Facing failure

DEAR ANNIE

Dear Annie: I recently graduated from college with a degree in journalism. I interviewed with several media companies in New York and landed my dream job at a major online magazine. I was thrilled.

Everything went smoothly the first month. It was the second month when things fell apart. We had a companywide meeting, and I was supposed to give a presentation about a project I was working on to drive more traffic to the site. Well, I got the days totally mixed up. I thought the meeting was Wednesday, when in fact it was Tuesday. My boss came to my cube first thing Tuesday morning and said, “We can’t wait to hear your presentation.”

That’s about when my heart stopped. I froze in my tracks. I was planning on finishing the bulk of the presentation that evening, and now I had only a half-hour to throw stuff together.

I walked into the boardroom completely unprepared. I started off trying to wing it, but after about 30 seconds, I clammed up completely. My face was burning hot. I mumbled, “I got the days wrong,” and then I awkwardly took my seat. And as I sat down, I spilled coffee all over myself. I left the meeting feeling embarrassed and like a failure. My supervisor talked to me about it afterward and was pretty understanding but said not to let it happen again.

Now I’m afraid every day there is going to be my last. — Disappointment

Dear Disappointment: There’s no use crying over spilled coffee. All people with an office job can name a time when they wanted to shrink to the size of a paper clip and hide in the desk drawer. But mistakes are proof that you are trying, and you can’t learn without making a few (or a hundred). Your colleagues don’t expect perfection, especially because you’re just out of college. What they do expect is consistent hard work and a positive attitude. So get back at it and show them that. Use your mortification as motivation.

And I think this goes without saying, but never wait until the night before a presentation to prepare.