In the pursuit of success, experiencing career setbacks is inevitable. What defines these moments are how you handle the setback and what you make of it. These are great learning opportunities to add to your skill set, re-strategize, and plan your bounce back.
We will explore some of the ways you can get back on track when you experience career setbacks.
- Acknowledge your Emotions: Accept what has happened and how you feel about it. You’re hurt, sad, and wish you had done better. Count your losses, journal your emotions, and look at what is going on. Do this by taking a step back to see what went wrong by:
- Processing your thoughts.
- Talking to someone about it.
- Gaining a thorough perspective on the situation.
- Shifting your mindset from seeing it as a failure to seeing it as a learning curve.
- Objectively Analyze the Situation: What really went wrong? What actions led to this career setbacks? Look at the situation as it is. Did you just lose your job? Did you get a pay cut? Were you demoted? Is there something you could have done better? What have you learned from the situation? Could you have handled it differently? What could you have done differently? Do this without bias or blaming others and yourself. Tell it like it is. Your authenticity will help you decide how to address the situation, the steps to take, how to resolve it, and how to approach it with a growth mindset.
- Realign Your Goals: Decide on the path you want to take. Do you want to start over or change your career path? Revise the vision you’ve set for yourself, both long-term and short-term. Career setbacks are an opportunity to take a broad look and see if you still want to pursue that path or change plans.
- Start a Career Plan: A career plan is mapping out the trajectory you want to take and the direction you want your career to go. Go to the drawing board to decide what you want, where you want your career to be, and where you currently are . The career plan will include answering these questions: What do I want to do now? How long will it take for me to achieve it? How can I achieve these goals? What time do I block out to achieve this? Break it into short-term and long-term steps, and this will form the guide you follow to bounce back from your career setback.
- Invest In Knowledge: Learn, learn, learn. This is not a time to sit back. Start learning, and improving your skills—both soft and hard skills—that will help you when you’re ready to start applying for new jobs.
- Take Small Consistent Steps: Do something every day to get back on your feet, even if it’s as small as reading a book or researching topics in your field. Take daily steps that will bring you closer to achieving your goal.
- Celebrate Milestones: When you set a milestone and reach it, acknowledge it, and see it as a worthy accomplishment. Keep going. Don’t view the milestone as a full-stop but as a sign that things are improving and that you can do more.
- Start Applying: Apply for an internship if that’s where you’re at—don’t stay stuck in your career setbacks as if you can’t recover. Put serious effort into revamping your resume, apply to roles that challenge you, and build up from there.
Conclusion
Career setbacks are not the end of the road; they can signify a new beginning and a brighter future. Acknowledging your emotions, objectively analyzing the situation, realigning your goals, having a growth plan, investing in knowledge, taking steps toward your goals, and applying for roles are guaranteed ways to get you back on track, be best in your field, and fill the gap caused by the setback. You can do this!