Failure in any sense is never an enjoyable experience. But when it involves your career, it can cause a huge amount of stress, both financially and emotionally.
And while it may feel like the end of the world, Life Balance Coach, Fiona Craig, said we need to put things into perspective.
1. Change your language
For a start, Craig wants us to stop using the world ‘failure’ and replace it with 'setback'.
“When you say that’s a setback already you feel that you’re going to move forward, it’s just a little blip in the road,” she explained.
2. Learn lessons
Whether it was an unsuccessful job interview, a business deal that went wrong, or perhaps you were let go from your job – whatever the case, Craig said there are always lessons we can learn.
“Delve a little deeper, what is it teaching? What is the lesson within the setback?” she said.
3. Get feedback
“When you have a career setback, if you can possibly get some feedback or find out what was the reason, is there something you can do so you don’t do that next time,” Craig advised.
If you’re unable to get feedback directly from your boss for example, she suggested going to HR or a trusted colleague.
If this isn’t an option, turning to professional help, such as a business coach or a life coach to provide guidance, is another possibility.
“Ask yourself what do you really want?”
4. Network
“Start networking but do it positively, look at building healthy relationships,” Craig said.
As the saying goes, “it’s not what you know but who you know”. So if you’re trying to bounce back from a setback having a great network of people around to offer advice, or even opportunities, will go a long way.
5. Follow a mentor
You can find yourself a mentor without even needing to have had a conversation with them.
Craig said she regularly follows people she admires, using sites such as Linkedin, to see what career path they have followed.
“Maybe there are one or two people you can follow and notice their journey of how they’ve got there,” she said, adding that this might lead you to take some extra courses and upskill.
6. Re-evaluate
When we’re in the middle of trying to reach our goal we can often get bogged down in the day to day and lose sight of what it is we want.
Craig advised people who have suffered a setback to step back, take a breath, and re-evaluate your goals and values.
“Ask yourself what do you really want?” she said.
