Failing is a Blessing in Disguise

A personal anecdote about learning from failure

“Thank you for your application and we appreciate your interest in working with us. At this moment, we are unable to proceed with your application.”

Dejected. Disappointed. Disheartened.

We have all received a rejection email at least once in our life. Personally, I’ve encountered my fair share of rejections however, we need to remember that failing is normal.

Being resilient is key to moving forward. Every time I was rejected, I reassessed which areas required improvements and how I can increase my probability of landing my next job. Failing made me identify my mistakes and understand why it happened. This is important as I was able to learn from it and never make the same mistake again.

With each rejection, I became more fearless. My desperateness exceeded fear and I ventured outside my comfort zone. I joined the executive team of university societies where I executed projects to build project management skills. With countless unfamiliar faces, I had to navigate working with everyone. This allowed me to network and build friendships.

I also cold called and emailed start-up companies regarding potential internships. In hindsight, this was frightening conversing with hiring managers while not explicitly asking for a job. Here, through trial and error, I learnt how to communicate in a professional manner which is a skill I uphold today.

By being fearless, it opened new opportunities as I landed my first internship through cold calling which introduced me to the world of fintech and start-ups. If I didn’t fail getting a big 4 internship at 19, I wouldn’t have found myself in the startup scene. I wouldn’t have reassessed myself. I wouldn’t have ventured outside my comfort zone. I wouldn’t have built my network.

If you’re in a similar situation, know that I’ve been there before and there is light after the tunnel. Here are my tips if you’re a penultimate student who didn’t get a summer internship:

1. Cold call and email

Reach out to start-ups and small companies via phone, email, or other methods such as LinkedIn. Make sure to maintain a professional manner and don’t bluntly ask for a job. Always introduce yourself first and then respectfully enquire about any available job positions.

2. Seek a mentor

If you know what role you want to work as, find someone currently in that role and receive mentorship from them. LinkedIn is a great place to find mentors. You could also have a mentor who is a new graduate as they’ve been through the job-hunting process recently.

3. Volunteer and upskill

You can volunteer in university societies to build soft skills and gain leadership experience. Non-profits are also a great place to volunteer especially in an administration and operations capacity. There are plenty of programs i.e. EntryLevel, Startmate and Reforge. Reassess your current skillsets and seek opportunities where you will grow.

4. Attend career fairs

You’ve come to the right place … Textbook Ventures runs an annual career fairs with start-up companies across the spectrum from early stage startups to unicorns. Our 2022 careers fair had 25+ start-ups in attendance including Atlassian, Tyro and Beem.

5. Start a project

One of the best tips I’ve received was to start my own project. I decided on creating a personal website to build a personal brand. Don’t fret if you don’t have previous coding experience. I built a Notion’s page with a simple integration and converted it to a website. You can check it out here: https://chelseahuynh.simple.ink/

This mindset can be applied to founders.

Henry Ford once said, “failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently”.

There is no formula to a successful business therefore it is essential for founders to be resilient through all the obstacles. Failure enables founders to identify areas of improvement and understand the logic behind why it was unsuccessful. Consequently, as they overcome each barrier, the business model is altered to adapt to these changes and eventually aligning with the pathway to success. Simultaneously, failed founders become more fearless as they’ve experienced being at rock bottom and their desperation.

As a fearless founder, they’ll make bold decisions and aren’t afraid to stray away from the crowd. A great example is Melanie Perkins, the founder of Canva which is a tech start-up valued over $1 billion also known as a ‘unicorn’. According to Perkins, she was rejected by over 100 investors at the beginning however, her bravery to approach tech investor Bill Tai led her to join his kitesurfing group. Through learning the sport, she interacted with investors and successfully raised $3 million to launch Canva in 2013.

Overall, failure is a blessing in disguise as it teaches us to be resilient and fearless in order to pursue our goals. This is reflected in my own career journey as well as Melanie Perkins’ and is prevalent in many other successful founders. To conclude, I’ll leave you with this image featuring famous failures and the adage if “you’ve never failed, you have never tried.”