Learn more: How to Prepare for a Behavioral Interview. Task. I was part of a small team assigned to redesigning the agency website in hopes of attracting new regional clients.". Applying for a position with numerous qualifications? I was diagnosed with a hip impingement and torn labrum after dealing with months of pain during the travel softball season. Then you can determine to what extent you made this change happen or contributed to it. Training for and completing a marathon. My contribution was published by Oxford Press. ACTION: I endured painful physical therapy and light walking for the first three months. The candidate proves their ability to meet and exceed HR objectives on a large scale, while focusing on what they did to get there. When I took on the position, turnover was high and our cost-to-fill was skyrocketing. A few more tips from HEC Montreal for students seeking jobs. If you find it difficult to think of specific accomplishments, consider times that youve been recognized for your work. Achievements also provide tangible evidence that colleagues, competitors and the wider world use to judge a person as more or less successful. https://passmyinterview.com/50-interview-questions-and-answers/#interviewquestion. If you have multiple significant accomplishments, select one that demonstrates measurable results for the company. T: Task The goal you aimed to achieve, such as increasing sales, decreasing costs, or others. The task that was required to be . SITUATION: My greatest achievement was paying for college myself. Highlight both your relevant " soft skills " (leadership, conflict resolution, decision making, etc.) 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. Let them know you are curious because you want their help in answering this interview question. TASK: The only way to keep the region open was for sales to improve. It wont matter how good your story is if they dont understand the context. 'My greatest achievement' examples could include: Giving a great presentation at work. Sample Answer 1 - Sales Achievement. I came up with a new marketing strategy involving social media campaigns that increased our sales by 155%. They expect to hear about an accomplishment from your education, volunteerism, or part-time work. It tells about your potential as an employee and how much of a valuable asset you can be to the company. Task: I decided to experiment with new ways to promote it in-store. 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. What that means is, the interviewer wants to understand your past performance, and how you handle specific situations (for example, under pressure). This could include the tasks you're in charge of, your position in a particular issue . I wanted to improve, and a lot of the other employees were often too busy to help me out. In addition to showcasing their strengths, a job seeker should be effective in mirroring a companys core values and fitting in with the company culture in their answer to this behavioral interview question. Well show you how to nail this common question and impress your interviewer with our expert sample answers and tips below. How to answer "What is your greatest accomplishment?" Looking for a job-winning customer service resume you could use as inspiration? TASK: I had to stay positive, take control of the situation, and find a way to start over and rebuild. Make sure you prepare for this question ahead of time. Learning how to cook an exotic dish. My first job out of school was as a customer care agent at a fast-paced tech company. SITUATION: My biggest achievement was growing sales in an underperforming territory. Because of this experience, next time I run into this challenge, Ill be able to use my newfound abilities with [skill or concept].. One final note from Idealist is to keep track of your achievements as they happen at work. The most effective way to answer any tough interview question is to follow the STAR approach. Certainly it was a team effort, but I was the main man on the sales floor, helping customers to . Job seekers are often haunted by lies, so its best to avoid them altogether. Did you learn anything or determine how to complete the task differently next time? But with our CV maker, you can create a CV in the same timeframe. That way, you can tune your answers to every question the interviewer throws at you. Get ideas from our in-house career coaches. Beating sales targets. At the beginning of the summer, I created a very strict shift schedule, which we adhered to 100%. Common phone interview questions and answers, How to ask for feedback after an interview the right way, Why are you suitable for this job? sample answers, How to answer Walk me through your resume, How to answer What are your weaknesses?, How to answer What is your greatest strength?, How to answer Where do you see yourself in 5 years?, Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work example answers. Heres a sample answer from an undergraduate student: While studying marketing as an undergraduate, I volunteered with my community orchestra to raise funds for a scholarship program. For background, I studied literature in school, which did not involve any tech information. Never miss an opportunity thats right for you. your challenge or responsibility). I recently moved to a different country, and the first few days were so hard because I could not understand what anyone was saying. When I got to my previous company as a human resources manager, employees spent so much time on lunch breaks, which would interfere with the working hours and the teams output. 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. But these kinds of questions can put the candidates in a difficult position, when suddenly asked, often leaving candidates feeling ill-prepared. If you have questions about resumes, cover letters, or CVs, we answer hundreds of them here. 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. Dont hold back here include even small achievements. A: Action The actions you took alone or your specific contribution as part of a team to obtain the objective. Set your story up with a brief description of the situation that led to your accomplishment. Use a recent and relevant accomplishment. 