Employers are keenly interested in a candidate’s professional accomplishments – success stories from their past and current experience – but it can be hard for job seekers to identify and recall them.
In my article, Accomplishments: Resume Rocket Fuel!, I discussed what accomplishments are and why they’re important.
Here’s how to create your professional accomplishments list:
- Look through your old written Evaluations, Letters of Recommendation, or recommendations on your LinkedIn.com profile. There are often accomplishments there. Which are most impressive and relevant to your career goals?
- Ask past or present co-workers or supervisors what they see as your best accomplishments.
- Google up some lists of behavioral interview questions. Don’t struggle to come up with an answer to each and every question. Just make a note of any accomplishments they bring to mind.
It is extremely useful to keep a list of your accomplishments, giving each one a unique title to help you remember it, i.e., “Raising Client Satisfaction to 98%.” For each one, jot down a few notes to help you remember key talking points. Use the SOAR approach: Situation + Obstacle + Actions + Results = SOAR. Your stories list will become one of your most valuable job search tools. Read my article Job Search Storytelling that SOARS for more details.
Brief descriptions of your professional accomplishments will add tremendous power to your resume, interviewing, and even networking conversations. They can be the most powerful tools in your job search.
This post was originally published in September 2012. It has been updated.
