Skip to content

This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some are essential to make our site work; others help us improve the user experience. By using the site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Read our privacy policy to learn more.

Close
AICPA-CIMA
  • AICPA & CIMA:
  • Home
  • CPE & Learning
  • My Account
Journal of Accountancy
  • TECH & AI
    • All articles
    • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Information Security & Privacy

    Latest Stories

    • Incorporating prompt engineering into the accounting curriculum
    • Create a dynamic to-do list with Excel’s checkboxes
    • Another way to manage authentication texts
  • TAX
    • All articles
    • Corporations
    • Employee benefits
    • Individuals
    • IRS procedure

    Latest Stories

    • Treasury posts preliminary list of jobs eligible for no tax on tips
    • Taxpayer’s circumstances do not warrant equitable tolling
    • When does debt become worthless?
  • PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
    • All articles
    • Diversity, equity & inclusion
    • Human capital
    • Firm operations
    • Practice growth & client service

    Latest Stories

    • Treasury posts preliminary list of jobs eligible for no tax on tips
    • California issues draft guidance for climate risk disclosure
    • Business outlook brightens somewhat despite trade, inflation concerns
  • FINANCIAL REPORTING
    • All articles
    • FASB reporting
    • IFRS
    • Private company reporting
    • SEC compliance and reporting

    Latest Stories

    • SEC accepting Professional Accounting Fellow applications
    • SEC names new chief accountant
    • SEC ends legal defense of its climate rules
  • AUDIT
    • All articles
    • Attestation
    • Audit
    • Compilation and review
    • Peer review
    • Quality Management

    Latest Stories

    • AICPA unveils new QM resources to help firms meet Dec. 15 deadline
    • 8 steps to build your firm’s quality management system on time
    • Auditing Standards Board proposes a new fraud standard
  • MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING
    • All articles
    • Business planning
    • Human resources
    • Risk management
    • Strategy

    Latest Stories

    • Business outlook brightens somewhat despite trade, inflation concerns
    • AICPA & CIMA Business Resilience Toolkit — levers for action
    • Economic pessimism grows, but CFOs have strategic responses
  • Home
  • News
  • Magazine
  • Podcast
  • Topics
Advertisement
  1. newsletter
  2. Cpa Insider
CPA INSIDER

How to bounce back from a career setback

The key is having a survival plan.

By Teri Saylor
January 29, 2018

Please note: This item is from our archives and was published in 2018. It is provided for historical reference. The content may be out of date and links may no longer function.

Related

January 16, 2018

How to negotiate from a disadvantage

January 16, 2018

Delegating like a boss

December 12, 2017

How to make a great first impression

TOPICS

  • Professional Development
    • Communication

Whether it’s a layoff, a failed project, being passed over for a job or promotion, or even being fired, most CPAs will experience a setback at some point in their careers. By taking the right steps, however, they can recover from these events and even come back stronger than before.

Joseph Rugger, CPA, CGMA, who spoke about learning from failure at the 2017 EDGE Experience conference in New Orleans, estimates most CPAs will experience three or four defining moments in their careers. “The high achievers will recognize these defining moments and bounce right back,” said Rugger, director of accounting at Jonesboro Prosthetic & Orthotic Laboratory of Jonesboro, Ark.

Rugger and career experts offer the following tips on resilience and survival:

  • Take time to reflect. Often when people suffer a setback, they either go into a depression or they try to rebound immediately, said Joyce E. A. Russell, Ph.D., the Helen and William O’Toole Dean of the Villanova School of Business in Villanova, Pa. “It is better to take some downtime and avoid doing anything rash, like lashing out in anger,” she said. “Instead, take deep breaths. Go for a hike. Get some exercise. Do something you enjoy.”
  • Create a survival plan. First, determine what happened and take some time to grieve, Russell advises. Then compartmentalize your emotions and create a plan for moving on. “Set some goals and objectives, and work on your relationships,” she said.  “It’s hard to admit failure, but if you have people in your life you can trust to open up to and goals for moving forward, you can bounce back.”
  • Own your career—including your mistakes. “Take ownership of your situation,” said Rugger, a graduate of the AICPA Leadership Academy. For example, he said, “if you get laid off, learn what signs you might have ignored, own the mistakes you made, get better, and know that you are in charge of your career. Do your best to figure out how to respond when you find yourself facing similar challenges in the future.”


    The same goes for setbacks in which you may have played a part. “Facing disciplinary action or losing your job is typically not a lightning bolt out of the blue,” said Bruce Clarke, president and CEO of Capital Associated Industries of Raleigh, N.C., a not-for-profit organization for employers. “Take all of your defenses down and put them away. Learn all you can about what happened, and think about how to improve.”

