Accomplishments Checklist

Is the accomplishment recent? For job-seeking, ideally accomplishments should focus on the last two years and/or your two most recent jobs. Not every accomplishment needs to be recent; sometimes accomplishments about early interest in your field can be effective. But the majority of accomplishments should be fairly recent. 

Is the theme of the accomplishment clear? Can the audience easily identify the accomplishment, skill, trait, passion, value, etc., that the accomplishment intends to convey? 

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Is the accomplishment compelling? Will it draw in the audience? Is it interesting? Will the audience want to learn how it turns out? Suspense isn’t required, but it doesn’t hurt. 

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Does the accomplishment have an overall positive tone and end on a positive note? It’s vital and expected to have many accomplishments that start with a problem or negative situation. Still, the overall tone of the accomplishment should remain positive. You should not cast blame or negativity on past employers or team members. Most importantly, your accomplishment should end on a positive note. A few accomplishments in your inventory may simply not have a positive outcome, but end on an optimistic note by talking about lessons learned and how you will improve in the future.

Have you given yourself enough credit? Especially when talking about team projects, be sure you make your role clear and give yourself sufficient credit. Praise the team, but emphasize your own contribution to the team’s success over the team’s success itself. 

Have you asked yourself, “So what?” Put yourself in the mindset of an employer asking “so what?” about each of your accomplishments. Does the accomplishment address something that’s important to an employer? If your accomplishment can’t answer the “so what” question for a specific employer or type of employer, you may want to consider a different one. 

Have you included a variety of accomplishments? Your inventory should feature accomplishments that cover a variety of skills, values, traits, interests, strengths. While most should come from recent jobs, it’s fine to include a few from school, hobbies, sports, organizations, and your personal life. If you’re a job-seeker, try to find outside-of-work accomplishments that pertain to skills needed on the job. 

Have you added metrics
where appropriate?