Each person has different ways to cope with tough times, and this year, there is a lot more to deal with every day. Not only are we in the midst of a pandemic that has been affecting our lives since March, the country’s economy has been negatively affected. And when that happens, sales reps’ jobs get that much more stressful, especially when they just got hired for a new position. According to Herman Dixon, writing for SellingPower, you may have some unhealthy coping mechanisms. Want to know how to keep a job once you have it? If you have any of these coping mechanisms, root them out before they negatively impact your job.

How to Keep a Job Once You Have it: Avoid Doing These 3 Things

Labeling Yourself as the Victim

When sales go awry, salespeople tend to console themselves by claiming to be the victim of circumstance. This is not how to keep a job once you have it. Yes, the odds may be stacked against you right now, but being a victim is a state of mind and an unhealthy coping mechanism. “It is a personal decision, realized or not, you have made to avoid accepting responsibility for the issues confronting you,” says Dixon. “You want others to take pity on you… even though you become more distant from addressing the issue at the forefront of your ‘pity party.’” Tough words to take in, but they’re true. Playing the victim puts you in a mindset that you can’t do anything to change your circumstance. But you can. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, learn from the failed sale, and make sure the next one doesn’t turn out the same way.

Denial

Many salespeople are in a slump right now, and you probably are too. There are a lot of changes that need to be made in order to continue to meet your sales quota, but if you’re trying to put on a brave face by denying that there are issues, you’re not helping yourself. In fact, you’re making things worse for yourself by bottling up your stress, anger, and sadness. This is why denial is a terrible coping mechanism. How to keep a job once you have it includes accepting when things are not going well. Talk with your manager about it and maybe request some one-​on-​one coaching to help you gain additional skills that could give you a leg up during your next sales pitch.

Blaming Others

It can be all too easy to look to blame other people when your sales numbers are down. You could blame other members of your team for not helping you get information you need or your boss for giving you more than you can handle during a pandemic. But at the end of the day, you’re the person you need to hold accountable when things go wrong. Blaming others is a coping mechanism that will not only stunt your growth, it could get you fired if your behavior toward your coworkers turns toxic.