We often come across different types of questions in our daily life. Some of these questions have no brainer answers; like, how are you doing or what’s the time. Some questions require critical thinking; some require problem-solving skills. Some questions demand the answerer to prepare beforehand, like the questions asked in an examination. Some questions are from outside the curriculum and can give chills to the students. Some questions make us nervous; some leave us excited. Some questions are anticipated, while some questions are better left unasked. Some questions judge the personality of a person.; while some are designed to confuse them. Some questions are easier than others because they are overused in daily life. Questions to analyze, questions to judge, questions to challenge. Questions to get an answer and questions to surprise others. There are a lot of questions that leave us searching for an answer. Here, let’s know how to answer the question- What Accomplishment are you Most Proud of?
But, all of these different questions have one thing in common, that is a unique answer. A person asks a question to receive an answer that makes sense to them and addresses their query. Some basic questions like how are you and what time is it, do not require the person to think about their answer. Questions like what do you aspire to be in life or who is your role model; pushes a person to think about their answer and frame it in such a way that the listener agrees with the answer. To get an idea about the answers that one must give to satisfy the listener, they should be aware of the types of questions and different ways to answer these questions. As mentioned above, there are several types of questions that are asked in different circumstances. One must stay open to all types of questions especially if they are curious and want to stand out of the crowd wherever they go.
Personality Analysis and Behavioral Questions
Most of us have faced these questions knowingly or unknowingly. These types of questions are demanded to get an insight into the person who is being questioned.
The basic idea behind these is to judge the other person. Develop an understanding of their moral values, working principles, passions, and integrity. Sometimes these questions are a way of self-analysis too. Since these questions help us understand the person on the other end, these topics are necessary; and one should have a basic idea about the questions and their answers.
Some personality analysis questions
Here are some commonly asked questions that help analyze a person based on their answers:
- What actions will you take if you have been wrongly blamed for something you did not do?
- You find out that your spouse is cheating on you with your friend. What will you do? With whom will you cut ties permanently?
- Who do you look up to in your life? / Who is someone you aspire to be like?
- Will you intervene if someone else is getting blamed for your mistake?
- Will you cheat your way out in the face of a severe problem?
- Tell me/us about a mistake that you committed in the past that you do not want anyone to find out.
- Do you always see the good in people despite the circumstances?
- Will you take the blame for someone else’s mistake?
- You find out that your colleague is stealing money from the company funds. Will you report them directly or confront them first?
- How likely are you to lie? / How likely are you to own up to your mistakes?
Where will you face these questions?
We do not face the questions mentioned above in our day-to-day conversations. These questions are reserved for special ceremonies; a job interview, college admission procedure, philosophy exam, or taking up a personality test is where you will face these topics. The idea behind asking these questions is the same. Getting an idea about the person, their behavior, problem-solving skills, critical thinking. But most importantly, to determine if they are eligible for whatever they are seeking.
One such critical thinking and personality analysis question is- What accomplishments are you most proud of? This question is relevant because many interviewers, professors, and even therapists ask to get an idea about the person sitting in front of them. To answer this question, one has to follow basic rules and get the perfect answer that impresses the interviewer or professor.
Variations of the question
- Is there anything that you wish anyone to find out about you?
- What is something that has made you stand out from the crowd?
- Do you consider small generous deeds equivalent to bigger achievements?
- Are you likely to involve yourself in activities that look good off the resume?
- Will you consider yourself to be successful if you are of little help to someone?
The motive of the question and its variations
The question and its alternatives are framed to estimate the skills and ambition of a person. It is a method to get an impression of their idea of success and analyze if it agrees with the company. The answer to the question helps determine if the person possesses skills like communication, leadership, problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork.
How is this question relevant?
