You have been demoted
Being demoted is mercifully rare, but if it happens, it's easy to feel like you’ve suffered the ultimate career setback. Unlike redundancies, which can usually be explained away by difficult trading conditions, with demotion it’s hard to shake off the feeling that the decision was based entirely on poor performance. This isn’t necessarily the case, though, as people can be demoted because of structural reorganisations within a business, for example.
‘The first thing you may be thinking is that you are an utter failure if this happens to you,’ says business coach Nimisha Brahmbhatt (www.nimishabrahmbhatt.com). ‘Thinking that way is natural – so try and make sure you catch yourself before you do that. It's important to remember that a demotion means that you are dropping a level according to someone else’s standards. Because of that, your personal resolve is vital.’
The first thing to do, she says, is to get in touch with your line manager to ask for a debrief about why the decision was made. ‘Feel free to challenge this – get HR along if necessary – and constructively state why you disagree,’ she says. ‘Ask what your employer feels would be the best way for you to progress back up the ladder.’
You may, of course, be fighting a lost cause – once a decision has been made it can be nigh on impossible to see it reversed. But all is not lost, and Brahmbhatt says that there are positives to be gleaned from a situation even as dire and embarrassing as this is. ‘Once you can see that you don't fit into someone else’s set of standards, it gives you control,’ she says. ‘You
can either choose to adapt – which is perfectly fine, if you agree with the parameters you were measured under – or you can walk away knowing that this isn't where you want to be.’
Building on the first choice, you can take the criticism and learn how to up-skill yourself. ‘It's actually a really good opportunity to up-level yourself and invest in your self-development,’ says Brahmbhatt. ‘That way, you will be in with a better chance of promotion next time – or you can find somewhere where the parameters are more in line with your characteristics.’
Don’t do this: accept your manager’s assessment as gospel. ‘Don’t curl up in a ball and start thinking you're the biggest failure on the planet,’ says Brahmbhatt. ‘Chill out! You still have a job, and if they are keeping you around it means they still think you have value to offer.’