Bitterness is a Pill You Take Yourself Expecting Someone Else to Die.

It’s easy to be bitter, especially when talking about your career. Sally got the job you wanted, or Bob made you look bad. Pat makes more than you and does so much less. I’m sure you can come up with more and certainly worse.

But what does being bitter — a natural human reaction, by the way — do for you? Yes, it gratifies your ego. That’s not entirely bad in the short term, but in the long run, not at all productive.

What can I say? Get over it. Bitterness is a quick path to career destruction.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not at all easy to do. Some people carry career bitterness over minor issues for years. The result? It shows in how they work in their current job. Worse yet, it carries into how they interview for their next job. Whether they say it or not, it surfaces in their attitude and approach.

How is this a career move? Forget? Maybe. Forgive? Definitely … if not for the sake of the forgiven, for you. Taking the bitterness pill doesn’t kill them, but it could kill your career.