How 'Failure' Can Lead To A Successful Career Change

Want to pursue a successful career change, but worried you’ll fail? You’re not alone. According to one report, adults are more afraid of failure than ghosts, spiders, or being home alone.

It’s easy to see why this is the case. Practically from birth, we’re hard-wired to laser-focus on success. We’re built to believe that if we stumble on the way to the top, the journey is ruined forever.

As such, there’s an abundance of people in this world who are consumed by a fear of failure. Or, they spend most of their time lamenting a past defeat, going over it again and again in their minds and allowing it to keep them frozen permanently in place.

These hard times are exactly what’s going to propel you forward as you start to write the next chapter in your career story

They remain stuck in jobs that drain the life and motivation out of them, simply because the unknown is a place that’s too scary to enter. They’d rather burn out in a job that doesn’t bring them joy rather than risk it all and wind up defeated.

Are you nervous and reluctant to experiment with your career because you’re worried you’ll fail and face disappointment? Are you still looking back on that recent failure and thinking it’s all you’ll ever amount to?

Maybe you were recently fired, and you’re stuck right in the middle of the muck and adversity of the aftermath.

What you’re going through right now isn’t the end. In fact, these hard times are exactly what’s going to propel you forward as you start to write the next chapter in your career story.

It’s time to change the narrative and remove the stronghold that the word failure” has over your life. What if you could reimagine that innate fear and view it not as an obstacle but as an opportunity for a successful career change?

When approached in a healthy way, failure can actually get you closer to your career goals than you ever imagined. Today, we’re talking about how you can use it to your advantage, allowing it to jumpstart your motivation and propel you toward Career Success.

Download Uvaro's Official Career Change Guide

Failure Helps You Find Out What You Like and Dislike

When a career-related doesn’t work out for you, it’s easy to assume it was all for nothing. Yet, when you take a step back, you can see what you learned along the way.

Take a job change, for instance. You might think that leaving one job for another means that you failed in your first role. However, you likely learned a ton in that position, even if it wasn’t the best fit for you.

For instance, you might have taken on a career that you thought was safe. You liked it well enough to pursue it initially, but later on, you discovered it wasn’t right.It didn’t make the best use of your talents. You didn’t feel challenged. Something just felt off.

That’s your gut, and it was smart to listen to it. Not every career you try will be a perfect fit. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth your time. Through those so-called failures” you can learn what you prefer. You discover which factors in a job are essential, non-negotiables, and which ones you’re willing to be flexible on.

When it’s time to pack up your desk and move on, you can take that knowledge with you. It will catalyze a successful career change, making the job hunt so much easier. You’ll already know what you’re looking for, and what to prioritize as you search for the right fit.

The alternative? Staying put in a job that you know isn’t right for you, just because you’re afraid of what lies on the other side. It’s easy to get stuck in this rut, mostly because it’s comfortable and safe.

However, you can only keep up the charade for so long...

Eventually, those nagging feelings of dread and discontent you feel will give way to outright frustration and burnout. By the time you reach that point, it won’t only be fear of failure holding you back. You could also experience a range of other mental, physical, and emotional issues, including chronic stress, depression, and anxiety.

Instead of allowing fear to keep your feet firmly on the ground, release that stronghold and give yourself permission to try something new.

While you’re still at your current job, start looking for ways to tap into your passions on the side. Explore your interests and exercise your talents, learning which types of work bring you alive and which ones don’t. When it’s time to look for something different, most of the hard work will already be behind you.

It Empowers Your Networking

Have you decided that the career you’re in just isn’t working for you? Before you chalk everything up to failure, think about all of the resources, experience, and connections you made there.

Even if you choose to leave, you can still take the time to connect with people inside and outside of your network. They may not be your co-workers, bosses, or partners any longer, but they may be able to help you find a job that fits your unique skill sets and abilities.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to your manager or even your colleagues for advice and guidance as you decide which professional direction you should go in. Not only could they be a wealth of knowledge and insight, but they could even be able to help you connect with someone who’s already working in the industry you’re eyeing.

You never know who will know someone who could change the trajectory of your career forever. From an acquaintance you barely know to your best friend, everyone has their own set of connections and all you have to do is ask.

Not only does this make it easier to transition away from your current role, but it could also help you land a new career in an industry that you never thought about pursuing.

This helps you turn a perceived failure into a launching pad for future career success. It also keeps those professional bridges intact in the event that you ever need to cross them again in the future. You never know when a connection from your past could help you open new doors, make a strategic connection, or unlock a new opportunity.

Your Skills Are Transferrable

So you didn’t end up loving the job you’re in. That’s OK! Chances are, you gained experience, knowledge, and new skills while you worked in your role.

While there may be some skills that are incredibly niche and job-specific, most are farther-reaching and have more widescale applications. If you can add them to your resume, it helps you to appear more versatile and flexible, which are two traits that prospective employers are always looking for.

Often, the skills you learn in one position can transfer over to a different role or even a different industry, helping you achieve a smoother, more successful career change. For instance, if you become an excellent communicator and negotiator during your time as a project manager, you can parlay those talents into a successful career in tech sales!

Both hard and soft skills can apply across myriad sectors. Hard skills are those that are teachable and easy to quantify, such as speaking a different language or tying a certain number of words per hour. Think about how many companies need people with those abilities, even if you weren’t technically trained in the role they’re advertising.

Then, there are soft skills, also known as people skills”. These are more innate, such as flexibility, leadership, and teamwork. These skills can be beneficial in many different roles, and the more you can hone them now, the better.

Even if you didn’t turn your current role into a lifelong career, consider how much you’ve learned and the abilities you’ve gained during your time there. If you can use those strengths to find a role that fits you better, then even if it ended, the experience was still a valuable one.

The Power of Failure to Spur a Successful Career Change

It’s time to stop viewing failure as a bad word, or something that we should avoid at all costs.

If you make a misstep in your career journey, resist the urge to stick your head in the sand and assume that the sky is falling all around you. Many times, the experiences that we view as setbacks are just setting us up for bigger, better things down the road.

Even if a particular professional pursuit doesn’t work out the way you imagined, you still expanded your network and gained new skills. You also figured out what works for you and what doesn’t, so it’s easier to find a great fit on the next go-round.

At Uvaro, we’re dedicated to helping you push your fear aside and achieve long-term Career Success. Our Career Success Catalog is filled with information on the workshops, courses, and other resources we offer to jumpstart your journey.

If you’ve decided it’s time to make a career change, you can also reference our Career Change Guide for tips and advice on how to navigate those next steps.

Failure doesn’t have to define you, but it can drive you. Let’s work together to make that true.