The question mentioned above is not exactly a critical thinking or problem-solving one. This question is a behavior assessment question that helps the interviewer analyze an interviewee based on their experiences and decisions they took in the past. The basic idea behind this question is to get an idea about the person on the answering end. The answer to this is not supposed to reveal pride or negligence. The response will paint an image in front of the interviewer; therefore, one must prepare an answer that will win over everyone. Here are some ideas that will help you phrase an answer that will convince everyone. And you will win their trust.
Bring your experience to work.
If there is something that you are genuinely proud of, then this is your time to showcase it in front of everyone. Your achievement can be small as helping an elderly cross the road or saving the life of a puppy or as big as saving someone’s life or preventing the downfall of your company. There are no rules or outlines that you have to follow while answering. Therefore, you should go with your instincts. The person asking you the question will immediately figure out how proud you are of your accomplishment.
Small accomplishments win hearts.
Not all of us have stopped a big mishap from happening, but most of us have contributed to small tasks that make a difference. The grandeur of our accomplishments does not matter. What matters most is the willingness to do something selflessly. Even if you are proud of feeding the birds daily or adopting a homeless kitten, your accomplishment is worth praising. Never compare your actions with the actions of someone else. You must be proud of volunteering or fundraising activity if you were part of one.
Describe your actions
Your biggest accomplishment makes you proud, and it is capable of making the interviewers proud; if you answer with the required details. You should explain the scenario that prompted you to take the necessary steps and the challenges that you faced. Briefly explain your actions and the skills you used to accomplish the task that is worth bragging about. Finally, tell the person in charge about the results of your actions. Cover points about what learning you received from the event and how you plan to carry this teaching forward. You can mention other accomplishments too. But describe how that particular achievement is the biggest and makes you the proudest.
Examples of biggest achievements
If the question is being asked by an interviewer during a job interview, you should include workplace achievements. This is not a necessity to give the best answers. You can include any other achievement ranging from charity to a hobby or a skill that you developed recently. Learning a new language is an achievement; giving up an old bad habit is an achievement; helping a coworker or fellow student is an achievement.
Things to avoid while answering
- Lying: If you think that you can put forward a fake accomplishment to sound creative, then you are wrong. The interviewers have conducted enough interviews to figure out if a person is lying. You are not expected to end terrorism, even the smallest accomplishment will make a mark.
- Fumbling: If you ramble in between sentences, it means you were either not prepared for the question or do not feel like you have accomplished something. A long unprepared answer will bore the interviewers. Here they might start to feel like how can someone who does not have the accomplishment to feel proud of can be an asset for the company.
- Irresoluteness: You can stray away from your accomplishment and give out a list of deeds you are proud of. Sometimes a person cannot decide on which accomplishment to discuss, and then they go ahead to talk about a list of achievements. To avoid such circumstances, one can think about their achievements beforehand.
- Bringing others down: Correcting someone else’s mistake is not an achievement. Successfully finishing a task that someone else failed to complete is not an achievement either. You will not look better if you bring others down. If you put such examples in front of the interviewers, they will question your teamwork skills, and you are most likely to lose the deal.
Sample Answers
Listed below are samples of the type of answers to avoid and the type of answers to give. These samples will provide the readers with better ideas to frame their answers.
Answers to avoid
- I am not sure of an accomplishment that I am proud of. Maybe it was the time when I guided my coworker through the mistakes that they were making.
- Every day is an accomplishment for me. I help my family at home, I do exceptional work at my workplace. Yeah, these are the achievements that I am proud of.
- I finally passed my driving test. It is a pretty big achievement for me as I had failed previously. I am a great driver, but some things did not happen in my favor before. Still, I am very proud of this accomplishment.
- I took the blame for a failed project. I took the responsibility because I was in charge of getting this work done. I worked the hardest; however, the team did not do the due, and we failed. I have learned a lot from that experience. I never leave the required work on my teammates.
- Oh, I don’t know. Once I helped my neighbor when they were going through a financial crisis. Will that be considered an accomplishment?
