Consult Carson 5/2: “I’m burnt out with nowhere to go. Help!”

From today’s mailbag: “I’m completely burnt out on my job! I’ve been passed up for promotions and just feel like there’s nowhere to go. I’ve applied to jobs inside and outside the company but get nowhere. Help!”

Carson: Hello there! Your affliction is common, but fortunately it is often misdiagnosed as burnout. Help is on the way.

Believe me, there is a possibility you have achieved at your current role everything you believe there is to achieve. This is why it is so important to have career conversations with others who can aid you in getting where you want to be. Your manager is responsible for your success – hopefully they know that! It is not anyone’s responsibility to promote you; you’ve got to make sure to engage and initiate these conversations with supervisors and other influencers in your organization. If you are turned down for a job, did you reach out to the rejecting hiring manager and request advice or guidance on how you may parlay your skills into their department or into this role?

Michael Jordan, probably the greatest competitor ever, achieved quite a bit of success early and often in his career – but (as books about him attest) he constantly presented new challenges to himself and requested that his coach, Phil Jackson, did the same in order to keep him motivated and hungry. He even left and came back – twice – because he had something to prove both times. Are there metrics you are NOT currently doing well in? Are there areas of the business you are uncomfortable with that you can learn and therefore make yourself more valuable? Ask your manager to work with you on a plan to get you ready for the next level. Once you have truly accomplished everything you set out to do together, the proof’s in the pudding.

As for being passed up for promotions, always remember that when a promotion occurs you literally have to be the #1 choice in all areas being sought out of however many people applied. You may very well be qualified or overqualified! But we all have to pay our dues – sometimes, multiple times.

Are you truly “burnt out”? Or are you just out of love with the job you promised to love when you interviewed for it? We must constantly transform ourselves back to who we were on interview day. We entered into a contract with our company; they agreed to train and pay us. We agreed to be that eager beaver who would take the world by storm. Are we still holding up our end of bargain? And – yes – I know that sometimes companies fail to live up to theirs. But is the grass truly greener starting all over at another company and moving down the ladder or staying on the same rung for even longer? Or can you grin and bear it, weather the storm, stay ahead in the race and ensure you are the obvious choice the next time a promotion comes along?

In my experience, I’ve always found that when I feel “burnt out” in a role, I create or find a new challenge to assist me in becoming more valuable, I continue to perform at a high level and I ensure that I’m a candidate every time a promotion comes up. Eventually, you will get it. Don’t give up. Monotony in a job is better than the misery of not having one! And if you do leave your company because there literally is nowhere to go (sometimes this can be the case!), be smart, leave on good terms, don’t burn bridges and make sure that the new role you go to offers the longterm plan you desire. Don’t settle.

Hang in there!

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Carson V. Heady posts for “Consult Carson” serving as the “Dear Abby” of sales and sales leadership. You may post any question that puzzles you regarding sales and sales leadership careers: interviewing, the sales process, advancing and achieving. You will also be directly contributing to his third book, “A Salesman Forever.”

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Carson V. Heady has written a book entitled “Birth of a Salesman” that has a unique spin that shows you proven sales principles designed to birth in you the top producer you were born to be.

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