Interview Tip #30
“What is your greatest accomplishment?”
This is one of my favorite interview questions! When preparing for a job interview, you’ll be anticipating the most common interview questions, and you’ll want to prepare for a whole cadre of behavioral questions that ask about your past experiences.
Compared to stumpers like “Why should we hire you?” or “Tell me about a time you had a conflict with your boss,” this question might seem like a breeze to answer.
Coming up with your greatest accomplishment — your greatest accomplishment — feels daunting on the spot. That’s why it’s worth taking a few minutes to think about how you’d answer this question if asked.
You already know through my 30+ posts on interview prep that research and preparation are key to nailing your interview.
This prep work (or as Mike “Batman” Cohen calls it “preresearch”) can help you choose an answer targeted to the company and its needs.
For example, if you’ve read that one of the company’s core values is about having “Act Like an Owner,” you’ll want to choose a time when you took on a project because you saw it needed to be done and you stepped up to fill in the gaps on your team.
Ask yourself these questions to prep:
❤️ How did you contribute to company goals in previous roles?
❤️ What impact did you have on a team as a mentor, manager, or team player?
❤️ How did you help an organization become more efficient?
❤️ What did you do to enhance the customer experience?
❤️ What did you take the lead on?
❤️ Beyond the office, what personal goals have you met?
Remember, some of the best interview answers are stories, and stories have a clear starting point, a high point, a low point, and a definitive ending!
It’s important to have a story that has both a high and low point because you can use the contrast to give your story some stakes–something that was at risk.
