Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date, explaining why you view them as such.

Sample One

There are many accomplishments I am proud of - finishing university at 19 years old, graduating Cum Laude from my Masters, being transferred to Acme Canada to play a key role in the integration of the North America organization, however, I consider the following my two most substantial accomplishments because both demonstrate my ability to deal with adversity by energizing myself and others to work to achieve an ambitious vision.

The most recent accomplishment took place last year when my family and I moved to Chile to further my husband's career at Computer Tech. This was the right decision for our family; however, for me it required leaving a successful career with House Goods, and moving without any job opportunities. I thought that with my strong international marketing experience, I would easily find a job with a good multinational company; however, I did not. Economic and political instability affected the job market and companies were not hiring at that time. In order to overcome this situation, I had to rethink my career. After carefully evaluating my options, I decided to start my own consulting business. I started to develop my network of contacts - for two months I studied different Chilean markets, preparing a list of companies to visit, and for each company I prepared a specific sales argument for how I could help improve their business. It was a tough experience - I spoke with seven companies, and in the end I gained three customers, and improved my income generating a $95,000 annual income.

My second significant accomplishment occurred during my second year at House Goods, when the executive team recognized my work with the 'House Goods Award,' an award for the individual who made the greatest positive impact on the organization over the previous year. I am very proud, not only for the good business results, but more importantly, how I achieved them.

When I joined the company, my new team was in chaos - the team members lacked confidence, the brands were performing below plan, and strategic partners wanted to end their relationship with us. I reorganized the group to give my direct reports new challenges and a fresh start. I defined clear objectives for each person and each brand, transmitted energy and enthusiasm, supplied people with resources to accomplish their goals, gave support when needed, and provided ongoing feedback. We improved the profitability of the group by 12% compared with previous year, and rebuilt relationships with our partners, but the most important change was that a group of seven young professionals rebuilt its confidence and is still doing great six years later.

Sample Two (Excerpt)

I felt my body hit the ice as I was attempting to land my third double axel jump. My hip burned, but I picked myself up and finished my routine with my final salchow jump. I held back tears as I realized that all my work to qualify for the Salt Lake City Olympics would not lead to a medal. As one of the few world-class skaters in Taiwan, I easily qualified for 2002 Olympics. However, it was clear at practices that I was out-classed by the skaters from Russia, Ukraine and the United States. I remained determined and did my best in spite of my fear. While I ultimately did not place at the 2002 games, I am proud of my ability to persist and compete despite the odds. I have carried the lessons learned as a competitive skater through my career. Last year I faced a disappointment at work when I was passed over for promotion despite my hard work. Instead of letting the setback affect my attitude, I worked harder and ultimately won the respect of my boss and a promotion in another department. Whenever I face difficulty, I remember the moment when I fell on the ice in front of an international audience of millions and carried on to finish strong.

Sample Three (Excerpt)

As a member of the alumni committee for Mayan College in Los Angeles, I had a personal desire to leverage our 300 members to provide career guidance to new graduates. The other members of the committee had varying goals including building a fundraising base for the college, and just having fun with like-minded alumni. To generate support for my idea I identified several successful alums of Mayan and interviewed them about their career path. In many cases they had used their personal network to accomplish their career goals. I wanted to formalize that network by providing access to current students and recent graduates to those who had blazed a path in different fields in Los Angeles. I rallied a group to help me accomplish this goal, and we brainstormed ideas like social networking, happy hours, lecture series and job shadowing. The team voted and we decided to set up three focused lectures on the entertainment industry, the real estate industry and technology as the three most sought after industries among recent grads. Our lectures were followed by a cocktail hour, and we encouraged the older alumni to reach out to younger members of the club. We were thrilled when we received an email from Jon, a Mayan ’09, who received a job through meeting a helpful alum at our latest lecture series.

Sample Four (Excerpt)

My most significant accomplishment was paying for my sister to attend college in the United States. Growing up in one of the most economically challenged states in India meant that my parents had to sacrifice to enable my siblings and I to attend school. Through hard work I gained admission to IIT Delhi and was able to work in software engineering at Cisco, which led to a move to the US. At the same time, Saritha, my younger sister, dreamed of medical school. She worked hard to achieve the grades to gain admission to University of Southern California, but my parents could not afford the high tuition cost in US dollars. I had been saving money for my own post-graduate education, but I decided it was more important to help Saritha achieve her dreams. I paid for her first year of college, which enabled her to focus on her studies. After the first year she obtained scholarships and I paid the remainder. Saritha completed medical school and is now starting her residency in internal medicine. Most importantly, she lives a fulfilled life following her dreams, which I am proud to have enabled in some small way.