03 Aug
‘What is your greatest achievement?’
Why are recruiters asking this?
Asking “What’s your greatest achievement” is a way to learn about your hard skills and work ethic, and the story you select can position you as a match for the company. Your choice shows what you consider important, and how you define success. What you describe explains your approach to doing a job and getting work done.
An “accomplishment” story is your time to shine. It’s still worth preparing so you can choose an answer that makes sense for the company and for the role you’d like.
A great way to answer questions on your professional achievements is using the STAR method: situation, task, action, results.
Checklist for a great answer
- STAR answer (Situation – Task – Action -Result)
- 2 to 3 minutes long
- Lessons learned coincide with job description
- Avoid using “we” – focus on you!
- Quantifiable and measurable conclusion
Examples
When I was working at Save the Children, an NGO that works to alleviate poverty, we had some trouble reconciling the data coming from our African offices. It was starting to cause problems, so I decided to create a learning program for our accountants and IT workers. It went super well, and it was great to train our 50 employees with useful knowledge. It ended up saving the company 10% on their training budget, and the academy is still running to this day.
Other similar questions
- What has been the most rewarding experience of your career thus far?
- What is your greatest personal achievement?
- Which accomplishments in your present position are you proud of and why?
- What do you consider the most important contribution your department has made to this organization?
How do I get better at these questions?
PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!
The illustrious economist and statistician EF Schumacher once said: “An ounce of practice is generally worth more than a ton of theory.” We at Mockmate strongly believe in exactly this, which is why we created our AI-powered job interview simulator. Now is the time to stop reading blog posts and watching YouTube videos, and begin to perfect your interview skills by actually doing it! Get started here!
