Beating sales targets. Research. In other words, associate your accomplishment with a specific percentage or dollar amount. Sample Answer 5 - Persevering Through Injury Achievement. A: Action The actions you took alone or your specific contribution as part of a team to obtain the objective. Did you learn anything or determine how to complete the task differently next time? If you dont have much professional experience to draw from, consider accomplishments from your academic career and any internships or volunteer work youve done. This could include the tasks you're in charge of, your position in a particular issue . Then work on building out the supporting examples for these accomplishments. Ensure your greatest accomplishment is work-related or demonstrates skills which can be directly applied in the workplace. However, you could refer to school, volunteering or even your hobbies, so long as you demonstrate transferable skills and prove you are the best person for the job. RESULTS: Between saving in those summers, working during college, and applying for scholarships, I graduated from Michigan State University debt free. Your answer to this question really can give away all of the above. Results - In the end, we managed to decrease the average monthly ticket count by around 25%. Theyre hoping to gain some sort of insight about you from the way you choose to answer the question. What happened and how did you handle it? By using feedback from the evaluation forms and best industry practices, I was able to develop a new onboarding system from the ground up. Companies . Answering What is your greatest achievement in an interview can be intimidating. The second answer is going to be more memorable and more impressive, so that's why you should review your own story/example you plan on giving to refresh yourself on as many details as possible. The company promoted me from a mid-level position and tasked me with improving retention and recruitment. Do not, under any circumstances, use a personal accomplishment as your response. Check out our full guide on achievements here: 100+ Achievements to Write in Your Resume [2023 Examples]. To keep your answer focused on the right information, use the four-part STAR method, which includes the: Heres a brief example of how to use the STAR method in an interview answer: Situation: Shortly after starting my last barista role, I noticed people werent buying our new salted caramel latte drink. 'What is your greatest accomplishment' is one of the best questions you can be asked in your next interview because it's really just a chance for you to brag about something great that you did. send our content editing team a message here, 25 Best Why Do You Want to Work Here Sample Interview Answers, 21 Best Describe a Challenge You Faced and How You Overcame It Examples, 50 Most Asked Nursing Interview Questions with Answers, 20 Best Answers to Why Do You Want to Leave Your Current Job, 10 Best Answers to Why Do You Want to Be a Manager, 11 Best Answers to What Does Leadership Mean to You Interview Question, 50 Most Asked Front Desk Interview Questions with Answers, 10 Best Ways to Answer Sell Me This Pen in an Interview, 10 Most Asked Integrity Interview Questions with Answers, 25 Most Asked Confidentiality Interview Questions with Answers, 50 Most Asked Phone Interview Questions with Answers, 10 Best Answers to What Are Your Interests and Hobbies. 1. B) "My greatest accomplishment is graduating in the top 3% of my class of over 2,000 students last year, with a GPA of 3.88". Look for keywords and the primary responsibilities of the position. Are you a mid-level professional in your field? Create a connection. Is this the kind of work you typically do? What is Your Greatest Accomplishment? I learn to prioritize my time between family and work. Heres an example from a student who put themselves through college: I believe that my greatest achievement so far was funding my own education at [ University]. It mentions transferrable skills focus and time management and subtly mentions that they could keep up when others couldnt. Additionally, ask friends, family, and former coworkers for their opinion. Tell Me About A Time When You Made A Mistake On The Job, How To Answer Tell Me About A Time You Disagreed With Your Boss. Charitable work or volunteering. A business driver is often a key metric (e.g., quality) but not always (e.g., best practice). Learn every detail about making a resume. This candidate describes initiative, organization, and insight into the teams needs. Way to Answer "what was your greatest achievement?" interview question. The more examples you have to pull from, the better youll be able to tailor your stories for multiple interviews. I discussed a plan with the CEO and the accountant to see how we could use the kitchen in the office to make lunch for the workers at an affordable price they could pay at the beginning of the month, and everyone agreed. It tells about your potential as an employee and how much of a valuable asset you can be to the company. What that means is, the interviewer wants to understand your past performance, and how you handle specific situations (for example, under pressure). TASK: Find a way to still deliver each project on time per customer expectations. Trying to be funny - For example: " My greatest achievement was when I managed to get to work on time for once. Your qualifications: Some accomplishments help employers establish . I learned a lot through teaching 2.Satisfaction through satisfying students and their parents 3.Respect through dedication in quality of work I believe that my greatest achievement as a teacher is being a wholesome person. I assigned a few new team members to the project and worked through a weekend to bring myself up to speed. How much work are you willing to put in to accomplish something at work? What three things should I say for accomplishments? The main idea here behind the STAR method is that every answer should cover the following topics: Now, lets take a well-written behavioral job interview answer using the STAR method, What is a professional achievement youre most proud of?, Situation - Well, my