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. Use your strongest accomplishment in your answer to make sure that you tell your best story. There's not much risk in screwing this one up, other than the fact that you might be missing out on a lot of free points if you don't take full advantage of this interview question. In this post, we hope to take some of the hard work out of your preparation by sharing some sample answers for the most significant accomplishments. Considering using materials such as journals, your resume, or school transcripts to help jog your memory. At my current job as a fifth-grade teacher, my greatest accomplishments always involve watching my students achieve something. Lets take a look at another sample answer. Sometimes, the hardest problem youll face in answering this question wont be coming up with a single answer: Itll be choosing between several different ones. This can help you have specific accomplishments in mind that you could refer to based on what youre discussing in the interview. If so, why mention this example specifically? e. Be honest. The sweetest and best achievement.be made of nothing .something important My achievements as a teacher: 1. This question essentially forces a full S-T-A-R behavioral answer, since it puts the "R" (results achieved) first, which makes it easy to trace the trail for how you got there. Wondering how to answer the question modestly (while at the same time, showing off how awesome you are)? 30 Life Accomplishments You Want to Remember. Are accomplishments in general out of the ordinary for you? Running your first marathon. E.g. Examples: My greatest achievement' examples could include: Giving a great presentation at work. 1. They needed volunteers, so I took the initiative. When answered properly, youll be able to share what you value most, demonstrate your work ethic, and showcase why youre the best person for the job. Not only does it illustrate your skill and competency as a nurse in critical situations but it also expresses an experience that is meaningful to you. 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. Sample Answer 4 - Paying For College Myself Achievement. First of all, I was incredibly lucky in my life. 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. There can be a time and a place for humour in a job interview, but it is not when . In my research, I learned about SEO and engagement, which made me drop a few things I was doing on the side to focus on the blog fully. Building Relationships. Choose a professional accomplishment. Scholarships or grants. Describe the situation and in which context it happened. This way, a recruiter will see how your soft skills can work successfully in their organization. While its sometimes not easy to talk about ourselves and our past experiences, practicing for this and other key behavioral questions will pay dividends in the long run. Buying your first car. Its always better to have a recent story versus one from ten years ago, especially if the skills you display are no longer relevant to the modern work youll be doing. SITUATION: My biggest achievement was persevering and thriving following an injury. Avoid saying you do not have any accomplishments, even if you are recently out of school. Situation: "My greatest accomplishment was when I was a content leader at a local design agency. CVs are often longer than resumes. RESULTS: As a result, our food tastes better, and positive online reviews increased threefold. We were losing customers and getting brutal reviews online. No votes so far! 12 Example Answers to What Is Your Leadership Style? Interview Question, Vice President of Purchasing in Sarasota, FL, Highlight your best qualities and values in your answer. Regardless of how true it is, I dont really have any greatest accomplishments is just bad optics all around. ACTION: I would use all my breaks to do assignments or write some code, which was exhausting but very helpful. "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. How did you ensure that you would meet your objective? R: Result Was the outcome successful? Sample Answer 3 - Side Hustle Personal Achievement. Dont go negative. 2. For more help preparing for your interview, check out some of our other articles below: Corissa is a Career Advisor and Staff Writer at Resume Genius, where she loves equipping others with the tools they need to pursue their dreams. At MatchBuilt, weve counseled 1000s of job seekers on how to answer common behavioral interview questions just like this one. The best answer to this tough interview question will entail a real accomplishment thats free of BS and includes a specific example. Entry-Level College Grad. Learn more: 7 Situational Interview Questions to Prepare For. Example Answer for Your Greatest Achievement or Accomplishment (Entry-Level): My greatest professional achievement was completing my Bachelor's degree in 4 years with a 3.8 GPA. My experience taught me time management, habits and prioritization. It's a reflection of my hard work and discipline, as well as my ability to work well with others on group projects while also shining on independent work. S [SITUATION] Describe the situation that led to the achievement, T [TASK] Talk about the task you had to do to accomplish the achievement, A [ACTIONS] Describe the actions you implemented to achieve the accomplishment. Thats all for this one! (R) Results - Explain the kind of results you achieved. You're simultaneously making the program easier to understand while also removing a lot of potential sources for bugs (research tells us that the number of bugs in a program is proportional to the number of lines i. 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 greatest accomplishment is a significant event or achievement that you are proud of and that has had a meaningful impact on your life. If thats not possible which it often isnt at this level you can still pick something that impacts others. TASK: Find a way to still deliver each project on time per customer expectations. Your Greatest Achievement In Life As A Student Is Beyond Academics . Then use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to clearly show how your skills resulted in a valuable achievement. "My most significant career achievement was being the youngest person ever awarded a sales management position at my current company. What if I dont have any accomplishments? '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. Be respectful of your current, or previous, employer's "confidential" information. Boost your application with an effective cover letter. Interviewers ask this question to gain insight into your proven work and what achievements you view as most valuable and important. How you answer an interview question is almost as important as what you say. My scholarship only covered half of the tuition, and my family was unable to support me financially. Generally, the best full proof . Answering the