An achievement list is a list of accomplishments that you have had in your life to date - things that you are proud of and that you have had success at. Undertaking an achievement list is one of the most critical steps that you should take in preparing to job seek.
Do not draw up an achievement list and you almost certainly will end up selling yourself short. By creating an achievement list you get ready to talk about your accomplishments and you also create an inventory of important benefits that you have provided to previous employers and others.
The best place to start is to think about what achievements you have had in your current or your previous job. As you identify an achievement, summarise what was involved within a short sentence and record this on the left-hand side of the achievement list that you are compiling.
Go back through earlier jobs and other parts of your life. Seek to list up to 20 achievements, listed over four or five pages. To the right of these achievements - around the centre of the page - briefly note when and where each achievement happened. You can include some group achievements, however, place preference on things that you achieved as an individual. These are the accomplishments that best reflect on you.
Why we recommend that you do an achievement list
You do an achievement list in order to provide yourself with the best material that you can include in your CV and use at interview. Anyone who does not do a good inventory of achievements cannot draft the best possible CV and they are likely to sell themselves short at interview.
Another important reason that we recommend you do an achievement list is that it facilitates linking your achievements to benefits - such as saving money, increasing income or improving morale - that former employers and other parties, such as clients and colleagues enjoyed because of what you did.
So, having listed achievements and noted when and where they happened, think about benefits that accrued out of each achievement and record these on the right-hand side of each one. Some achievements may have no benefit that you can identify; others will have several. Maybe a client saved money, your employer earned a larger fee or your team was awarded a bonus. All these benefits should be noted.
Benefits are really important in selling situations. Benefits excite prospective buyers in a really effective way. If you can boast - either in your CV or at interview - something such as, ‘in my last job, I came up with a suggestion that is still saving the firm €5,000 a year’ - you will engage and impress employers. Drawing up an achievement list is how you position yourself to communicate powerfully like this.
More and more employers are using competency interviews for selection processes. Competency interviews are focused almost entirely on what you have done in the past and on successes you’ve had. There is no better preparation for a competency interview than to do an achievement list. Doing this provides you with a stock of impressive stories you can tell.
Finally, valuable personal insights can be gained by drawing up an achievement list. Many people are surprised by what they learn about themselves by reviewing their achievements in a structured way. Do certain strengths and preferences keep cropping up? What do these say about your aptitudes and your values?
Visit the Advice and Tips section of the website for more job seeking and career management advice.