“Past performance is the best predictor of future success.”
Recruiters and hiring managers assessing candidates are looking for proof that you can do the job. One of the best ways to assess that is by reviewing your accomplishments from similar roles. However, it can be difficult to remember what you’ve done!
That’s where keeping a journal comes in. Each month for the next year, I will post a summary of daily prompts to help you identify and track your accomplishments throughout the year. You can either write down a specific accomplishment from that day or use the prompt to help you think of a recent accomplishment. You don’t have to use the specific prompt for that day — but they are there to help give you some inspiration.
Keep the journal somewhere you’ll refer to it each day. Taking a few minutes to complete the prompts will make it easier for you to update your résumé and LinkedIn profile.
February 1 – What big goal or project do you want to tackle this month?
February 2 – How have you demonstrated your time management skills?
February 3 – What went well today?
February 4 – Have you received any notes, emails, or kudos from customers? From your boss?
February 5 – What articles, white papers or other significant documents have you written — or contributed to — recently?
February 6 – Describe how you grew company revenues or sales.
February 7 – What is the most important thing you did in your job in the past year?
February 8 – Looking back at the past year, what project did you enjoy working on the most?
February 9 – When have you transformed a bad situation into a good one?
February 10 – What project have you accomplished recently that helped you or your co-workers save time with something?
February 11 – Today, I accomplished…
February 12 – Describe a recent problem you had to solve.
February 13 – What are you most proud of in your current job?
February 14 – Have you been recognized as the first person to do something in your role with the company?
February 15 – How have you helped your employer expand their business?
February 16 – Have you orchestrated any significant changes in your current role or in your department?
February 17 – Give an example of how you have generated new business for your employer.
February 18 – What did you accomplish today?
February 19 – Which of your ideas has the company adopted successfully?
February 20 – How have you gone above and beyond your job responsibilities?
February 21 – What have you come up with in your current position that has made your work easier?
February 22 – Look at your most recent performance evaluation or review. What were you commended for?
February 23 – What would your co-workers say about you?
February 24 – Describe a time when you met an impossible deadline. What did you do, and what was the impact on the company or customers?
February 25 – How does your current job fit within the context of the organization?
February 26 – What is unique about how you do your job?
February 27 – Did you ever come up with a creative solution that substituted one thing for another?
February 28 – How have you engaged your co-workers? Have you enlisted their help to work on a project with you?
When possible, quantify your accomplishments: specify numbers, percentages, and dollar amounts. Be as detailed as possible with your responses
When turning your prompts into actual accomplishment statements, create a structure to tell a story. The most common format is the CAR statement:
C = What was the challenge?
A = What action did you take?
R = What was the result?
An example of a CAR statement is:
Recruited to tackle an underperforming sales territory characterized by significant account attrition (challenge). Developed contact list for lapsed accounts and initiated contact with decision-makers at each company (action). Reacquired 22% of former customers, resulting in $872,000 in revenue (result).
For a downloadable copy of this month’s accomplishment journal Click Here
If you missed January’s accomplishment journal Click Here
If you missed December’s accomplishment journal Click Here
