The Promotion That Got Away, And How To Learn From It

Eilene Zimmerman writes the “Career Couch” column for The New York Times. I was particularly impressed with her timely advice in her September 27th, 2009 column, “The Promotion That Got Away,” and I wanted to share some of her helpful suggestions.

1. You’ve just been passed over for a promotion you feel you deserved. You’re shocked, but don’t want to mishandle the situation and make things worse. What should you do?

First, calm down. You may feel as if you’ve just sustained a body blow, but you need time to put this decision into perspective and analyze it. If you’re feeling emotional, try to say very little at first, because you could unwittingly end up doing something counterproductive, says John Beeson, founder of Beeson Consulting in Manhattan.