last role was as a manager at a seasonal restaurant in Nantucket. Your values. Shows how the project was successful in the end. How did you ensure that you would meet your objective? Concrete examples of your work. Using this method, you talk about the situation or problem you were facing, the task or role you played within the situation, the action you took to solve the problem, and the result you achieved. This one is career-relevant and has a dollar value attached. Learning the best way to answer What is your greatest accomplishment? or What is your greatest professional achievement? is extremely important when interviewing with a potential employer. See the Best Places to Work 2023! That way, you can tune your answers to every question the interviewer throws at you. I needed to know my list of tasks, when each was due, and how long they would take. Learn more: How to Prepare for a Behavioral Interview. Describe the situation and in which context it happened. Instead of simply saying "I increased sales by 600 percent in one year," describe how you did it. Make a list of all your professional accomplishments. The question is among the most common interview questions asked because it gives the interviewer and prospective team members more information about you and your capabilities and allows them to see how well you communicate. Resume, CV and Cover Letter Writing Expert, Why Interviewers Ask What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?, How to Pick the Perfect Answer with the STAR Method, 3+ Whats Your Greatest accomplishment Sample Answers, What is Your Greatest Accomplishment Sample Answer for Mid-Level Professionals, What is Your Greatest accomplishment Sample Answer for Fresh Graduates, What is Your Greatest accomplishment Sample Answer for the Service Industry, graduated college with not much work experience, 35+ Interview Questions and Answers [Full List], 19+ STAR Interview Questions - Complete List, 10+ Situational Interview Questions & Answers [Complete List], How to Ace Interviews with the STAR Method, Why interviewers ask the What is your greatest achievement? job interview question, How to reply with the perfect answer using the STAR method, 3+ What is your greatest achievement sample answers. This response highlights the students top grades and work experience. Avoid saying you do not have any accomplishments, even if you are recently out of school. Learning the best way to answer What is your biggest accomplishment? or What is your best professional achievement ? job interview question is a great way to show an interviewer and prospective team members more information about you and your capabilities. your challenge or responsibility). My greatest accomplishment happened last quarter, when my team was behind on our sales quota. Summary. Find out what they're saying. During an interview, a hiring manager is evaluating not only a candidates skills and abilities but also their personality to determine how well they will fit within the organization. For some job candidates, its difficult to determine what accomplishment to use and how to communicate it effectively, so well try to get the juices flowing with some sample answers here. If you can stand out with an answer that ties your qualifications and skills directly to the job description, you can get a lot done with this answer. ". SITUATION: My biggest achievement was growing sales in an underperforming territory. What is the best answer to What is your biggest achievement?. And if not, what made it an outlier? Heres a sample answer from a professional interviewing for a Chief Human Resources Officer position: "What is your greatest professional achievement?". Revenue Directly or indirectly achieving revenue. The following are common types of work accomplishments with examples of each. In an accounting department, this might include ways that you strengthened controls, exceeded schedule or documentation reports or built new systems. I knew automating the process would make things easier and help us close more sales. This saved me a lot of time, and eventually, the document got repurposed to its own web page. "What is your greatest accomplishment?" is one of the most common job interview questions, but particularly for someone fresh out of college or high school it can be daunting to answer.. We'll cover why interviewers ask about your greatest accomplishment, provide tips for giving the best answer, and tie it all together with a few sample answers. Each team or individual could instantly access the files they needed in one HR filing system, and increase their overall productivity., Are you wondering what are some other accomplishments you can mention during your interview? "My greatest accomplishment was completing my bachelor's degree in 3 years or Graduate Degree in 2 years while pursuing an example (Business Degree), being a single parent, and working full-time. Do not enhance your part in group achievements or take credit for a team effort on projects. But with our CV maker, you can create a CV in the same timeframe. Situation: "My greatest accomplishment was when I was a content leader at a local design agency. Automation (e.g. How To Respond To A Recruiter Email (With Examples), How To Answer Why Are You Interested In This Position? (With Examples): Job Interview Question, Topics: Get The Job, Guides, Interview Questions. This ultimately saved the company thousands of dollars a year in materials and lowered our cost of goods sold, which had a big impact on company profitability. (T) Task - Talk about the tasks you had to complete (i.e. From sharpening resumes and elevating LinkedIn profiles to providing interview preparation and career advancement strategies, our blog is a wealth of knowledge, drawing from our extensive experience working with hundreds of clients and positively impacting the lives of thousands of job seekers. Starting your first job. Its not a trick question, per se, but it is one that you want to be intentional about the way that you answer. Choose your greatest achievement that is relevant to the position. What you choose as your greatest assignment depends on your background. Reflect