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Step 1: Review
the Criteria |
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To
decide which of your accomplishments to
include in your Story Inventory, review
these top criteria for an effective
Accomplishment Story:
- Is the
accomplishment recent? For
job-seeking, ideally accomplishments
should focus on the last 2-3 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?
- 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. 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.
- 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
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.
- Is
the accomplishment a specific
incident of accomplishment as
opposed to an ongoing record of
achievement (for example, consistently
earning good grades)?
- Is
the accomplishment relevant to the
next job you seek?
- Have
you added metrics where appropriate?
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