These answers are equally unconvincing and deal-breaker because the interviewee is unprepared to answer. They cannot decide about their accomplishments, or they are blaming someone else. In one of the answers, the interviewee expresses how they do not trust their teammates, this behavior displays arrogance, and the interviewer will disqualify the person then and there.
The car driving answer is irrelevant to a job interview, and it displays your failure rather than your success.
Here is how you should answer the question:
The examples mentioned below are examples from daily life:
- My biggest accomplishment was when I finally learned the Spanish language. My family traces their origin back to Spain, but after moving to America, we lost touch with our culture and our language. My grandmother always wanted me to learn Spanish. Her reason for me to learn was to bring me closer to my roots. My grandmother taught me the language, and now I can fluently converse in Spanish. My grandmother died a few months ago, but she was proud of me, and now I am also proud of my achievement.
- I never knew that I was a competitive athlete until one of my friends forced me into participating in a 10-mile marathon. I had never participated in a marathon, so this event was pretty big for me. Me and my friend trained together daily. I was participating with a plan to quit if I got tired in between the race. On the day I put my all in, I was successful in finishing the race. Although I did not receive a prize, I was proud of myself for pushing my limits. This is an accomplishment that I am proud of.
- Since my school days, I have been a part of charitable trusts. I have worked towards many causes, but after I started working, my contribution towards these activities declined. However, I got an opportunity during my last job. Our company decided to start a fundraising activity. They decided to donate the amount towards charity. I volunteered for the role of an organizer. The event was successful, and people credited me with the success of the event. I believe this is the accomplishment that I am proud of the most.
- I am proud of raising my son as the person he is today. As a single mother, I could not give enough time to my son because work occupied my life. I tried hard to teach him good things, and I succeeded in it. People praise my son’s upbringing, and I am proud of my accomplishment.
The examples mentioned below are work-related:
- I managed to put together a team of sales executives that worked very well and brought in a lot of revenue for the company. As one of the senior-most salespeople, I was tasked with training the new joiners and forming teams. The people I guided turned out to be better at work than the others. I am proud of this accomplishment.
- The recent accomplishment that I am very proud of is the presentation that I gave at work. This presentation earned me praises from my superiors and colleagues. My superior was impressed with my work and asked me to handle upcoming presentations that were presented to the investors.
- I helped a coworker figure things out at work when they were stuck on something. I guided them through their mistakes, and they were thankful for my help. I have always tried to be of help to others, and I am proud that I never fail to assist someone in need.
- My previous workplace was overworking the employees without compensating them for the extra hours of work. No one spoke against this as they feared losing their job. I understood that this was a violation of worker rights, so I decided to take action against it. I filed a complaint on behalf of the department, and the matter was taken into consideration. The workers were compensated for their extra work, and it was made sure that such exploitation did not take place in the future.
- The proudest I have been in recent times was when I secured myself a promotion. I was promoted because of my hard work and dedication. My superiors trusted me to handle any work, and I proved that they were right to trust me. I had worked very hard to get the promotion, and I was the proudest when I achieved the feat.
- The accomplishment that I am proud of is introducing a way to keep all the documents ready at hand when they were required. Earlier going through all the documents to find the required document was a hassle. As a solution, I took some time and rearranged the files so that they were accessible easily to everyone. I received praise for my innovation, and that was when I knew how I was of help to every person.
These samples give a straightforward and accurate answer. Such answers will win over the interviewer, and the job will be yours. The above-mentioned samples are not exaggerating an accomplishment, neither are they bringing someone else down. Hence, these are perfect and on point. One must phrase their answers like mentioned above to make a mark on the interviewer.
Conclusion
One satisfactory answer can make a deal whereas, one misguided answer can break a deal. While answering, you must be prepared to put the best show in front of everyone. Many things depend on how you answer, making it art that you should master. You should have confidence in yourself and the things you accomplish to give an answer to which everyone agrees. Always remember that you can make everything possible with practice and belief in yourself.
