How To Answer the Interview Question: What Accomplishment Are You Most Proud Of
It’s the day of your big interview, you’ve read every tip, practiced every question, mastered your body language, and you’re wearing a killer outfit. However, you need to be prepared for one of the most difficult interview questions: what accomplishment are you most proud of?
Hiring managers may ask you this question and a variety of others during an interview to assess your skills, character traits, and what is meaningful to you. By knowing the right responses, you can highlight your achievements and professional growth by answering these questions.
Discussing your career development and milestones can help you demonstrate why you’re the right candidate for the job. Our article provides several sample responses to the question, “What Accomplishment Are You Most Proud Of?”.
During the hiring process, why do employers ask about your accomplishments?
In order to gain a better understanding of your achievements, values, and career goals, employers may ask, “What accomplishment are you most proud of?”.
Interviewers may be interested in your most important accomplishment to learn more about your professional growth and development. It may help your prospective employers assess whether you are a good fit for the role by learning about your skills and character traits.
In addition to sharing your professional interests and background, you can also discuss your qualifications and experiences that qualify you for the role you are seeking.
Answering the question, “What accomplishment are you most proud of?”
Answering interview questions can influence how your prospective employer perceives you and help them decide whether you are the right candidate. Follow these steps when discussing an accomplishment you are proud of:
1. Identify an accomplishment relevant to your field
Discussing a relevant accomplishment relevant to your prospective field can demonstrate your suitability for the role and industry. By doing so, you can demonstrate that you understand the responsibilities and duties of the job and that you are prepared to handle them.
Suppose you were a software engineer and created a new program for your organization that increased profits by 7%. You may benefit from choosing the story that is most relevant to the role and its requirements if you have several possible achievements to share with the interviewer.
Also, you can discuss how this accomplishment impacted your career and how it led you to your current industry and position.
2. Consider what accomplishments excite you
When speaking with a hiring manager, you may be more likely to convey the impact of this achievement if you feel genuine excitement when discussing it. Additionally, this will help you deliver your response enthusiastically and with energy.
This may also motivate you to share specific details about your success and growth, giving the interviewer a better understanding of who you are as a professional. Your answer may encourage the hiring manager to seriously consider you for the job if you include details such as sales numbers or statistical data.
3. Choose a professional achievement
If the interviewer does not specify whether you should share a personal or professional accomplishment, you may benefit from choosing one related to your career. Personal accomplishments are impressive, but highlighting one that relates to your professional growth may show the interviewer that you are dedicated to your career and interested in growth.
You can use an academic accomplishment, such as a high GPA or graduation with honors if you are new to the industry or workforce. You can still demonstrate your commitment to learning and developing career-related skills with these examples.
It would also be helpful if you discussed how this accomplishment changed your perspective or approach to your career and how this may impact your abilities and competencies.
4. Highlight your strategies and skills
Consider mentioning the skills and strategies that contributed to the accomplishment you are most proud of. By doing this, you can communicate that you know what led to your success, and that you can repeat the methods or use the competencies again when working for your prospective employer.
The steps you took to meet an objective and exceed an employer’s expectations can also be discussed. By explaining your strengths and strategies, you can demonstrate that your skills are transferable and may be able to add value to an organization.
5. Make sure you practice your responses
Consider practicing a response ahead of time in order to prepare for this interview question. Select two or three different answers to rehearse and decide which to use based on the interviewer’s previous questions.
It can also be helpful to practice prior to meeting with a hiring manager so that you know what skills, strategies, and experiences to emphasize. When you feel more comfortable discussing your accomplishments, you will be able to speak confidently and clearly.
In an interview, here are some examples of how to discuss your accomplishments
Candidates in a variety of industries may be asked about their accomplishments, so being prepared to respond may help you prepare. For a variety of prospective jobs, here are some sample answers:
Example 1:
As a content manager, I am most proud of the latest campaign I developed and launched with my current team. Although I have experience creating a variety of social media content and have created marketing campaigns in the past, my most recent project was my first time leading and managing an entire team of employees effectively.
The experience taught me the importance of teamwork and the importance of cultivating each individual’s talents and gifts. Although developing digital content and outreach initiatives on my own was satisfying, leading others through the process was more rewarding. Having a clear understanding of all members’ roles helped us achieve engagement levels that were 40% higher than our initial targets.
Example 2:
When asked ‘What accomplishment are you most proud of?’, I often reflect on my achievement as an Spanish teacher for the progress I saw with a particular student two years ago. While I have worked with many high school students since, this experience remains the most meaningful to me.
An first grader began writing at a fourth-grade level when he entered the second grade. I recognized the student’s desire to learn and improve their writing skills, so I nurtured their writing abilities through one-on-one tutoring sessions and provided them with additional resources.
After finishing the school year, not only were they writing at a college level, but they applied for a short-story scholarship and received $100 toward attending a college of their choice after graduation. Helping others and believing in students’ abilities to help them reach their full potential was a valuable lesson learned from this experience.
Example 3:
To date, I am most proud of earning my Master’s Degree in Marketing and Advertisement. In reality, I consider it just the beginning of my journey, not the end.
As a manager and as a mother, daughter, and in any other roles I may fulfill in my life, I hope to accomplish many other things. Setting and achieving goals is something I enjoy doing with my work, dedication, and enthusiasm.
Example 4:
In response to ‘What accomplishment are you most proud of?’ my greatest accomplishment as a recent college graduate is graduating summa cum laude and delivering a speech at my graduation ceremony as my greatest accomplishment. My senior year was filled with anxiety about writing a thesis and unsure of my research topic and data collection methods.
I learned the value of seeking help from others after communicating my interests to my adviser, and as a result, I was able to design and carry out a six-month-long research project and write a 100-page academic thesis. Even though I was nervous or self-doubting, I committed to a challenge and followed through with my ideas.”
In wrapping up, mastering the art of addressing challenging interview questions is an ongoing journey of self-discovery and preparation. The interview question, ‘What accomplishment are you most proud of?’ is just one of many you might encounter. And for those eager to equip themselves with a holistic toolkit for more success in life, ‘The Real Life Starter Pack‘ curated by Blinkist is a must-read. Whether you’re stepping into college, nearing graduation, or scouting for that first job, this curated collection on Blinkist is packed with actionable advice, insights, and strategies.
