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We continue with our year-long series on documenting your successes.
“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.
November 1 – What big goal or project do you want to tackle this month?
November 2 – Have you ever been quoted in the media?
November 3 – What’s something you were really proud of, but you were never formally recognized for?
November 4 – Have you been recommended for a promotion? For what?
November 5 – Were you recruited to your current role?
November 6 – Have you been involved in reconciling any transactions in your current role? Have you had to reconstruct records?
November 7 – Describe a time recently when you saved the company money.
November 8 – Have you done something that has reduced inefficiencies in your department or in the company overall?
November 9 – Describe a process or procedure that you reengineered.
November 10 – Are you involved in any regulatory or compliance issues? Have you been successful in gaining approval for any of your efforts?
November 11 – Describe a time when you’ve demonstrated your planning skills.
November 12 – Have you ever successfully renegotiated a contract or agreement?
November 13 – Describe something that you have reorganized to be more efficient.
November 14 – What was the biggest work-related project you completed recently?
November 15 – Describe a time when you remedied something that went wrong.
November 16 – Give an example of a time when you have repaired a damaged or broken relationship with a customer or vendor.
November 17 – Have you ever represented the company in an official capacity? When?
November 18 – When have you resolved a dispute among co-workers?
November 19 – Have you been requested by someone in another department or division to assist with a project? What was the project?
November 20 – Describe a time when you made a customer happy.
November 21 – Give an example of how you have innovated in your current role.
November 22 – Describe a time when your research skills helped solve a problem.
November 23 – Are you responsible for securing sensitive information? How have you done this?
November 24 – How have you demonstrated initiative recently?
November 25 – Is there something you’ve revolutionized within your current role or within the company in general?
November 26 – What did you finish today?
November 27 – Have you been selected for any special assignments or projects?
November 28 – Describe a time when you have set strategy for your department.
November 29 – When have you been called upon to provide specialized knowledge or expertise to a situation?
November 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 November Accomplishment Tracker
If you missed the prior month’s accomplishment journals you can find them here:
October September August July June May April March February January December
