Questions about Your Accomplishments
A prospective employer is very interested in learning what, through your hard work, you have accomplished. By finding out what you have done, he can try to predict what you will do in the future — for his company. A person who has had many accomplishments is very likely to continue to have even more.
Tips for Answering Questions about Your Accomplishments
Most people find it difficult to think on the spot, so it is a good idea to prepare a list of your accomplishments prior to going on any job interviews. Of course, you can't refer to this list during the interview, but if you review it beforehand, you should be able to recall the information.
While this may not help you in your current job search, here is something to think about for the future: Keep a journal or diary of your workplace accomplishments. When you do something of which you are proud, or when your boss commends you for a job well done, write it down in your journal. When you are asked to talk about your accomplishments in the future, you will be able to refer to what you wrote down.
Your list of accomplishments should include anything that came about because of your hard work and your skills. Don't include things that came about by chance — just because you were in the right place at the right time. You did something to make your accomplishments happen. They didn't just happen to you.
When preparing your list of accomplishments, choose ones that are relevant to the job for which you are applying. It will give the interviewer a chance to take a sneak peek at what you can do for his company.
If you can quantify your accomplishments, try to do so. For example, when saying you increased sales or cut expenses, talk in terms of actual amounts. Your accomplishment then becomes more than your own opinion of how well you did. It becomes something verifiable.
If you accomplished something that required the help of other people, include that on your list. Employers want to know that you can work as part of a team. By discussing this, you will be calling attention to a desirable skill.
Sample Questions about Your Accomplishments
What was your greatest accomplishment at work?
While you may think that getting a big raise and promotion was your greatest accomplishment at work, it isn't something that shows how your employer benefited. You can talk about the things you did to warrant being rewarded in such a way. In preparing your list, you should think of the reasons your boss gave you for your raise and promotion. Those reasons — increasing sales or getting new clients — are your accomplishments. You must also discuss the efforts you made to achieve your accomplishments and quantify them if you can.
What accomplishment are you proudest of?
Choose something that truly took a lot of effort to achieve. You want to show that you are proud when your hard work pays off. As you should always do, choose an accomplishment that greatly benefited your employer.
