Bragging Rights: Writing Accomplishments

 A common mistake among job seekers is to simply list job duties without discussing accomplishments. Some blowhards go overboard in tooting their own horn.  Neither approach works when applying for Federal jobs.

My approach is to list key duties followed by a list of significant accomplishments.  A friend of mine, who worked as a business reporter for many years before becoming a policy analyst, recently asked me how to write an accomplishment.

Here's an example from my career, using the CCAR system favored by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).  CCAR is an acronym for Challenge, Context, Action and Results.

CHALLENGE
 Shortly after joining my current agency, I was asked to help plan the organization's 10th anniversary as an independent agency.  Specifically, I was asked to create a commemorative pamphlet of some kind to be handed out at the celebration.

CONTEXT
While there was an abundance of long-time employees willing to discuss the agency's creation, there was no consensus over what the commemorative document should look like or include. I recommended writing an agency history that would celebrate its heritage as a former arm of the Internal Revenue Service, describe its "new" role as an independent oversight agency and recognize the achievements of each operational and support division.

ACTIONS
I created a team consisting of representatives of the agency's five divisions, obtained the loan of a writer/editor and drew upon the Treasury Department's printing and graphics office to design and layout the publication.

Each division provided a description of its duties and a list of accomplishments, along with suggestions for illustrations. I conducted additional research and turned over this "pile of stuff" to my writer/editor to put into usable form.

The 56 page finished product was printed and distributed at the 10th anniversary celebration. Employees unable to attend the celebration were able to view the document online, and copies were distributed to congressional staff and the media.

RESULTS
The handsome four-color cover was  so popular that it served as the cover for several subsequent reports to Congress and the content is routinely used in speeches and presentation.

Here is a link to an OPM document describing the CCAR method in more detail.