Words: Katie Bishop

As we emerge from the pandemic, many of us might be feeling disillusioned with our work lives. We’re often told to follow our dreams, and the rhetoric around striking out alone and taking risks has been particularly prevalent since lockdown...

The UK has seen a sharp rise in new start-ups since the pandemic, and everyone is talking about the so-called “YOLO economy”, the idea of leaving behind a stable job for a post-COVID change-of-scene after months of monotony. But what if you take a massive career risk, only to find that it doesn’t pay off? We spoke to women who experienced exactly that to find out how they recovered.

Nadya Movchan

Nadya Movchan, 30, is a PR Strategist based in Amsterdam. She found that a risky career move wasn’t quite what she expected...

I’d been working in advertising for around two years and had built a solid career and a strong reputation, but I had only worked in medium-sized agencies. I was convinced that my next job should be with a large corporation, so when the opportunity came along I didn’t hesitate to take a job at one of the industry giants.

What I didn’t realise was that I was completely unsuited to working with a large enterprise – the only thing that I really admired about them was the well-known brand names. I realised that my opinion was never welcome and that my creativity and ambition were stifled. I felt miserable and disposable from day one. I had no savings, and at the time very few companies were hiring. Yet I knew that I had to take another risk. I decided to put my mental health first and quit.

I realise now that I originally left a job that I loved and was good at just to add a big name to my CV. I didn’t really know what was ahead of me, and I rushed into things and got burned out. The story has a happy ending though – right after quitting the large corporation I landed a job that dramatically accelerated my career growth. Despite all the ups and downs I’m still a “better oops than if” person. I firmly believe that you need to be brave and take the risk, but you should also clearly understand your motives and – I cannot stress this enough – do your research!

Alison Delaney

Alison Delaney, 50, is the Founder of Little Bird People Development, an organisation that delivers skills training to corporate teams and individuals. She took the risk of changing the direction of her business​ and found that her mental health suffered as a result...

A few years ago I was busy running my leadership development and cultural change company. Our preference was face-to-face delivery, and I hadn’t ventured into digital platforms. But there was a lot of demand from clients to receive developmental support and I was already at capacity – I started to wonder whether I could offer an online service.

I knew that setting up this new way of working was a risk. I was already overwhelmed by the demands of my business and didn’t really have time for a new venture. But I’m an incredibly driven person and I was convinced that I could make it work.

The demand for interaction constantly grew and I was struggling to maintain responses. Soon the pressures of running an online platform started to impact my mental health and wellbeing. After an initial period of denial I realised that I was really struggling and accepted that I needed to step back. I felt that I was letting my clients down, but I had to put myself first, and ended up significantly reducing the online platform.

Having a risk not pay off was hard, but I believe that you should never look back in regret. I try and view the experience with gratitude for the opportunity and the lessons learnt.

Alina Clark

Alina Clark, 31, is the Co-Founder of CocoDoc based in California. She got into debt moving abroad to work for a new organisation...

I thought that moving abroad would be a good career move because it would improve my qualifications, but I didn’t take enough time to consider the salary of my new role. I was really focused on how much I admired the organisation’s culture – they promoted cultural diversity and did work to protect human rights and the environment. But ultimately, I wasn’t earning enough money to sustain me, especially after a big move. I found myself in debt and running late on credit card payments.

Several relocations and roles later I went on to co-found my own company, and although the journey has had its ups and downs I couldn’t be more satisfied than where I am today. Although I struggled, the experience was important in preparing me for my future career and showing me what was important.

Soma Ghosh

Soma Ghosh, 37, is a podcast host and mentor from London. She thought that taking on a stable role on the side of building her passion project would be a good career move but struggled in a toxic workplace...

I had just set up a new business, but after a family bereavement I decided to get a part-time role as a school career advisor. I thought that I would be able to do this alongside running my passion project, but I quickly found out that the expectations placed on me were incredibly toxic and I was overloaded with work. I had to put my business on hold for a few months, and felt like a complete failure because I wasn’t able to juggle both roles.

I soon realised that a job that was supposed to give me some stability was actually holding me back from my dream of running my own business. I began to suffer from anxiety and depression, and it became clear that trying to balance two jobs had been a risk – and that it wasn’t paying off. I handed my notice in and had to rebuild myself from scratch.

Sometimes taking a risk pays off, but if you have doubts or something isn’t feeling right then perhaps that’s because you just aren’t meant to take it.

Amanda Augustine

Amanda Augustine, a careers expert at TopCV offers her advice for how to move on if a career risk doesn’t pay off:

Accept that your gamble didn’t pay off – then put it behind you

Of course, no one wants to fail, but as the old adage goes, if there’s no risk, there’s no reward. Accept your career risk for what it was — a risk that didn’t quite work out — and then give yourself permission to move on.

Reflect on what you’ve learned

The career risk you took might not have worked out as you had hoped, but there are still valuable lessons to be gleaned from the experience. If you were to take the same risk again, what would you do differently the second time around? What did you learn about yourself — your strengths, weaknesses, and interests — that can help guide your next career move?

Reframe your CV and LinkedIn profile

Now that your goals have changed, your CV, LinkedIn profile and other job-search materials should be updated with this new aim in mind. Emphasise the parts of your experience and education that demonstrate your qualifications, and devote less space to the details that don’t.

Focus on the silver linings

Make sure you’re prepared to answer interview questions about your recent career decisions. Don’t dwell on the negative; instead, succinctly explain what happened and, more importantly, what you learned from the experience and how it’s influenced your career decisions this time around.