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What have you done in your career so far? What have you done that you are proud of? An achievement is something you have undertaken with a result attached. If you know what’s worked for you in the past, you can create more of the same type of achievement in the future and form a focused vision for your career.

The word achievement can sound quite scary to a lot of people. They tend to say, “I haven’t achieved anything” because an achievement sounds as if it should describe something huge like climbing Everest or becoming CEO of a company. But of course you have achieved lots of things, in your work life and in your personal life.

one minute wonder Gain insight about what you value through your achievements. Look at each achievement and ask: “What is it about this achievement that is important to me?” If there isn’t anything important, then decide not to do more of this type of work. If all your valuable achievements are in your personal life then maybe your work is lacking, so stop and pay heed.

An achievement is simply an action you have taken with a successful ending. There is a very simple way of remembering it: the STAR format. Try writing this down.

• S = Situation. Think of a situation you have been in at work. Describe it in detail on your piece of paper.

• T = Task. What was the task you were given to do in this situation or what was the responsibility you chose to take on?

• A = Action. An achievement isn’t something that is passive. What was the action you took to carry out this task? Did you organize? Lead? Administer? Calculate? Sell? Persuade?

• R = Result. What was the positive result or benefit? Did it save money? Help people? Support a team? Make things more efficient?

Use your career achievements to work out your skills (also known as competencies). Take an achievement and write down what skills you used to get the result e.g. communication, leadership, teamworking. Which skills do you use most?

To understand yourself better, start making a list of at least one achievement from every part of your career so far. It will help you to develop a list of your key skills. Remember, you can always transfer your skills from one job to another.

Use the STAR format to write down your achievements and work out what you do well.