The Worst Job F*ck Up Ever
If you’re having a terribly Monday and the boss is giving you hell, let me provide some perspective on messing up at work. As someone who feels embarrassed because a comma is out of place or there’s a typo on my page – I get it. It’s hard not to take things personally and feel like a royal failure all your own.
But we’re lucky. The majority of people who will ever read this article know that we’re not saving lives. Metaphorically, perhaps, but not in reality like a surgeon or emergency professional does every day. We’re lucky that our bad decisions don’t leave marks in history, not just marks on the mental record.
So many times we can blame bureaucracy, blame time, blame a litany of things that really don’t mean much but this guy…
30 years later, he’s still blaming himself for the Challenger exploding.
Now, I share this story because really – it gives me perspective. I’m really hard on myself. I try to get it right every time and inevitably, I mess things up. I balance so many things that I’m convinced getting it all right would put me in some kind of hall of fame. There’s a lyric that goes something like “don’t drop a dime to pick up a nickel” and that’s the approach we take when we decide to harp on the bad and not try to implement change.
Kat Kibben View All →
Kat Kibben [they/them] is a keynote speaker, writing expert, and LGBTQIA+ advocate who teaches hiring teams how to write inclusive job postings that will get the right person to apply faster.
Before founding Three Ears Media, Katrina was a CMO, Technical Copywriter, and Managing Editor for leading companies like Monster, Care.com, and Randstad Worldwide. With 15+ years of recruitment marketing and training experience, Katrina knows how to turn talented recruiting teams into talented writers who write for people, not about work.
Today, Katrina is frequently featured as an HR and recruiting expert in publications like The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Forbes. They’ve been named to numerous lists, including LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Job Search & Careers. When not speaking, writing, or training, you’ll find Katrina traveling the country in their van or spending some much needed downtime with the dogs that inspired the name Three Ears Media.