on your time in education, extra-curricular activities and hobbies to identify something you accomplished that made you feel proud. So now that you know what an employer is looking for with this question, how do you go about answering it in a way that makes you look like a good candidate? Its the inverted version of tell me about a time you failed, but theyre both behavioral interview questions, meaning youll need good stories to tell the hiring manager for each. It was tiring at times, but I scheduled pretty much everything I had to do in my personal calendar. Use a recent and relevant accomplishment. We went from in use losses to enhanced revenue. What was the outcome of your action? In addition, good answers are concise and entice further follow-up questions. SITUATION: My biggest managerial achievement was maximizing team effort and reducing lateness. Beating sales targets. Describe the challenge you were up against, your plan of attack, and the success you saw on the other side. Second, this is a classic behavioral interview question, so a strong answer starts with a strong success story. As with all behavioral interview questions, choosing a relevant example and using the STAR . Then use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to clearly show how your skills resulted in a valuable achievement. Answering interview questions is more of a skill, but don't worrywe'll go into greater . Over the following year, I got promoted to the Customer Support Team Lead, and helped with scaling up the overall customer service efforts (consulted with hiring, training new reps, communicating issues and questions with the product, and so on). I also set up in-person meetings with three donors who had expressed interest but had not donated. I wanted to ensure our prospects and leads would feel understood, knowing our sales team cared about their success. Try to consider more than one major achievement, at most three. Within two months, I had introduced a new onboarding process, introduced and incentivized managerial training, and adopted a new recruitment software. Learn more: 7 Situational Interview Questions to Prepare For. Certainly it was a team effort, but I was the main man on the sales floor, helping customers to . E.g. But you want to talk about something thats not just impressive to you you want it to be impressive to anyone. It could be something you're proud of from your work, from home or a combination. Your answer says A LOT about you as a candidate. First, when an interviewer asks, "What is your greatest achievement?" they're really asking for your greatest professional (or academic) accomplishment. Talking about your own achievements can be pretty uncomfortable for some were taught not to brag from an early age. The STAR translates to Situation, Task, Action, and Resolution. Highlight your most notable publications and research with one of our research-focused CVs. Well show you how to create your own. TASK: I had to stay positive, take control of the situation, and find a way to start over and rebuild. The following answer to "what is your greatest achievement" can help you grasp what exactly employers are looking for when they pose this key question: "I believe my greatest achievement came seven months ago in my previous job as an advertising consultant. I used to post weekly and engage with the comments on a particular day of the week. "My most significant career achievement was being the youngest person ever awarded a sales management position at my current company. However, I decided to find a way to get to the office at least four hours before opening to pull in my weight and help with the extra work. If you're applying for a job as an accountant and your greatest achievement is baking the best cake ever at your office party, you're not making the cut. Prepare your answer in advance, so you don't have to think up an accomplishment on the spot. 1. Professional accomplishments are achievements beyond your daily work responsibilities. R [RESULTS] What were the results of what you did? How do you answer what are your key achievements? Here are the four parts of the STAR method: S: Situation The situation or the task that is relevant to the job description. By taking initiative, I earned myself a senior developer position and a company car to help me navigate from home to work. So make sure you think about your proudest accomplishments and rehearse giving specific examples so you will be ready to nail this question during the interview process. They close with a measurable positive impact on the company, placing the focus back on the benefit for the employer. Yes, this has been tested. If you have questions about resumes, cover letters, or CVs, we answer hundreds of them here. The whole experience taught me how to effectively manage and prioritize my time. If you're success-oriented and if you've gone above and beyond in your work. Acquiring Skills. Read the job description closely. Boost your application with an effective cover letter. Its the perfect example of a behavioral job interview question, and as a refresher, heres what you need to know when answering: Looking for more ways to prepare for your job interview? My greatest achievement was getting to work with wonderful people at Atlas Copco Power Technique. Work accomplishments are positive and notable work outcomes. I set the goal of reducing turnover by half and cutting cost-to-fill by 10%. Find the example below that best mirrors what stage you are at in your career, and consider how youd adjust it to describe your biggest achievement. Finally, when answering this question, use a show and tell approach. They expect to hear about an accomplishment from your education, volunteerism, or part-time work. Use the S-T-A-R format (the Situation you faced, the Task required, the Action you took, and the successful Result of your action) to describe your accomplishment. 