Ivy League professor shares his resume of failures in support of others

[Johannes Haushofer shared his “CV of failures” to make others feel better]

A Princeton University professor is gaining attention for making a resume of his failures public that he wrote when a friend was struggling with a career setback.

Johannes Haushofer is an assistant professor in the department of Psychology and Public Affairs. He uploaded his “CV of failures” to show support for his students, academics and professionals who might not be exactly where they want to be in their work, according to The Washington Post.

“I’m hoping that it will be a source of perspective at times when things aren’t going well, especially for students and my fellow young researchers,” he wrote.

The CV includes academic programs Haushofer has been rejected from, research projects that were not funded and papers that has been left out of publications.

“Most of what I try fails, but these failures are often invisible, while the successes are visible,” Haushofer wrote. “I have noticed that this sometimes gives others the impression that most things work out for me. As a result, they are more likely to attribute their own failures to themselves, rather than the fact that the world is stochastic, applications are crapshoots, and selection committees and referees have bad days.”

But failures can be a positive thing as it shows a willingness to try new things, even when the outcome is unknown.

Scientist Melanie Stefan published an article in Nature in 2010 detailing why its important to keep a running list of failures.

“It will remind you of the missing truths, some of the essential parts of what it means to be a scientist,” she wrote. “And it might inspire a colleague to shake off a rejection and start again.”