You're listening to Business English Pop, the business English podcast for professionals on the move.
This is the first in a two-part series on talking about your accomplishments.
It's one of an ongoing sequence of podcasts that focus on the job interview process.
Along with your previous experience, Your greatest accomplishment is one of the topics that is sure to come up in almost any interview.
This question appears in a variety of forms.
What was your proudest achievement?
What was your most significant accomplishment?
What do you consider to be your greatest success?
No matter how it's asked, you should be ready with a reply.
Interviewers want to hear something important that you handled.
Pick an achievement that is significant to you and that is rich in detail.
These two qualities will make it easy to provide examples, which is the main theme of this series.
In this episode we'll be listening to a bad and good version of a recent graduate discussing his greatest accomplishment.
We'll focus on language for providing examples of the positive personal characteristics that our previous success demonstrates.
Then, in Part 2 of this series, we'll hear another good example of someone with more job experience, and we'll examine a four-part structure for telling our success stories.
First, let's quickly review the bad example.
We'll go back to Alexander's interview with Michael in the electronics store.
As you listen, consider the following questions.
Then, we'll examine the answers in the debrief.
First, does Alex put his success into an organized, articulate story?
And second, does he present his accomplishment in a way that provides examples of skills and qualities that will be useful at his new job?
Right, got that.
So what do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
I think my greatest achievement is comprehending Klima's masterwork World as Consciousness and Nothing.
Okay.
In this book, he argues that everything exists only because we will it to exist.
You see, he means that you, I, everyone, we are all God.
Do you understand?
Yes, got that.
Alexander, do you really think this is the right job for you?
Are you sure you can handle it?
Are you kidding?
No problem.
You should try reading Klima.
That's hard work.
I think we'll all agree that Alexander has not presented his experience in the most favorable light.
First, it doesn't seem as though he has chosen the best story to tell.
We recall from previous episodes that he's recently graduated with a master's degree a great accomplishment.
Yet, in his story, he focuses on reading just one book.
Though this book may be of great personal significance to Alex, from the employer's perspective it doesn't reflect as favorably on him as, for example, the completion of his thesis.
He hasn't chosen a good example to provide.
In addition to his poor choice of story to tell, there are some problems with the way Alex tells the story.
He focuses on details that are irrelevant to his interviewer rather than on those that draw attention to his positive personal attributes.
Again, he has done a poor job of providing examples of how his experience demonstrates relevant skills and characteristics.
Finally, Alex is not likely to win friends by placing his academic accomplishments in a higher position than the job he's interviewing to do.
He implies that working in an electronics store is easy compared to his university experience.
Instead of taking this approach, he should be discussing how his academic excellence has prepared him for success in the workplace.
Obviously, none of us are likely to make all the mistakes that Alex has made.
But still, his poor performance provides us with a useful example, because it highlights several key issues that we should pay attention to when we present our accomplishments.
After his original bad interview experience, Alex went back and got some advice at the job search agency.
He attended a couple of workshops And in his second attempt to find a job he is much more successful.
Okay, so that gives me a pretty good idea of your experience.
Now I was wondering if you could tell me something about what you consider to be your greatest accomplishment.
That would definitely be my master's thesis, which I just finished.
It took me 18 months to write, and I'm very proud of it.
For example, what exactly are you proud of?
Well, for one thing, working on a project like that really requires you to be very goal-oriented and to work independently, because your advisors are not there to hold your hand.
I see.
And at one point, like many people, I thought I was going to give up, but I stuck with it.
You have to be a self-starter and highly motivated.
I definitely matured a lot working on this project.
Yes, I bet you did.
At the same time, you know It's important to have very strong interpersonal skills, because you have to work with your advisor and, in my case, a committee.
You need to have the ability to work and communicate with different types of people and to integrate constructive criticism into your approach.
Sounds like you got a lot out of it.
Yes.
It was a huge growing experience and I learned a lot both about being independent and about working with people.
In this example, Alex does a much better job of taking a relevant accomplishment, writing his master's thesis and telling a convincing story about it that demonstrates to his interviewer useful skills and attractive characteristics.
Let's look at some of the language he uses.
After setting the context and giving some background, things will focus on more.
In part two of this series, Alex describes how we overcame a challenge.
Well, for one thing, working on a project like that really requires you to be very goal-oriented and to work independently, because your advisors are not there to hold your hand.
I see.
And at one point, like many people, I thought I was going to give up, but I stuck with it.
You have to be a self-starter and highly motivated.
I definitely matured a lot working on this project.
What is the challenge Alex overcame?
At one point, he was going to give up on writing his thesis, but he stuck with it.
That is, he continued through to the end, even though it was difficult.
Accompanying this story.
He uses a number of very vivid, effective expressions for describing the positive personal attributes and skills that his success demonstrates.
He is goal-oriented, able to work independently, a self-starter, and highly motivated.
These are all phrases that describe characteristics of individual or personal excellence that are very attractive to a potential employer.
It is important to recognize that the question about significant accomplishments is a behavioral question.
This type of question seeks to understand habits in your past behavior, because these habits can predict future successes.
You can help control the impression your interviewer has of your past behavior by using strong, vivid language to describe the skills and personal characteristics that your experience demonstrates.
