The Three of Swords is usually associated with heartbreak, pain, and disappointment.
So what does it mean when it appears in a career reading?
It doesn't necessarily mean you're going to lose your job or experience some kind of professional heartbreak. The meaning depends on what you're asking about.
If you're asking about a relationship, the card might point to emotional pain, a painful realization, or something that has come between two people.
If you're asking about a job opportunity, it could suggest disappointment with the outcome, difficult feedback, or a situation that doesn't turn out the way you expected.
And if you're asking about a personal decision, the card might reflect the difficulty of accepting a truth you would rather avoid.
The card itself hasn't changed. The question has.
This is one of the reasons tarot can't be interpreted by memorizing card meanings alone. Knowing the traditional meaning is a starting point, but it isn't the whole interpretation.
You also have to consider the question, the cards around it, and how they relate to the situation being explored.
Think of a card's traditional meaning as a vocabulary. Knowing the meaning of a word doesn't mean you automatically understand every sentence it's used in. Context is what brings the meaning into focus.
Tarot works in much the same way. A card gives you something to interpret, but the question and the spread determine how that meaning takes shape.