How to Develop Career Resilience

In the first of this latest series of blogs, I discussed career resilience as an essential way to guide yourself through the uncertainties of today’s modern workplace.

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Quite simply, ‘career resilience’ is the ability to spring forward from changes and challenges at work.

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Everyone is different.

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Some career people are born with natural resilience and are less affected by stressful situations. Others are more vulnerable to the challenges of everyday career pressures.

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But remember, regardless of where you are on the spectrum, it’s possible to build your resilience.

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An important way to cultivate resilience is to shift your perspective.

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If you’re vulnerable to stress, you probably believe life is determined by external forces more powerful than you are.

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You think you’ve no control over what happens and that it doesn’t pay to try hard because things rarely work out in your favour.

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On the other hand, researchers have identified three personality characteristics of resilient employees - feeling in control of your career, possessing the ability to face challenges and a strong commitment to stay on track.

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Instead of falling victim to stress, why don’t you instead accept failure as an essential stepping-stone to career success.

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Give yourself permission to make the mistakes necessary to get where you want to go.

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The more you accept failure, the more opportunities you’ll have to accept success and spring back higher than you fall.

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Here are my key tips for building career resilience:

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• Establish clear and concise career goals – having an ‘eye on the prize’ will drive you through tough times.

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• Remember previous results at school, university, and work – you’re a successful individual. It can also help to remember when you weren’t resilient and consider what you did differently that time to avoid repeating it.

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• Turn failure into an opportunity for growth. What could you do better next time? Make sure you learn from every single experience.

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• Always embrace change. Instead of negativity, consider redundancy as an opportunity to reassess your career and start again in a different direction towards something more challenging, relevant, and fulfilling.

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• Look to family and friends. Try ‘buddying up’ with someone in a similar position as you for mutual support.

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• If an employer doesn’t recognise your skills and what you have to offer, remember it’s their loss and they’re not the right company for you.

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• Always remember ‘you can’t win if you don’t play!’ Go ahead and apply for that dream job or ask for that promotion. Don’t worry if it doesn’t work out – everyone gets knocked down sometimes. Pick yourself up, dust yourself down, and spring forward to grasp the next opportunity.

Look out for the next articles in this series – “The Importance of Career Resilience,” and “The Benefits of Career Resilience.”

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If you need further information about these approaches, or any other resilience topic, please contact [email protected].