Topic outline

  • ACHIEVEMENTS AND SUCCESSES

    In a job interview the recruiter wants to know about your achievements to understand what do  you've done and what you value and what makes you different from the other candidates. When you tell about your best achievements, they reveal your strengths in a fact-oriented way that you don't have to boast about.

    Success and achievements happen in everyday situations: at studying, working or doing hobbies.It doesn't matter if you did not get public recognition of it. An achievement might be e.g. that:

    • you did something bravely in spite of being afraid
    • you worked hard with a difficult task and the accomplishment felt really good and satisfying
    • you showed initiative and created something new and beneficial
    • you handled well a challenging situation and a demanding client expressed her/his gratitude
    • you received good feedback on something you did to benefit another person or organization

    What has been the greatest achievement of your life? What are you really proud of?  

    What has been the greatest achievement in your studies or in your work life until now? What made it possible? What did you do?

    The two exercises help you to find stories that highligt your genuine strengths and characteristics of your nature. First, write about ten situations that were related to success. Then, reflect and write about the characteristics and strengths that they indicate.

    Complete the two exercises in about 45 minutes.

    • Student must submit this questionnaire to complete it

      Write about 10 different situations (or as many as you can find!) in three phases:

      1) What was the starting point or the situation in the beginning? 

      2) What did you do? 

      3) What was the result? Who got the benefit? What did it lead to? 

       


    • Student must submit this questionnaire to complete it

      1) What do your success stories tell about you as a person? What kinds of skills, qualities, aptitude and attitude did you possess? What else was required of you? 

      2) Are these accomplishments present in your CV? Do they belong there? If you don't yet have a long list of work experience, you can mention some of your best achievements. They will illustrate your qualities and strengths.

      3) How do you usually measure your success? Are your your typical ways to assess yourself adequate and do they support your well-being?