“What have you done for me lately?”
One of my managers used to ask this weekly. At the time, I didn’t realize how lucky I was that I said it out loud. Spoken or not, this is one of the standards by which we are all measured in the world of work. It’s true for business owners and employees, for those at the top and bottom of the org chart. What we have achieved is important to others. And if it matters to others, it needs to matter to us. Note: I am not saying this is the ONLY thing that matters, just that it is important to be aware of what we have accomplished.
Therefore, I recommend that we all maintain our own master list of achievements. This list serves as a source for resume content, a reference for job interviews, for performance evaluations, or to review as a boost when feeling depressed. The Master Achievement List is a living document that you maintain as the years go by and that you will continue to refer to as your career progresses.
So what information do you include on your master achievement list?
- Achievements / Achievements
- Dated
- Organization
Achievements and achievements
Let’s talk about each of these. First, what counts as an achievement or achievement? Sources to consider for achievements include:
– Goals you achieved
– Projects you completed
– Awards you received
– Articles you posted
– Documents you wrote
– Teams that facilitated or directed
– Problems you solved
– Challenges you overcame
– Obstacles you worked on
– Results you achieved
List a short description, not just a name. Take notes on the result you achieved and the steps you took. “Creating marketing materials for the theatrical production of Criminal Hearts, including brochures, posters, postcards, websites, and press releases” is better than “Project 2A marketing.” Be specific. Use metrics and measurements where appropriate. “Decrease the number of defects by 12% in 3 months” is better than “improve quality”.
Some questions to ask yourself to remember your accomplishments are:
– What did you improve?
– What did you increase the measure or value of?
– What did you reduce the measure of?
– What changed because you were there, in a particular organization, because of the things you did while you were there?
– Did it help the company or group save time or money?
Dated
Write down the date you completed the achievement or achievement. Write down what you can remember: year, month / year, month / day / year.
Organization
Regarding the organization you worked for, with which company was the achievement achieved? Write down if it is a paid job, volunteer, or a freelance project for family / friends. Include all of these on this list, for example, maybe you kept the books for your spouse’s business, or you designed and decorated cakes for family and friends.
Don’t get hung up on how to express things for now. Just capture your achievements and achievements. Registration is the important thing.
Review your old resumes, status reports, reviews, certificates, and awards to help you. Review your adult life and list all the relevant accomplishments that you can recall in some detail.
Now that you have a master list of your accomplishments, remember to update it each time you accomplish something new.
The next time you’re writing a cover letter or updating your resume, or preparing for an interview or performance review, pull out your master list of accomplishments. Identify the ones that are relevant, the ones that make the points you want to make. Then incorporate them into your document or conversation.
And when someone asks you, “What have you been up to lately?” be ready to respond.