of Corrections  Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (.gov)

Water Services Careers  City of Phoenix (.gov)

Job Search Results  UnitedHealth Group Careers

Work With Us  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (.gov)


Careers at Willamette  Willamette University

Careers  Johnson & Johnson

Career Opportunities  Gilead Sciences



IOM career gateways  International Organization for Migration

Careers  Washington State University

Jobs at Liberty University  Liberty University

Careers  BASF

Careers at the IOC  Olympics.com

Careers at Broward Health  Broward Health



Jobs and careers | Veterans Affairs  VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs


Student internships at J&J  Johnson & Johnson Careers



Work for the City of St. Louis  City of St. Louis, MO (.gov)


Careers  WVDE

Careers  The Ocean Cleanup



UF Health Careers  UF Health Careers

Careers in data science  Johnson & Johnson Careers


Job Seekers  Illinois Human Resources

Careers  CrowdStrike


Careers  KPMG

Careers at Union  Union College

March 2025 Preview: What to Expect in the Jobs Report  Center for Economic and Policy Research

Career Opportunities  Advantage Solutions


Careers at Balfour Beatty  Balfour Beatty





Job Opportunities  Bellevue School District



The Job Market Is Frozen  The Atlantic

Careers  Euromonitor


Provincial Government Job Opportunities  Government of Prince Edward Island

Current opportunities  Turner & Townsend







Work at UI Health Care | University of Iowa Health Care  University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center




WORK AT LVMH  LVMH



Work with us  JPMorganChase

Need More Information?
Site Home | Site Map | Links | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
© Career Consulting Limited.com 2011

tumblr visit counter