Work Results & Accomplishments

Tracking your work results is one of the most important things you can do to prepare for a job search.

Often, you are so close to your work that it can be difficult to take a step back and recognize your unique contributions. Yet, doing so will set you apart in your job search. Your unique results and accomplishments are the basis for two key elements of your job search:

• Resume: You will use these accomplishments and results to craft your resume bullet points, demonstrating your impact and value.

• Interview stories: Once you’ve been invited to interview, you’ll get ready by preparing examples from your work history that demonstrate your abilities for the role. Look first to your accomplishments, and flesh out the stories behind the metrics you’ve included on your resume to prepare for interview questions.

Even if you are not looking for a new job, you should absolutely track your results/accomplishments, so that you have the data when you are ready.

What are Work Results?

First, let’s talk about what results or accomplishments are. Each job has a nuanced approach to results. A teacher’s results are going to look quite different from the results of an engineer or accountant. That is okay. Results are built around skillsets, and different jobs require different skills. Even seemingly trivial positions have results. Results are the “so what” of your work—they get to the heart of what really matters about your job.

To start identifying your results, make a list of everything you do for your job. Once you’ve finished, give yourself some time, and then look at it again. What’s missing? Often, when I am reviewing a client resume, I ask this question, and we are amazed by the additional tasks or duties that emerge.

Once you have comprehensively captured what you do, I want you to write how you do it. What tools, skills, and abilities do you use to accomplish these job duties?

Then, begin writing what your results or outcomes are for each job duty/task.

• A result can be something that you can quantify. For example, the number of students in your class, the number of client accounts you manage, how many social media channels you manage, the value of the budget you oversee, etc.

• A result can be tied to a work project. Perhaps you were tasked with the overhaul of onboarding for new hires, what was the result of that overhaul? Why was it important?

• A result can be measured over time. For example, measure how your company’s social media engagement changed since you took the position, or the growth in your students’ reading abilities throughout the academic year.

• A result can be descriptive. Sometimes results are not quantifiable, but you can still demonstrate your understanding of why what you are doing is important.

I created a free worksheet to help you organize and track the results of your work!

You can also reverse engineer your work results by looking first to a job posting for which you want to apply. Review the job duties in the job description, and ask yourself, “what problems is this job trying to solve?” This method can be particularly helpful for folks who seek to transition to a new industry or for those seeking a promotion.

Make a list of those problems, and then, using the Job Results worksheet, write down how you have solved these exact problems in your current or previous role. Use the job posting as a guide for the exact vocabulary you need to use on your resume.

Why You Need to Include Work Results on your Resume

A resume with bullet points that lack results reads like a job description. Your resume is a marketing document, showcasing your unique value. By effectively writing about your work results on your resume, you clearly demonstrate the value that you would bring to a new position and team. They provide essential context for the hiring team as your resume is reviewed, determining fit and trajectory. Results show your proficiencies and abilities in specific skillsets.

You can also highlight your most impactful results in the summary section, at the top of your resume, using your bullet points as support.

Identifying Work Results Prepares You for Interviewing

You’ve likely already heard of the STAR method to respond to interview questions. The STAR method is a great foundational framework to utilize for common behavioral-based interview questions. A behavioral-based question will ask you to share details about a situation or problem you have encountered in a professional setting. These are questions that start with “Tell me about a recent time…” or “Share about your experience in…”

To respond, use the acronym STAR to frame your answer.

• S: Start by giving the situation or context. “In my first year as an accountant…”

• T: Share about the task or problem that you encountered. “…I was assigned to complete 150 corporate returns during tax season.”

• A: Talk about your actions or what you did to solve the problem.

• R: Finish by including the result of the action you took. This is the most-often missed step, yet it’s the most important.

As you track your unique results and accomplishments, you can use them to provide details and STAR-based examples for many common interview questions, particularly those related to the specific job tasks and duties.