Tell me about your greatest work-related accomplishment.
Your interviewer's primary job is to get to know you as a candidate, from your personality to your level of experience. By asking about your greatest achievement, your interviewer can better gauge your fit for this position and their culture and team dynamic. Additionally, it reveals your personality, preferred motivation, and future coaching needs to the interviewer. Take advantage of this opportunity to promote yourself when addressing this question. Expressing your pride in your work and what you've accomplished in your career will help your interviewer with their job, and increase your chances of delivering a successful interview.
"I would say my most recent greatest accomplishment was when I noticed some receiving discrepancies that were occurring between our manifests and stock ledgers. So I approached our leadership, asked a lot of questions regarding our current SOPs, recommended some changes that would save us money, and we implemented them. On paper, we reduced departmental costs by 25% by thoroughly reviewing packing slips and comparing them to invoices and contract terms for accuracy."
"The greatest accomplishment on my career journey so far has been graduating from college with honors while working full-time in a related field. I was valedictorian, top of my class, and working full time, often in a leadership position. This showed me that I am able to dedicate myself to my career and reach the goals that I set for myself. It felt great to accomplish so much and be recognized for my dedication."
Spend time researching the company so you can better align yourself with them, framing yourself as their ideal candidate. For example, 3M describes their employees in the following statement: "Our employees are constantly working to find solutions for our customers in the electronics and energy, health care, industrial, and safety and graphics industries. No matter what your role at 3M, you'll be encouraged to get creative in your approach."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
During Christmas a very long time ago, my greatest work accomplishment was when I was alone on duty/shift. And we had a prior 1 incident with help - of course, I could solve the problem for the whole Germany.
Amanda's Feedback
It sounds like this was a big accomplishment. Consider expanding your response by telling the interviewer more about it. This would be a good opportunity to use the STAR method. Share a Situation that had a positive outcome by describing the specific Task you were supposed to accomplish. Tell about the Action you took to overcome a challenge and complete the task. Finally, share the Result and how you contributed to the successful outcome."
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