Rebuild Your Confidence After a Job Setback and Boost Your Career

Job setbacks can shatter your self-confidence and make it difficult to stay positive.

Luckily, however, they don’t have to ruin you or your career. You can rebuild your confidence again and get your career back on track.

Follow these strategies:

1. Let the wounds heal before revisiting the setback. It may be tempting to focus on the issues that led to the job setback, but you need time to heal.

• Once you’re ready to address the issues, then you can look over the events. This will give your confidence a chance to mend itself.

• Ask yourself questions to learn more from the experience. What lessons have you learned? Do you need to correct something to avoid similar challenges in the future? Do you understand how the job issues developed and what could have prevented them?

• Answering these questions will help you find closure. This is important for boosting your confidence.

2. Develop your skills. Developing your skills will help increase your self-confidence. You can learn from the job mistakes of the past and work on specific details to prevent them from happening again.

3. Take small risks to boost your confidence. Try a new project at work or start a new job.

• By facing your fears, your self-confidence will begin to grow. Carefully weigh the consequences of new ventures and take small risks. It’s important not to dwell on the job setback.

4. Avoid isolation and seek out your friends. Isolation can make positive thinking more difficult.

• Your friends can offer valuable support. They can encourage you to try again and help you figure out effective ways to deal with all the emotions that you experience in a time like this.

• Ask for help and find new mentors. Mentors can reassure you while helping you develop new career paths. They can also help you network with new companies or peers to boost your confidence.

5. Remember the successes in your life. A job setback doesn’t define your entire life. Your life has multiple aspects beyond work, so it’s important to acknowledge and appreciate them. Analyze the successes in other parts of your life or consider past job successes.

• Are you proud of your healthy and strong family? Do you consider your ability to run a marathon a success? Do you appreciate the knowledge you gained while pursuing a graduate degree? All of these factors can help you increase your self-confidence and remind you of success.

6. Put things in perspective. Focus on the positive aspects of your life. Realize that the job setback provided a valuable learning opportunity and the chance to reevaluate your career.

7. Create new goals. New goals can help you feel accomplished and raise your self-esteem.

• The list should consist of a variety of goals ranging from small to big. For example, it can include going for a run every day or taking on a new project at work. If your confidence needs to be rebuilt, then consider doing one goal at a time.

A job setback can affect you emotionally, but it doesn’t have to destroy your confidence. You can overcome the setback and advance your career by practicing these strategies.