How (And Why!) To Track Accomplishments at Work

What's one professional accomplishment you're most proud of, and how did you track or celebrate it? Let us know in the comments!

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No matter where you are in your career, you should make it a regular habit to track accomplishments at work. Having a ready cache of what you’ve done successfully will help tremendously with advancing your social-impact career at your current organization or finding another nonprofit job in the future.

Still need some convincing? Here are some ways that tracking your accomplishments can help:

• Answering interview questions. One of the biggest faux pas you can make in an interview is not coming prepared with examples of past accomplishments. Pick three or four great anecdotes from your stash that relate to the role you're interviewing for and you’ll be ahead of the game.
• Campaigning for a promotion or raise. Why do you deserve it? The answer will be apparent if you come armed with a solid list of ways you’ve contributed to your employer’s success.
• Seeking support for a new project or initiative. You have a track record of meeting goals (and exceeding them, too!). When there’s something you’re excited to accomplish next, tell the story of why you’re the person for the job.
• Preparing for a performance review. Perusing your catalogue of triumphs will make it easy to prepare a brilliant retrospective for your manager. 
• Easily updating your resume. If and when you find yourself looking for new work, you’ll be able to burnish your existing verbiage and punch up your resume much more quickly if you refer to a pre-made accomplishments list. See this Idealist post for more intel on great resume building.
• Impressing fellow attendees (with due modesty, of course) at networking events. It doesn’t hurt to have a fun accomplishment or two at the top of your mind when stepping into a crowd of folks who might be able to help you (or vice versa). Including praise for your coworkers or organization while you’re spinning the yarn is a nice way to stay decorous.

Knowing which accomplishments to track

Okay, hopefully I’ve convinced you. Now, how do you figure out how to thoughtfully track accomplishments at work without writing down every single thing you did right?

A record of a worthy accomplishment is a bit like a well-structured novel: there should be some instigating drama, some ensuing action, and some change as a result. If you’re stuck for things to note or how to note them, try the Challenge-Action-Result formula:

• Think of a challenge that needed to be resolved. What obstacles did you have to overcome to resolve it?
• List the steps you took to resolve the challenge one by one.
• What happened as a result of your actions?

Feel free to put all of this information into a single accomplishment statement. Use key elements like action verbs, concrete metrics, and clear articulation of the impact you made. 

For example: After struggling with volunteer retention for months, I created a structured onboarding process that outlined exactly what our organization expected volunteers to do on a day-to-day basis. This helped manage expectations for our volunteers so that only committed individuals could sign up for volunteer shifts, resulting in a 25% boost in program participation within six months.

If you’re just starting out in the working world, try applying the methods above to accomplishments you made while in college—academic and extracurricular achievements, as well as volunteer and internship experience, are all fair game.

How to track accomplishments at work

Keeping a list of your accomplishments is a little different than logging work experience on your resume. No doubt the two are related, but the key here is to illustrate how you've made a positive impact, not just points on a timeline. Here are a few different options to track accomplishments in a way that works for you:

• Maintain a journal, spreadsheet, or online document. Every time you hear yourself say “Winning!” make a note of what you did and include the date.
• Keep a physical folder. It might sound old fashioned, but a folder is a good place to stow the occasional hand-written thank-you note, annual report, meeting handout, or event program to jog your memory.
• Use Linkedin. Your profile is a great place to display your triumphs, and keeping it current will let people see you’re in the game (just make sure you don’t divulge any info that should stay within your org!). If you feel comfortable, ask a manager or co-worker to write a recommendation for something specific.
• Try an app. WorkSmart, for example, allows you to note accomplishments and set goals. It also sends “status reports” at your request!
• Tweet, use Facebook, or blog. If you’re already in the habit of using these tools to keep your circles updated on your social life, try infusing them with positive news about your work life, as well. You never know who it’ll get around to, and you’ll have a record you can look back on later.
• Start an online portfolio. Use a CMS like Wordpress or Squarespace to create a digital scrapbook that can be endlessly updated and shared.

Lastly, remember that you yourself are in the best position to know your accomplishments—even if your manager keeps notes on your work, they won’t be as complete as what you can compile. You’re also in the driver’s seat when it comes to leveraging your accomplishments to the best of your advantage; no one else will do it for you. So start keeping track of all the great things you’re doing—and start today!