Whether it is career direction, job applications, a new CV or preparing for interview – you need to know your achievements. This exercise encourages you to think reflectively on your achievements and what really engages you in work activities. Once you know these, you can then work them into your career, your job applications and CV and confidently present your strengths in the interview. Follow the prompts below and write as much or as little as you like.
What are your significant achievements?
Work successes, sport, leisure or volunteer activities. These are the things you are most proud of, not necessarily what others would value.
Example – improving my golf handicap.
What are your motivators?
What did you find exciting, challenging or significant in these experiences?
Example – I liked the lesson from the coach and asking other players how they did various strokes.
How do you organize these achievements?
Look for connections here and try to identify any common themes. Don’t go for ‘career language’ here but just identify what these show about you. It could be things like: ‘concern for people’, ‘bringing order out of confusion’, ‘creating fun activities to shake up stuffy people,’ – there may be contradictory ideas in the list. There may even be some ‘negative’ ideas to deal with before we move on. This is creative thinking because we’re trying to get to the truth before we start to work on these themes that run across your career and your life.
Example – theme: taking instruction and being open to others.
This is a confidential exercise helping the person identify real strengths to present in the CV and the interview in a convincing way. The Career Coach is happy to discuss any of the themes that emerge.
For further Career Pack information, or just a free general chat about career direction, please contact Lawrence Arnold.
