“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.
April 1 – What big goal or project do you want to tackle this month?
April 2 – Describe a “small win” you had at work today.
April 3 – What is the biggest challenge you have overcome recently?
April 4 – Describe a time today when you felt creatively engaged.
April 5 – What new partnerships or business relationships have you developed recently? What has been the outcome of this relationship?
April 6 – Give an example of a time when you salvaged a damaged relationship.
April 7 – What are you most proud of?
April 8 – What was the most important thing you did today?
April 9 – Describe a time when you assisted a co-worker with a project. What was the project? How did you help? What was the outcome?
April 10 – What have you written recently?
April 11 – Describe a situation when you troubleshot something successfully.
April 12 – What did you do today to move your career forward?
April 13 – Have you reached any performance targets/goals recently? Which one?
April 14 – What did you do today that you want to do more of in the future?
April 15 – What is one thing that you have changed at the company since you started working there?
April 16 – Describe a difficult project you worked on recently. What was the challenge? What was the outcome?
April 17 – Have you designed any new standard operating procedures?
April 18 – Describe a time when you went above and beyond what was expected of you.
April 19 – What risk have you undertaken recently?
April 20 – Have you done anything to improve your work environment?
April 21 – What is something you worked on recently that you didn’t think you could do?
April 22 – Did you do anything that has helped the company save money?
April 23 – What have you done to help your company reach new audiences?
April 24 – Describe a difficult problem you have recently solved.
April 25 – Give an example of a recent project that has made your heart light up.
April 26 – What does success mean to you?
April 27 – Describe an action or activity you have taken that will help position your company for future growth.
April 28 – What have you done to help the company achieve better quality?
April 29 – Give an example of a time when you distinguished yourself from your co-workers.
April 30 – What is your biggest professional achievement in the past month?
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 March’s accomplishment journal Click Here
If you missed February’s accomplishment journal Click Here
If you missed January’s accomplishment journal Click Here
If you missed December’s accomplishment journal Click Here
