How to Apply Stoic Principles to Your Career and Job Search

4 min readJul 9, 2023

There is a centuries-old philosophy that could help navigate your career and job search with greater confidence, composure and clarity. This philosophy is Stoicism and it is a powerful mindset that can offer a compass during these complex times in our professional lives.

The Principles of Stoicism

Originating from ancient Greece, Stoicism is a philosophy that encourages the development of self-control and fortitude as methods to overcome destructive emotions. Stoics believe that we don’t have control over what happens to us but we do have control over how we respond to external events pushed onto us, from our immediate emotional response to what action we decide to take next.

There are great books on Stoicism and none more so than by author Ryan Holiday who has published extensively on the philosophy. We recommend any of the following if you wish to explore the topic further and see how Stoicism has helped many entrepreneurs and politicians throughout history:

Boiled down to the four tenants of Stoicism, the philosophy can be explained in the following way. Wisdom in the Stoic sense is the ability to navigate complex situations with a clear and rational mind. Courage refers to the mental strength to confront pain, danger, uncertainty or intimidation. Justice speaks to fairness, equity and doing the right thing even when it’s hard. Lastly, temperance is about moderation and balance in all things and not going to extremes.

Stoic Benefits for Career Progression

Let’s address how Stoicism can benefit your career progression. The first principle to note is the Stoic practice of focusing only on what we can control. In a professional context, this means accepting that you can’t control the economy, company layoffs, or the actions of your boss or colleagues. But you can control your skills, knowledge, mindset, reactions, and work ethic.

This principle pushes us to put our energy into developing ourselves through self-learning, upskilling, networking or connecting with a mentor which can all lead to career growth. For instance you might not be able to control whether you get a promotion but you can develop yourself by improving your skills, invest time in networking and demonstrate leadership abilities which are all factors that increase your chances of moving up the ladder and securing the next promotion.

The virtue of Courage encourages us to face challenging situations head-on such as asking for a raise, switching to a new industry or addressing a conflict at work. A degree of courage is necessary to embolden ourselves and strive for lofty goals as we progress along our career. Having courage significantly impact your career progression, the path you ultimately choose, as it can lead to new opportunities and growth by not being afraid to make difficult decisions and taking direct action.

Wisdom helps us make sound decisions and gain deeper insights into our careers by removing ourselves from the equation and looking at the facts presented to us before we choose the appropriate decision. Justice ensures we remain ethical and maintain integrity in our professional dealings which is important to our network growth. Temperance helps us find work-life balance by not going into extreme work hours, preventing burnout and ensuring long-term career sustainability.

Stoic Principles in Job Search

When it comes to the daunting task of job searching, Stoicism can offer some profound guidance. Here are a few ways in which the principles of Stoicism can assist:

Accepting What You Can’t Control

Many elements of the job search are out of your hands. Things like the number of applicants for a position, the hiring manager’s mood on the day of your interview or a sudden freeze in company hiring due to macroeconomic conditions. Rather than stressing over these uncontrollable factors, Stoicism teaches us to focus on our actions which in this case would be crafting a compelling resume, preparing thoroughly for interviews and persisting in the face of rejection.

Courage to Take Risks

Job searching often involves stepping out of your comfort zone by putting yourself out there. Perhaps you’re changing careers to pursue a new challenge or learn something new, moving to a new city where you don’t have any connections or wishing to present a confident and competent persona during a job interview. The Stoic virtue of courage empowers us to take these risks, to face the unknown and potentially reap significant rewards.

Wisdom to Learn From Rejection

Rejection is a common part of job searching but Stoicism encourages us to see it as an opportunity for learning and growth rather than a personal failure. We can always take something away from our failures or rejections to build back better for our next attempt. By adopting this perspective of a growth mindset you’ll be more resilient and persistent in your search.

Temperance in Managing Your Efforts

Applying to every job you see can lead to burnout and piling rejections causing loss of self-esteem, making landing a job harder and harder. Temperance guides us to be selective with what jobs to apply for, balance our efforts to prevent stress and frustration, leading to a more effective and less stressful job search.

Stoicism isn’t an ancient philosophy with worn out and irrelevant advice. It’s a timeless guide for dealing with life’s challenges, including those in our careers and job searches. By embracing wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance, we can navigate these complex arenas with increased resilience, focus, and confidence. Take a leaf from the Stoic books and approach your professional path with a new perspective. There are always factors you cannot control or influence but there’s so much more within your control than you might think and you can find empowerment in taking action.