Do you keep a running list of your work accomplishments? How about all the professional compliments you’ve received since your last performance review? Are the projects you complete being recorded somewhere? Chances are, the answer is no. Most people consider themselves too busy with work to take the time to track their professional achievements.
Now, imagine it’s time to prepare for your annual performance review. You’re sitting, staring at your computer as the cursor blinks on a blank screen, and frantically trying to remember all of your work accomplishments. Are you going to be able to recite your highlight reel off the top of your head? Do you have enough information to convince your boss to consider you for the big promotion?
While it can be tricky to remember to record your work accomplishments (and to decide what’s worth including on your list,) it is extremely important to keep track of your successes. Here are four tips to help you record and organize your list of professional achievements. Remember, you are doing great work and you deserve the credit for it!
Use Your Job Description as an Outline
Part of the reason people don’t record their professional accomplishments is that they don’t recognize them as achievements; they think it falls under the umbrella of normal responsibilities. If you use your current job description as a guide, it can help you to assess how well you’re meeting expectations and spot the achievements that make you stand out.
If you want to land a specific promotion, you should use the job description of the desired position as your guiding light. While many of the duties may differ from your current day-to-day responsibilities, it will help you to identify which above-and-beyond tasks you’re already fulfilling, such as serving on a committee or mentoring new employees. Lastly, you should report any specific targets, such as sales quotas, that you’ve met or exceeded in the past few years. This kind of hard data will serve as evidence for your case, and will help convince your boss that you really are the person for the job!
Categorize Work Accomplishments
Next, you can create major categories, such as team building, self-motivation or education, and pick accomplishments that fit into each one– reporting them in as much detail as possible. If you complete a project with a different department or suggest a workaround for a complex process, take a moment to jot down the specific actions you took to make the project or solution a success.
Interview Yourself
One way to remind yourself of all the amazing things you’ve accomplished is by pretending you are interviewing yourself. What questions would you ask in a job interview? If it’s been a while since your last interview, The Muse provides 31 of the most common questions. Read through them, consider your answers, and jot down any specific achievements that stand out.
Add Reminders to Your Calendar
The easiest way to get into the habit of tracking your accomplishments is to remind yourself to do it–because it’s easy to forget! Automated monthly reminders can help you to become consistent, and they leave enough time in between to make progress on ongoing initiatives.
If reminders work well for you, you can also schedule one for a week after every project you complete. This will give you time to decompress, while still allowing you to capture all of the immediate, pertinent details.
Start Now
Take a moment today to write down one of your work accomplishments from the past month. By getting into the habit of tracking your professional achievements, you’ll be ready to shine when opportunity knocks!