Assess Yourself: Identify accomplishments

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We all have past accomplishments, from past work history to other experiences. Reflecting on these accomplishments gives us a sense of where we've been - and where we'd like to go.

This exercise is important because it will help you do the following things:

• Explore career options
• Write resumes
• Write cover letters
• Fill out job applications

Be flexible about how you look at your career. Try one of the following:

• Make a list of all your important career events. Group them by categories like tasks, responsibilities, awards, and accomplishments.
• Think in chronological order, taking the most recent job you had and working backward. Identify tasks, responsibilities, awards, and accomplishments for each job.
• Review your education accomplishments like earning acceptance to a program or school, grades, extracurricular activities, and special projects.
• List your volunteer activities and community involvement. Were you a member of a committee? Elected to an office or board? Helped facilitate a social or fundraising event?
• Use your own strategy to identify important career events. What skills and experiences do you have that would interest an employer? Write down any situations in which you gained or used those skills.
• Think of opportunities to gain new accomplishments. It's never too late to enroll in school, start a project at work, find a volunteer project that uses your skills, or find other activities that will add to your resume.
• Note: Career events don't need to be major milestones. And they should include alternative work experiences (for example, volunteering, internships, freelance) you've had. Anything that shows you are improving your skills will be useful as your pursue opportunities in the future.