  • Polish your skills. A setback can signal that you need better communication or relationship skills, according to Russell, who advises CPAs to seek feedback on what they need to work on.


    Rugger recommends being purposeful and strategic with continuing education. Pursue it even if your organization won’t pay for it, Rugger said: “Do spend the money to get the skills you need, even outside the traditional accounting skill set.”

  • Develop a support network. A strong support group that includes mentors, trusted friends, family members and even professional career coaches can help you stay focused and positive in the face of setbacks or failures.


    “Build your networks, hone your relationships and be proactive about seeking out mentors, both inside and outside your employer and your profession,” Russell said. “Become active in a state CPA society or the AICPA, and take advantage of opportunities to network and build your leadership skills.”

To give yourself confidence going forward, recall obstacles you’ve overcome in the past. As Rugger noted, CPAs all have one major accomplishment in common: They’ve passed one of the most difficult professional licensing exams out there. “We come from a place of resilience,” he said.

Advertisement

Teri Saylor is a freelance writer in Raleigh, N.C. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Courtney Vien, a senior editor for magazines and newsletters at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.

Advertisement

latest news

September 4, 2025

Treasury posts preliminary list of jobs eligible for no tax on tips

September 4, 2025

California issues draft guidance for climate risk disclosure

September 4, 2025

Business outlook brightens somewhat despite trade, inflation concerns

September 3, 2025

New: Digital assets practice aid addresses auditing of lending, borrowing

August 29, 2025

Guidance on research or experimental expenditures under H.R. 1 issued

Advertisement

Most Read

The No. 1 risk to retirement – and one way to guard against it
Tax provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Billy Long out as IRS commissioner after less than two months
Calculating AI’s impact on CPAs: New study quantifies time savings
AICPA unveils new QM resources to help firms meet Dec. 15 deadline
Advertisement

Podcast

September 4, 2025

Summing up economic sentiment and concerns about inflation and tariffs

August 29, 2025

Take a bold leap instead of a tentative step

August 28, 2025

Mark Koziel Q&A: Talent, sense of community, profession opportunities

Features

Calming nervous clients nearing retirement
Calming nervous clients nearing retirement

Calming nervous clients nearing retirement

7 retirement tips for small firm CPAs
7 retirement tips for small firm CPAs

7 retirement tips for small firm CPAs

Building a better CPA firm: Stepping up service offerings
Multi-colored plus signs

Building a better CPA firm: Stepping up service offerings

2025 tax software survey
Smiley, frowney, and neutral faces for Tax Software Survey.

2025 tax software survey

SPONSORED REPORT

Smart Strategies in Data Security and Risk Management

In an increasingly digital profession, data security has become one of the most critical challenges facing finance and accounting professionals today. Stay up to date with practical guidance to help you mitigate these risks and strengthen your security posture.

From The Tax Adviser

August 30, 2025

2025 tax software survey

August 30, 2025

Are you doing all you can to keep the cash method for your clients?

July 31, 2025

Current developments in S corporations

July 31, 2025

Paid student-athletes: Tax implications for universities and donors

MAGAZINE

September 2025

September 2025

September 2025
August 2025

August 2025

August 2025
July 2025

July 2025

July 2025
June 2025

June 2025

June 2025
May 2025

May 2025

May 2025
April 2025

April 2025

April 2025
March 2025

March 2025

March 2025
February 2025

February 2025

February 2025
January 2025

January 2025

January 2025
December 2024

December 2024

December 2024
November 2024

November 2024

November 2024
October 2024

October 2024

October 2024
view all

View All

http://JofA_Default_Mag_cover_small_official_blue

PUSH NOTIFICATIONS

Coming soon: Learn about important news

CPA LETTER DAILY EMAIL

CPA Letter Logo

Subscribe to the daily CPA Letter

Stay on top of the biggest news affecting the profession every business day. Follow this link to your marketing preferences on aicpa-cima.com to subscribe. If you don't already have an aicpa-cima.com account, create one for free and then navigate to your marketing preferences.

Connect

  • X Logo JofA on X
  • facebook JofA on Facebook

HOME

  • News
  • Monthly issues
  • Podcast
  • A&A Focus
  • PFP Digest
  • Academic Update
  • Topics
  • RSS feed rss feed
  • Site map

ABOUT

  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Submit an article
  • Editorial calendar
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & conditions

SUBSCRIBE

  • Academic Update
  • CPE Express

AICPA & CIMA SITES

  • AICPA-CIMA.com
  • Global Engagement Center
  • Financial Management (FM)
  • The Tax Adviser
  • AICPA Insights
  • Global Career Hub
AICPA & CIMA

© 2025 Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. All rights reserved.

Reliable. Resourceful. Respected.