How to Answer “What is Your Greatest Achievement?” and Other Achievement-Related Interview Questions

Interviewers frequently ask questions about achievements and accomplishments to assess candidates beyond their basic skills and qualifications. By probing into a candidate’s major achievements, interviewers gain insight into their abilities to set ambitious goals, overcome challenges, and deliver impactful results.

In this article, we’ll explore examples, strategies, and tips to help you craft winning responses to popular achievement-focused interview questions.

Why Interviewers Ask About Achievements

Achievement questions aim to reveal key insights about a candidate

• Ability to set stretch goals – Achievements demonstrate the ability to establish challenging goals beyond basic expectations. This shows ambition and vision.

• Problem-solving skills – Overcoming obstacles to accomplish goals reflects strong analytical thinking, resourcefulness, and perseverance.

• Leadership and influence – Major achievements often require rallying others, developing influence, and directing teams. This demonstrates leadership potential.

• Impact orientation – Achievements reveal candidates who drive measurable impact vs simply going through the motions. This highlights drive.

• Performance under pressure – Overcoming adversity and pushing limits to achieve something exceptional reflects grace under pressure.

Common Achievement Interview Questions

Some frequent achievement-related questions candidates may encounter:

• What is your greatest achievement?
• What accomplishments are you most proud of?
• What is your biggest accomplishment in your current/previous role?
• Have you ever accomplished something you did not think you could?
• Tell me about a time you achieved difficult goals.
• Give an example of when you showed exceptional initiative.
• Walk me through how you overcame a major obstacle.

Interviewers may also ask about specific categories of achievements based on the role such as leadership, technical, research, etc However, expect questions that allow you to provide your unique stories and examples

Crafting Your Achievement Stories

Your achievement examples and stories should highlight specific situations that showcased your capabilities. Structure them using the STAR interview response technique:

Situation – Provide brief context and set the stage for your achievement story.

Task – Explain the challenges, goals, and obstacles faced. Quantify stretch targets.

Action – Elaborate the steps you took, skills used, and perseverance to drive results.

Result – Share the impact and results delivered. Use metrics and numbers to quantify the achievement.

Set the stage briefly, focus most of your response on the actions you took, and close with the results achieved. Interviewers look for the thought process and behaviors that drove an achievement vs just the end accomplishment.

Tips for Responding to Achievement Questions

1. Choose relevant, impactful examples – Select achievements that relate to the role you are interviewing for. Focus on major accomplishments vs routine tasks.

2. Quantify your targets and impact – Use numbers, stats, percentages, etc. to emphasize stretch goals and outsized impact.

3. Spotlight soft skills and behaviors – How you achieved something can be even more impressive than what you achieved. Highlight competencies.

4. Align to company values – Tailor your achievements to resonate with the organization’s mission and principles.

5. Be concise yet compelling – Keep answers focused but include engaging details that add color to your achievement stories.

6. Be honest and avoid exaggeration – Make your achievements bold but believable. Authenticity builds trust.

7. Practice often – Refine your achievement stories and delivery through mock interviews. Internalize them vs sounding scripted.

8. Engage your interviewer – Welcome follow up questions. Achievement discussions provide a chance to showcase your passion.

Examples of Strong Achievement Stories

Now let’s look at some illustrative examples of achievement stories using the STAR approach:

Situation – I was managing a software project that was seriously behind schedule and over budget. Task – My goal was to get the project back on track for an urgent client delivery deadline in just two months. Action – I worked extensive hours to diagnose issues. I identified wasted efforts, created a revised plan, brought on extra resources, and met daily with the team to drive progress through motivation vs micromanagement. Result – We delivered an expanded product scope on time for the client launch that substantially increased customer satisfaction. I helped save the project from failure.

Situation – Our 30% quarter-over-quarter growth was stalling due to lack of customer conversions. Task – I aimed to improve conversion rates by at least 25% over 6 months to reignite our growth. Action – I spearheaded an initiative to overhaul our web landing pages and improve messaging. I persuaded other leaders this was vital though not urgent. I had the team run A/B tests and iteratively optimize based on data. Result – We increased conversion rates by over 27% through continuous small improvements, getting our growth trajectory back on track.

Situation – Our engineering team was struggling with low morale and lack of unity. Task – I sought to improve team morale and create a more collaborative culture. Action – I actively listened to understand frustrations. I created new social events, recognition programs, and communication rituals that involved the whole team. I coached struggling engineers. Result – Our team engagement scores steadily improved over 18 months. Engineers cited the increased support and feeling of community I helped instill.

Takeaway Tips for Achievement Questions

• Prepare 2-3 strong STAR stories – Have compelling examples ready spanning different skills and past roles. Practice them.

• Highlight both the results achieved and how you drove them – Interviewers look for the behaviors and process behind an accomplishment.

• Tie achievements to transferable skills – Explain how the competencies you exhibited apply more broadly.

• Engage your interviewer – Ask clarifying questions, welcome follow ups, and let your passion show.

Achievement questions allow candidates to showcase their aspirations, abilities, and acumen. With preparation and practice, you can craft persuasive, authentic responses that highlight your potential and impress interviewers. Emphasize both the extraordinary outcomes you’ve driven as well as the skills and perseverance you leveraged to accomplish them. Let your achievements demonstrate the value you can continue bringing to future roles.