Getting fired from a job can feel like a career low. But according to a recent study outlined in the Harvard Business Review, getting fired can actually be good for you.
The study, which surveyed more than 2,600 executives, found that 45 percent had experienced at least one major career failure, like getting fired from a job or making a mistake on a major deal at work. But, despite this blow, 78 percent of these executives found new employment and eventually worked their way up to the CEO level.
"What we found is that being fired or laid off doesn't necessarily have catastrophic effects on leaders' prospects," write CEO Genome Project co-leaders Elena Lytkina Botelho and Kim Rosenkboetter Powell, and corporate advisor BJ Wright.
In fact, the study found that executives who'd been fired (and handled it well) were actually more likely to be recommended for a new job by recruiting firms than those who hadn't been terminated.
"Experienced hiring managers know that setbacks are inevitable and want to see how individuals have handled failure in the past," the co-authors write. "The riskiest hires are the ones who are untested by failure."
Sharfi Farhana, who is the head of executive recruitment and c-suite talent management at the holding company IAC, agrees. She told CNBC Make It that when she's helping her company find executives for some of its top brands, like Tinder, Vimeo and Match.com, a history of failure is a key quality she looks for.
"Failure is a key part of life," she explains. "It's not always about winning, right? If you're always winning, then great. But, you know, CEOs of the future need to really have gone through a struggle."
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban is one leader who has been open about the failures he's faced on his road to success. In an interview on ABC's "Shark Tank," Cuban said that after graduating from Indiana University in 1981, he "had quit or been fired from three straight jobs."
"One of my favorite sayings is, 'It doesn't matter how many times you fail, just have to be right once.' Then everybody can call you an overnight success," he said. "I've failed a company that sold powdered milk, I failed the jobs I've gotten fired from. And all those were learning experiences."
If getting fired is a career blow that you've encountered, then Botelho, Powell and Wright says that taking ownership of your actions, leaning on your professional network and relying on your experience and expertise are the three keys to bouncing back and finding success.
Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."
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