Hitting career doldrums? Try these tips on getting motivated again

Most peoples' careers never go in a straight upward path. Sometimes, employees can get stuck for awhile on a plateau, perhaps because they have had some setbacks. What do you do - especially in those critical phases of your career - when you have the feeling that you are no longer moving forward?

"It's a question of attitude as to how you handle such situations," comments Reinhild Fürstenberg, founder and director of the career counselling company Fürstenberg Institut in Munich. What this entails, she says, is to be clear in your mind what your goal is at that moment. "The task of someone who is ill is to get well again."

Similarly, during a dry spell in your career, it can help to remind yourself of one thing: It is now your job to work specifically toward improving the situation. This applies even if you first need some time out before you can throw yourself back into professional projects. "The important thing is to take control of the situation yourself," she says.

Here are four steps that can help.

1. Motivating yourself to keep going

Someone who's been passed over for a promotion or has failed in seeking a pay increase often gets stuck in a motivational hole. Author and career counsellor Branko Woischwill in Schwedt advises setting small, achievable milestones to create a sense of accomplishment. This can spur you on to keep going. It is also helpful to visualise long-term career goals, for example using vision boards or mind maps, Woischwill adds.

In some situations, such as losing one's job, there is perhaps no good solution immediately available, Fürstenberg admits. "Then I can say to myself: 'This is just a lot of rubbish. You have to accept it. Putting up with it is also part of the job'," she says.

However, your basic attitude and conviction are important: I will get out of the trough again at some point. To do this, you have to get support - especially after drastic experiences - so that you can regain your self-confidence.

2. Looking at a setback as a chance for professional development

Woischwill acknowledges that professional setbacks can be discouraging and can slow down your career advancement. "It is important not to regard these events as personal defeats but rather as a chance for your further development," he says. The author recommends analysing each incident objectively and preferably putting your thoughts down in writing. This is crucial in order to recognise where there is potential for improvement - and to come up with some concrete measures. Professionals can, for example, work on their negotiating skills or optimise their personal performance.

Career counsellor Fürstenberg says that professional low points can be a chance to think about whether you perhaps would like to try heading in another direction. She recommends asking yourself: What is it that I really enjoy doing in my everyday life? What are my skills, what am I particularly good at?

Another strategy that can help with career reorientation is to randomly search job adverts, keeping one key question in mind: What in the adverts really appeals to me? Is it a different role, such as a small management position, or the exact opposite? Do I want to develop professionally or personally?

It is also worthwhile, for the sake of orientation, to talk with others, be they coaches, labour office experts or friends and relatives who are professionally close. "An approach that I also think a lot of is simply to try something else out," says Fürstenberg. This could be an internship or a job interview, for example. That way, you can quickly ponder the question: "Is this an idea that looks good enough in practice for me to want to pursue it?"

3. Stopping the negative thought-spiral

Professional setbacks often trigger negative thoughts and emotions. One might be the feeling of wasting valuable time in a phase which is actually meant to see a major career advancement. You have to free yourself from such thoughts, the experts say. "Career is only one path that I am moving along," Fürstenberg comments. "But there are also other paths that I can take."

What is meant by a "successful career" is something that people must define for themselves. "What counts is not just the position, or the car or the salary," Fürstenberg says. Supposed job setbacks can also be the start of a satisfying career that you can personally evaluate as "Those were really great years."

Woischwill cites other aspects. "Career downturns are common and can be caused by company restructuring, changes in market conditions or personal circumstances," he notes. What is important is to maintain a balanced view and recognise that career downturns are often temporary and can be part of a longer career path.

"Every period of life can be valuable, depending on how we use it," says Woischwill. Professional success is not solely dependent on a certain age. "Many people also achieve considerable success in their careers later in life."

4. Analysing what went wrong

Of course, you don't have to sugarcoat everything. Anyone who has experienced professional setbacks and is treading water in their career should also use this phase to ask themselves: "What might have gone wrong? Where do I need to develop myself if I want to make progress?"

Fürstenberg says it can be frustrating to realise that you yourself had a part to play in some of the issues. But analysing matters is the only way to work through them. "In this respect, there is no lost time for me," she says.