What being runner-up can teach you about winning
Three Olympians stand on their stair-step pedestals, in order of victory. Who’s the most miserable? Second place. Whether an athlete eyeing the gold medalist, or an executive who narrowly lost out on a corner office job, the runner-up’s mental refrain is the same, notes executive coach Brad Stulberg: “I just almost made it." And quickly, “you start to wonder, well, am I ever going to make it?" Call it the curse of the silver medalist.
You survive rounds of interviews, collecting positive feedback all the while, only to be told your résumé is missing a key ingredient. Or the promotion went to somebody whose “turn" it was. Or, you’re given no explanation at all.
More people are feeling the sting. Companies that rushed into the hiring frenzy of 2021 and 2022 are now carefully calibrating their staffing levels. Some are culling middle managers, leaving fewer opportunities to ascend.
The percentage of people promoted at U.S. employers reached 7.3% in 2022, according to data from payroll-services provider ADP. In 2023, it dropped to 6.5%.
Today’s runner-up for a job probably would have gotten an offer a couple of years ago, says Karen Vladeck, a legal recruiter based in Washington, D.C. If you were good, employers would just make room. “Firms and companies just don’t have budgets for that right now," she says.
Coming in second doesn’t have to send you into a spiral. If you regain your confidence and focus, and get back on the boss’s radar, the next opportunity could be even better than the thing you failed to win first. If you’re ambitious, it’s inevitable that you’ll come in second at some point.
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