How to Showcase Your Professional Accomplishments

gold_starI’ve learned that when you ask people what they do well, they’re not always sure how to answer. But getting to the heart of your accomplishments and talents is essential if you want to score that dream job.

In my last post, I talked about starting an accomplishments folder. Here are all the questions you need to ask yourself if you want to nail down those accomplishments. These are also the questions that will jump-start your resume-writing process if you’re feeling stumped in that department.

  • What is unique about how you do your job?
  • What does your current boss praise you for?
  • Do you have quotas or goals in your current position? Are you able to meet or exceed them?
  • Were you hired to meet a particular challenge for the company?
  • Were you rewarded with any additional responsibility?
  • Have you done anything to improve customer relationships with the company?
  • Have you done anything to improve communications, either internally or externally?
  • What teams have you been part of?
  • What are you most proud of?
  • What would your co-workers say about you?
  • What do you enjoy the most?
  • How did you take initiative in your position?
  • What special projects have you worked on?
  • How did you set yourself apart?
  • How did you go above and beyond what was required?
  • What have you done to increase your responsibilities in your current job?
  • Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of?
  • Were you promoted in recognition of your work performance?
  • Did you increase sales or profits?
  • Did you recruit new customers for the business?
  • Did you save the company money?
  • Did you institute any new processes or procedures?

Educational Accomplishments:

  • What workshops have you attended?
  • Have you attended any conferences?
  • What seminars have you attended?
  • Have you taken any courses?
  • Have you achieved any new certifications?
  • Do you have any new skills? (These might be things like computer software, social media, blogging, etc.)

“Soft Skill” Accomplishments:

  • How have you demonstrated planning skills?
  • What have you done to demonstrate conflict management abilities?
  • How have you demonstrated time management skills?
  • What have you accomplished in terms of digital proficiency?
  • How have you demonstrated team coordination abilities?
  • How have you shown leadership skills?
  • Do you have achievements in terms of your language specialization (foreign languages)?

Recognition Accomplishments:

  • Did you receive any honors this year? (awards, recognition)
  • Did you earn any certifications or licenses?
  • Which of your contributions received the most recognition?
  • Have you received any notes, emails, or kudos from customers? From your boss?

Communication Accomplishments:

  • Have you done any public speaking or made any presentations? (Who did you speak to? On what topic? How many people were in attendance?)
  • Have you written any articles, whitepapers, or other documents?

Leadership Accomplishments:

  • Have you taken on any leadership roles — either within your job or in your volunteer work?
  • Have you led any significant projects?

Using Accomplishments For Reflection

Now that you’ve collected your achievements, it’s the perfect time to set some goals for yourself. Another key part of accomplishments is using them to take a “big picture” approach to your life. Take some time to reflect. Finish these sentences:

  • I learned:
  • I made progress in:
  • I’m able to:
  • I now know how to:
  • I discovered:
  • Next, I want to:
  • In the future, I want to:Answering these questions will help you take giant steps towards a better resume. I can help you with that![photo source: www.babyfoodforcreatives.com]

Author: Mir Garvy

I’ve written resumes for 2,000+ job seekers just like you—and helped my clients land jobs with companies like Amazon, SAS, Google, Duke University, Travelocity, Cisco Systems, GlaxoSmithKline, Expedia, and IBM.

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