In a sense, you are doing the interviewer's work for him by giving him words they can use to describe your strengths.
Let's listen to a few more strong, vivid examples of language that describes independence and individual excellence.
My work on this project shows that I am self-disciplined and resourceful.
I consider myself to be an enterprising, energetic person and that really comes out in this situation.
As you can see, I am both detail-oriented and a determined problem solver.
One of my biggest advantages is my ability to adapt well to new situations.
This shows my willingness to be an assertive communicator when necessary.
Being in charge of this team taught me the importance of being a decisive leader.
It was a wonderful experience for me because I really thrive on challenge.
You may have noticed how a story essentially has two parts.
First, he talks about how finishing his thesis required him to be independent.
Second, he focuses on the more cooperative and teamwork aspect of the project.
At the same time, you know it's important to have very strong interpersonal skills, because you have to work with your advisor and, in my case, a committee.
Mm-hmm.
You need to have the ability to work and communicate with different types of people and to integrate constructive criticism into your approach.
In this section, he uses more key phrases, such as ability to work and communicate with different types of people, and integrate constructive criticism into your approach.
Integrate means to take in or use.
Constructive criticism is feedback that is meant to be useful and positive rather than negative.
In addition to traits of personal excellence, cooperative and teamwork skills are highly valued by employers.
What other phrases and language can we use to describe teamwork-oriented qualities?
I've got a sincere interest in good teamwork and I'm sensitive to the needs of other people.
My success in this project demonstrates a quality of which I am very proud my broad-minded and flexible perspective in dealing with people.
Through the whole process, I have remained a committed team player.
The reason I love this work is that I am truly a conscientious person at heart.
I pride myself on being a very cooperative individual.
Part of what makes me such an effective team member is that I'm a very eager learner.
As with the earlier language we studied, you'll find all of these phrases in the study notes with full definitions and further example sentences.
From the HR perspective, notice how the interviewer listens actively to keep Alex talking.
He gives him continuous signals and prompts, such as uh-huh, for example and I can see what you mean to lend him confidence and to let him know that he's listening carefully.
Sometimes interviewees can use these kinds of phrases to encourage our potential employers to share more information with us.
That's very interesting.
Please go on.
Please continue.
I can see what you're saying.
Would you mind expanding on that a little?
Could you give me an example?
There's one more type of language that we'll study in this episode.
At the end of the first section.
Did you hear the phrases Alex uses to sum up how writing his master's thesis contributed to his growth in the key skills he mentioned?
I definitely matured a lot working on this project.
Also, at the very end of the dialogue, Alexander uses another statement to summarize his personal development.
Yes, it was a huge growing experience and I learned a lot both about being independent and about working with people.
These types of statements help give your speech a sense of closure, the feeling that you've said something whole and complete, and they help summarize your main point.
What are some other phrases we can use to do this?
Through this experience, I made great strides in these key skills.
I would say that this was one of the most important factors in my personal growth.
Now, let's practice some of the language we've learned today.
First, we'll focus on giving examples of skills and personal characteristics.
Then, we'll look at prompting people to talk.
Let's start with skills and personal characteristics.
You'll hear a series of cues.
Each cue will consist of the beginning of a sentence.
For example, my work on this project followed by one or two key words, such as good teamwork and cooperation.
After the beep, construct a sentence by adding words to put the two parts together.
For example, you might say I believe my work on this project demonstrates both good teamwork and cooperation.
Give it a try.
My success in this project.
Committed team player.
I consider myself assertive communicator and a cooperative individual.
I pride myself on adapt well to new situations.
My success is closely connected with highly self-motivated and goal-oriented.
Now let's listen to some example answers.
Of course, your answers may differ from these.
My success in this project.
Committed team player.
My success in this project is certainly due in large part to my being a committed team player.
I consider myself assertive communicator and a cooperative individual.
I consider myself to be both an assertive communicator and a very cooperative team player.
I pride myself on adapt well to new situations.
Answer.
I pride myself on my ability to adapt well to new situations.
My success is closely connected with highly self-motivated and goal-oriented.
Answer.
My success is closely connected with the fact that I am both highly self-motivated and goal-oriented.
For the second practice, let's review encouraging people to talk.
In this practice, each cue will consist of a statement made by a candidate or an interviewer.
After the beep, Use some of the language we've studied today to encourage him or her to talk.
For example, if a person says I've been working in finance for 10 years, you could say that's very interesting.
Or, please go on.
Respond appropriately according to the situation.
Let's begin.
Basically, banking just wasn't for me.
I don't know if this is interesting to you, It was just not the right time to look for a job.
Do you know what I mean?
Basically, our benefits improve a lot after you have been with the company for one year.
Now, let's listen to some example answers.
Of course, there are many possible correct responses.
Answer It's very interesting.
Please go on.
It was just not the right time to look for a job.
Do you know what I mean?
Answer I can see what you mean.
Basically, our benefits improve a lot after you have been with the company for one year.
Answer.
Do you mind expanding on that a little?
Under the theme Provide Examples, we've examined how to use your accomplishments to demonstrate skills and characteristics that will be attractive to your employer.
In the second part, we'll look at a four-part structure for telling a success story, including providing context, recounting your role, discussing what you did and revealing the outcome.
Thanks for listening.
