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 recent article, Accomplishments: Resume Rocket Fuel!, I discussed what accomplishments are and why they’re important.
Here’s how to pull together your professional accomplishments list:
- Look through your old written Evaluations, Letters of Recommendation, or recommendations on your LinkedIn.com profile. There are usually 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.
- Find lists of Behavioral Interview Questions. Answer those questions for yourself and make notes of your answers.
It is extremely useful to keep a list of your accomplishments, giving each one a name 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. 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.
