Upon recently moving to the Big City, I was incredibly excited to start a job. I felt on top of the game. I had just graduated from one of the top universities in the U.S., had already begun grad school, and now, I had a job that would provide the connections that would boost my career. It was the closest I’d ever felt to independence, and the first time I felt like I might actually make it in this cruel world. BUT that excitement lasted all of two weeks.

My fate was sealed from the beginning. One day, I had to transfer computers, so I emailed myself a file. Although I saved the file about every 5 minutes while working on it, I didn’t “Save As…” The next day, I concluded that the file was lost after a half hour of fruitless searching. I told myself not to panic, made up for the lost information, and assumed that all was right again in the work universe.

A word to the wise: never assume.

Two weeks in, I was told to call one of my supervisors for an unspecified reason (gulp.) While I thought this was a little strange, I told myself not to sweat it. To my surprise the call was to notify me that my company no longer wanted me to continue working. WHAT?

I was beyond mortified. What could I possibly have done to receive such a fate?! I was outraged, rejected, depressed, and disillusioned. But after exercising every possible coping strategy, I finally came to my senses. I realized that being “let go” was definitely for the best. Because it was still early in the game, I hadn’t formed any significant attachments to that job and wouldn’t even have to mention it in future employment applications. This experience would NOT destroy my self-esteem or my motivation to continue searching for fulfilling work. We all make mistakes (and some employers will be more forgiving than others), but what’s important is that you pick yourself up after every fall and keep moving forward.

J.Jacobs is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on the subject of vocational schools for the Guide to Career Education.

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