Issue #1

The Failure Résumé: Why You Should Start One Today

We showcase our successes. But what if we celebrated our failures too?

How often has something not gone according to your plan?

Maybe you:

❌ Didn’t get into your dream program.

❌ Had an idea rejected by investors.

❌ Got negative feedback on a project.

❌ Applied for a job—and never even got a response.

We tend to hide these experiences, yet they shape us as much—if not more—than our victories. So, what if we flipped the script?

Where the ‘Failure Résumé’ Idea Began

In 2010, scientist Melanie Stefan wrote an article in Nature titled "A CV of Failures." She shared how many times she had faced rejection—grants she didn’t get, jobs she didn’t land, papers that weren’t published. Unlike athletes, whose losses are broadcasted in real-time, career setbacks are mostly invisible.

In academia, professionals only highlight their successes in résumés, grant applications, and conference talks. You never hear about:

❌ The rejected research papers.

❌ The failed funding applications.

❌ The exams that didn’t go well.

This creates an illusion that careers are a straight line to success when, in reality, failure is a major part of the process. Stefan suggested that young scientists create an "alternative résumé" listing their failures to show the full picture—and remind themselves (and others) that they’re not alone.

How It Went Viral

The idea took off beyond academia. Johannes Haushofer, a Princeton professor (now at Cornell), posted his own Failure Résumé, listing all the fellowships, jobs, and research papers he didn’t get. Ironically, it received more attention than all his successful work combined!

Others followed suit. Jeff Scardino, a creative director, took it a step further. He sent out two versions of his résumé:

📄 The traditional one (successes only).

📄 A “Relevant Résumé” listing failures, missed opportunities, and even colleagues who wouldn’t give him a good reference.

💡 The result? His failure résumé got 8x more responses—and 5 interview requests. The honesty stood out.

Why a Failure Résumé Changes Everything

We tend to see failure as a negative reflection of our abilities, rather than what it really is: a learning experience.

However studies show that:

🚀 We learn more from failure than success.

🚀 We learn even more from big failures—because we analyze them more deeply.

🚀 The more you fail, the higher your chance of eventual success.

📊 A management study analyzing 4,000+ space launches found that organizations with the most failures had a higher chance of a successful launch on the next attempt. The more failures they had, the more they improved.

💡 The same applies to careers. Each failure teaches us something we wouldn’t have learned otherwise.

My Personal ‘Failure Résumé’

Inspired by this idea, I decided to create my own. Here’s a glimpse:

❌ Exams I Failed

1985 – Didn’t get into the translation faculty of my dream university, so I studied in the teaching faculty instead.
1989 – Failed the simultaneous translation exam at Heidelberg University.

❌ Companies That Rejected Me & Jobs I Didn’t Get

1992 – Didn’t get hired as a university professor.
2004 – Rejected from a job I was 100% qualified for—didn’t even get an interview.

❌ Business & Projects That Didn’t Take Off

2007–2017 – Expected my business to become an asset, but realized I couldn’t scale it without being involved in every major project. Eventually sold it for a symbolic price.
Multiple corporate training contracts were lost to competitors.
A podcast I built myself but never fully launched.
An online course that flopped.
A book that didn’t become a bestseller.

💡 And yet, here I am—still growing, still evolving, still moving forward.

Your Turn: Write Your Own Failure Résumé

📌 If you’ve ever felt discouraged by rejection, I challenge you to write your own failure résumé.

💡 Ask yourself:

✔️ What failures have taught me the most?

✔️ What risks didn’t work out—but led me somewhere unexpected?

✔️ If I reframed failure as a stepping stone, how would I see my career differently?

💬 I’d love to hear your thoughts! In your response to my email, name one "failure" that has helped you grow. Let’s normalize talking about this!

📚 Resources & References

📄 The Original “CV of Failures” Concept

Melanie Stefan’s article in Nature: "A CV of Failures"

📄 Real Examples of Failure Résumés

Princeton/Cornell Professor Johannes Haushofer’s "CV of Failures"
Jeff Stibel’s Forbes article: "Are You Brave Enough for a Failure Resume?"

📊 Research on Learning from Failure

Study on failure and success in space launches: "Failing to Learn? The Effects of Failure and Success on Organizational Learning"

💡 Let’s stay connected!

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