I’m a Career Coach who is passionate about helping early-career professionals navigate corporate life and ultimately, get promoted. I share strategies, frameworks, and insights I wish I’d had when I started.
But today, I want to be transparent with you, because understanding me helps you understand why I teach what I do, and how I know it works.
The Story Behind the Lesson
Early in my career, I moved fast. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant with first-time passes and I was promoted to manager after just 3.75 years, when the typical pathway is 5. This is one of the quickest timelines of audit graduate to manager promotions in the firm, if not country. It felt incredible and was my validation that hard work, visibility, and focus paid off.
But fast forward a few years, and I hit a moment I didn’t expect: I missed my Senior Manager promotion in my sixth year.
After a strong run of momentum, that “no” was hard to hear. I remember feeling disappointed, especially as I couldn’t have worked any harder, so how could I have fallen short?
But here’s the truth: that missed promotion, in hindsight, reconfirmed what I’d learnt about growth, leadership, and self-awareness in my earlier success but taught me more than I’d have learnt had I been successful.
It also brought along all of the emotions you have to face head on and to truly understand the courage it takes to pick yourself back up.
What You Need to Know About Me
If you’re a few years into your career and trying to find your footing, here’s what’s important to know:
I’ve been where you are.
I’ve been the high achiever, the “go-to” person, the one who gets told I’m on track for big things.
I’ve also been the person who did almost everything “right”. I adopted a growth mindset, did my job well, networked, sought feedback, and still didn’t get the outcome I wanted.
So when I teach about promotions, visibility, mentors, or navigating corporate systems, it’s not theory. It’s lived experience, from both the wins and the setbacks.
I know what it feels like to be disappointed. I know the mental battle of wondering if you should’ve spoken up more or handled things differently. And I know what it takes to reset, rebuild, and come back stronger.
What I Was Afraid to Share
When I first missed that promotion, I was slightly apprehensive to talk about it. It’s much easier sharing a successful promotion online than a rejection.
I worried it would make me look less credible. How could I teach people about career progression when I’d just been told “not yet”?
And, honestly, although I’m naturally quite resilient, I felt somewhat exposed. When you’ve built your identity around achieving, it’s confronting to admit you didn’t hit the next milestone.
But avoiding the story doesn’t serve anyone, least of all the people I want to help. Because if I only ever shared the highlights, you’d never see the real work behind growth.
The Reality Behind Promotions
Promotions aren’t purely about talent or performance. They’re about timing, visibility, perception, and advocacy. There’s a process. There’s others also striving for promotions where the numbers are fixed.
You can tick all of the boxes and still not move up, not because you’re not capable, but because the system isn’t always linear or predictable. You can also just fall short and that’s ok too.
And that’s the real lesson: you can’t control every outcome, but you can control your response.
When I missed that promotion, I initially used it as data, not defeat.
I sought feedback to find out where I could’ve done things differently. I also had to really sit down with myself and reflect on my last year in detail to see where I could’ve done things differently and where improvements could’ve been made. I had to understand what was truly missing, but ultimately accept the decision with peace so I could move forward.
In hindsight, I can see key differences between my case for double promotion that was successful, in comparison to my Senior Manager missed promotion.
What I Want You to Take Away
If you’re in those early years of your career, ambitious, driven, maybe even a little impatient, I get you.
You don’t need perfection. You need awareness.
You need to understand how you’re perceived, where you add value, and how to demonstrate readiness for more.
Setbacks don’t erase progress. They refine it.
And if you can learn to handle disappointment with curiosity instead of shame, you’ll move forward faster than you think.
How This Shaped What I Teach Now
My missed promotion didn’t derail me, it reshaped me. If anything, it gave me the opportunity to align my current career path against my future goals and the courage to trust my inner voice to take the leap for a redirection.
It’s the reason I focus so much on visibility, mentors, feedback, and advocacy in everything I teach. It is also a key part of why I also realised you do need to sometimes go back to the basics of really understanding what the new title requires from you.
This really is the messy, human side of corporate life that no one really prepares you for… until now.
Final Thoughts
I share this story not as a setback, but as proof that growth isn’t linear.
Your career may not always be a straight ladder. It’s usually a series of growth, lessons, and opportunities to show resilience and self-leadership.
Because the truth is, you don’t need everything to go perfectly to move forward. You just need to know how to turn every experience, even a missed promotion, into momentum.
Final words: I’ve learned to value transparency more than shame. We all face setbacks, especially in seasons where survival feels like the priority. But those moments teach us the most. I’m grateful for every lesson and I hope my story helps you find meaning in yours too.
For a practical, actionable roadmap to accelerate visibility, strengthen relationships, and get noticed, download my free 6 Quick Wins Cheat Sheet designed specifically for early-career corporate professionals like you.