1. Learning how to cook an exotic dish. I wrote up a five-question survey and sent it to a selection of people on our list of potential donors. The importance of salary expectations Whether you are currently filling out a job application or preparing for an in-person interview, you may be asked A Guide to Delivering an Irresistible Elevator Pitch Picture this: You step into an elevator, and right after you steps in a well-dressed woman. Glassdoors Blog provides valuable content to the conscious job seeker and employees who are passionate about furthering and deepening their careers. When they ask about your greatest accomplishment, they're interested in learning about three main things: Work ethic: Interviewers may want to know what you view as an accomplishment and the work you completed to . Based on your response, they can also determine what you consider important as an employee. Wondering how to answer the question modestly (while at the same time, showing off how awesome you are)? Soon after, I started a summer landscape business where I earned over $10,000 in my sophomore, junior, and senior years. Practice your example answers before your interview. Recruiters and hiring managers dont just want to hear that you know how to work they want specifics. ACTION: I would use all my breaks to do assignments or write some code, which was exhausting but very helpful. Action - I decided to start learning as much as I could about our product (a social media automation tool) by talking with the other employees when I could, and reading up on everything I could get my hands on that was related to the product. Thats all for this one! The company had instilled fines for that, but certain employees still came in late regardless of multiple fines. I was a topper in subjects like engineering mathematics and applied mechanics in my bath. All Rights Reserved. Regardless of how true it is, I dont really have any greatest accomplishments is just bad optics all around. The restaurant was completely packed 90%+ of the time, and we barely had any breathing room., Task We had to be very efficient at work to make sure that we wouldnt get overwhelmed., Action - The most important part of making this work was being proactive. Not to mention that your other accomplishments may come up when youre answering a different interview question. First of all, I was incredibly lucky in my life. The most effective way to answer any tough interview question is to follow the STAR approach. 27 Crisp and Impactful examples of what is your greatest achievement sample answer for freshers. and your relevant "hard skills" (computer technologies, project . I wanted to improve, and a lot of the other employees were often too busy to help me out. Monday to Friday, 8AM 12AM (Midnight) and Saturdays and Sundays, 10AM 6PM EDT (866) 215-9048. A simple way that you can show a potential employer what youre capable of is to quantify your accomplishment. Working with a good team means open communication, high trust . For example, if you notice that taking ownership of projects and exceeding expectations is a core value for the company youre interviewing with, you might choose to tell the hiring manager about a time you stepped up to take responsibility for something, even when it may not have been your responsibility. Human resource experts and researches have come up with a STAR method to give an answer that is satisfactory. What is your greatest accomplishment example answer? Choose anything that is as recent as feasible and at least tangentially related to this position or your career. "What is your greatest accomplishment? "What is your greatest professional achievement" Answer example "My greatest achievement at my last company was when I designed and implemented a loyalty card scheme for customers. Try our creative templates to highlight your personality. What are your greatest accomplishment examples? Volunteer jobs like these are ideal sources for greatest accomplishment answers for entry-level candidates. 2. Situation - My biggest achievement was during my internship as a customer support representative at Company X. I was the first custom support intern there, so I didnt have a lot to go off of and had to learn a lot by myself. EXAMPLE ANSWER: "The accomplishment I'm most proud of is completing my degree with a 3.95 GPA. Last year, I had a student who was struggling with dyslexia. Let's begin! Understanding Greatest Accomplishment. When Have You Made A Split Second Decision? Your commitment to work: The greatest achievement question helps employers determine your work ethic and commitment to growing in your profession. " My most outstanding achievement is completing my Bachelor's degree in 4 years with a 3.8 GPA. RESULTS: I rebuilt within a year after the ordeal and learned much about what I can accomplish and how resilient I can be. If you want to become successful in life, you must help yourself first. It is common for these to be listed on a performance review or resume and to be discussed in an interview. Organizing a successful charity event. We went from 100 followers to over 5,000 within one year and social media is now a steady channel for generating sales leads. You can start by describing the problem that your team or company faced. Best Method to Answer What is your proudest accomplishment: The most effective method to answer these questions and its variations is to follow the S.T.A.R format (Situation/ Task/ Approach/ Result). I wanted to discover how our outreach was missing the mark, and what types of new donors we should focus on pursuing. Mastering a new skill. Then you can determine to what extent you made this change happen or contributed to it. Task: I decided to experiment with new ways to promote it in-store. I wanted to increase productivity and efficiency, and in the end, save time spent on looking for documents., Action - I decided to take initiative and implement a new team HR document management software. Whats your greatest accomplishment? might sound like an awfully complicated question. This way, I never missed a deadline, assignment or any other responsibility., Results - In the end, I graduated with a GPA of 3.8, almost no student loans, and also interned as the university social media assistant during my last 2 semesters. I attribute this accomplishment to my willingness to work overtime and help out wherever needed while learning all I can about the business.