To err is human

LEARNING FROM MISTAKES: You send a joke e-mail to a customer instead of to your best friend. You make a presentation and discover that your slides are in the wrong order. We all make mistakes, but if you deal with the situation calmly, you can learn from them.

Professional harpist and businesswoman Merry Miller, 39, learned her lesson the hard way in 2007. Miller interviewed actress Holly Hunter for the American  TV network ABC . The tape was never shown on air, but it was leaked to YouTube, where viewers described Miller as “the worst host ever”.

“It was hurtful and embarrassing,” Miller told The Wall Street Journal. “I cried a lot and did some serious journaling. I was lucky to have a wonderful support network of friends and family who helped me get through it.”

Rather than hiding, Miller was able to use the fact that her name and face were well known, and started a line of children’s CDs. “I took all that attention and focused it on my harp playing, because I had an established reputation in music that couldn’t be destroyed,” she explains. And ABC gave her a second chance: she is now a guest host on the popular daytime TV show The View.

"I had a reputation that couldn't be destroyed," says Merry Miller.

Worries about the recession are causing people to make even more mistakes at work, according to Martin Yate, a career adviser at GoSavant.com . “People are feeling anxious, so they’re being short-tempered, passive-aggressive and unproductive,” Yate says. “Unfortunately, the way workers typically deal with gaffes is to get defensive and point fingers. They continue the bad behaviour and sacrifice promotions and jobs.”

Yate, the author of Knock ‘em Dead 2010: The Ultimate Job Search Guide , says it’s important to apologize for mistakes as soon as possible. He also advises going to your boss or supervisor at once to explain the situation and to suggest ways of dealing with it.

You can even ask your company’s chief executive for advice, frightening though that might seem. “Seeking experienced counsel will provide valuable feedback in the moment, and will have the added benefit of helping you to establish authentic mentor relationships for the future,” Yate says.