Description
Part 1: About Me
Answer the following questions to capture how you see yourself in terms of values, aspirations, key qualities, goals, strengths, and areas of growth:
1) Describe your values, motivations or aspirations in your own words.
2) Describe some of your main personal, academic, and professional goals. Make sure to write five or more complete sentences.
3) What are some of your strength areas? Think about the top 2–3 skills you would advertise about yourself, or consider what others come to you for advice about. Make sure to write five or more complete sentences.
4) What are some areas you would like to grow and improve in? Make sure to write five or more complete sentences.
Part 2: Accomplishment Statements
Accomplishments don’t have to be as large as climbing the top of Mount Everest or starting your own company. We accomplish many things in our lives every day that have meaning. For example, perhaps you organized volunteers for your school’s food drive or made an extremely profitable sale. Or, if you’re more advanced in your career, perhaps you’ve received a promotion or special recognition.
In this part of the assignment, you’ll identify two accomplishments from work, school, volunteering, or other activities. You’ll then practice communicating these in ways appropriate for a résumé.
To begin, brainstorm accomplishments from your work, school, volunteering, or other activities. Read the Accomplishment Categories section for a list. After you’ve identified two accomplishments, write statements for each accomplishment using the information below:
Step 1: Think about each of your accomplishments in these terms:
Challenge
Situation, problem, or requirement.
Action
Specific actions you took to resolve or meet the challenge.
Result
The benefit created in specific and measurable terms. Be sure to tie results to the organization’s goals when possible.
Details
Clarifying details, such as numbers or percentages, to provide context (consider answering how many, how much, how long, or how often).
Consider the example below of someone with experience as a retail manager:
Challenge
An increase in customer complaints about the helpfulness of staff.
Action
Developed a new training program for staff, got approval from district manager, and once approved implemented it with a regular review process.
Result
After 3 months, customer complaints decreased.
Details
Previously, customer complaints averaged 4 per week.
After 3 months, complaints averaged 1 or less per week.
Step 2: Write two accomplishment statements to practice using this format:
Challenge
Action
Result
Details
Challenge
Action
Result
Details
Step 3: Now, try writing your two accomplishment statements concisely for a résumé (you will not be completing a resume). Use either example format below to write your accomplishments:
Accomplishment Statement 1: Result + action + brief description including clarifying details.
Example: Decreased customer complaints from 3 per week to 1 or less per week by training staff and implementing a regular review process.
Accomplishment Statement 2: Action + brief description with clarifying details + results.
Part 3: Reflect on Your Experiences
1) How has reflecting on your goals, strengths, areas of growth, and accomplishments been valuable for you?
2) What are ways you can build in a regular practice of reflection?
3) In your current understanding of the 10 Skills, identify 1–2 skills that you believe have helped you reach the accomplishments listed in Part 2. Briefly explain how.
4) After practicing writing your accomplishments in a résumé-appropriate style, do you feel more confident in expressing your accomplishments to an employer? Briefly explain.