interview question 'what is your greatest accomplishment?' "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. If you dont have much professional experience to draw from, consider accomplishments from your academic career and any internships or volunteer work youve done. When asking this question, the interviewer wants to learn 3 things: Now that weve got that out of the way, lets talk about how to answer this question. Mistakes continued, even after teaching the waitresses all of the receipts so they could explain the ingredients clearly to the guest. Choose a career achievement even if they don't specifically ask for it. Organizing a successful charity event. A year later, we had met and exceeded the goals I set when I took on the position. Last year, I had a student who was struggling with dyslexia. Ryan Morris was a writer for the Zippia Advice blog who tried to make the job process a little more entertaining for all those involved. This candidate describes initiative, organization, and insight into the teams needs. E.g. Find out what they're saying. We had a month of training and a test to show we understood the terminologies used by callers, and I passed with flying colors. The company had instilled fines for that, but certain employees still came in late regardless of multiple fines. Shows how the project was successful in the end. ACTION: I was still new to the job and had no car, so I could not stay late in the office for safety purposes. After all, odds are pretty good that if youve worked long enough to have one big accomplishment, its not the only accomplishment that youve had. Achievements are the building blocks that enable someone to construct a sense of themselves as a success. Improved cold lead response time by 20% VS Improved sales., Greatest achievement sample answer for mid-level professionals, Greatest achievement sample answer for fresh graduates, Greatest achievement sample answer for the service industry. Finally, when answering this question, use a show and tell approach. Human resource experts and researches have come up with a STAR method to give an answer that is satisfactory. Through focus and time management, I excelled in my classes and even filled in for student co-workers when they were struggling to keep up. RESULTS: My calls started getting better, and after a month into my course, I was awarded employee of the month for offering the best solutions to our customers. While behavioral questions may make you nervous, there are ways to prepare the best answer and come out ahead of other qualified candidates who are interviewing for the same position. Your greatest accomplishments serve as your greatest selling point when you offer yourself to the company. TASK: I made a commitment to myself that I would find a way to finance and pay to attend the college of my choice. Your qualifications: Some accomplishments help employers establish . Here are some techniques to answer questions about your greatest accomplishments: Start off by telling the interviewer a story. Show the great strides you made in your education and the accolades you received for the same. Pick a Recent Accomplishment. Like the examples above, this story focuses on what the candidate did to create real results. SITUATION: My greatest achievement was learning a new language by living abroad. 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. I was a topper in subjects like engineering mathematics and applied mechanics in my bath. In my first job out of college, I was tasked with managing a companys social media channels. Your answer to this question really can give away all of the above. This is your moment to really connect to the interviewer by mentioning details that are related and relevant to the company . I wanted to discover how our outreach was missing the mark, and what types of new donors we should focus on pursuing. To answer just about any behavioral job interview question right, we recommend using the STAR method. I really wanted the blog to work, and even though I used to share the link to my contacts on Whatsapp and followers on Instagram, it was still underperforming. That means picking your accomplishment based on how good of a story its going to make. And oftentimes, the question can distinguish the perfect candidate from an OK one. ACTION: We decided to upgrade our ingredients and showcase them in all of our marketing. 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. You dont want to be scrambling to remember a story at the last second. I also started a reward system - if someone called in sick, youd get rewarded if you filled in for them. Way to Answer "what was your greatest achievement?" interview question. 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. If youre a mid-level professional, you should have several accomplishments to choose from. Tell me about a time where you set a specific goal for yourself. We were understaffed and needed to complete projects on time to retain our only clients and attract more. Trying to be funny - For example: " My greatest achievement was when I managed to get to work on time for once. 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. Sample Answer 2: (Leadership Position) I worked as an occupant advisor for the restricted college for numerous years. We raised $20,000 from that cohort by the end of the year. I finished my course and went on to learn more programming languages, and I am now about to graduate as a software engineer. My family doesnt have the means to contribute to my siblings and my education, so I secured scholarship funds based on my grades and community service. "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. While finding an accomplishment thats relevant to what the company is looking for is an important first step, how you structure your story is also something you should consider. Read the job description closely. Learn why employers ask this question, how you can answer, and some sample answers that can be useful as you craft your own response. Put emphasis on your writing rather than your cover letter's design. RESULTS: Today, my blog is one of the biggest in its niche, and I no longer write articles because we produce long-form content every three days a week. 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. Business Recovery. This response is focused, specific, and goal-oriented. Says a lot about the candidates values (i.e. In my last job I helped my employer to increase the yearly sales volume by 20%, in two consecutive years. I finally went with the [XYZ] CRM system and worked with the IT team to implement it.