Brag File & Your Big Hairy Achievements List
It is so easy to slip into negative self talk and feeling bad about yourself when you are weeks or months into your job search or career change. Add to that all the other invisible walls you bump into as a woman in midlife with possible kiddos at home, peri-menopause or menopause on board, a relationship that is showing cracks, parents that are ageing, a job that sucks or no job, a feeling of no direction like a salsa dancer without the sexy heels or even the dreaded stuck feeling with old rickety-ass wagon wheels spinning around with the tumbleweeds tugging you down. Ick.
So - ya - you fall into a funk and start feeling pretty bad about where you are at right now. You feel like you haven’t done anything amazing for ages or ever for that matter, that no one wants to talk to you, that you have fallen behind, that you do not have the skills companies need, that you are doubting that you can even keep up with younger people, that you are not relevant, that your silver streaks in your hair means out to pasture, that you will be criticized and judged for falling behind, that you are not worthy of getting paid a higher salary, that you won’t be able to compete with younger peers…..on and on…..sound familiar?
So what happens?
You space out on your past and your abilities and find it pretty difficult to believe in yourself and that you could find an amazing job & get on with your amazing life….ouch.
Well - that is all nonsense and I will tell you why!
It is all mindset and allowing your brain to lead you astray. You need to reign that puppy in and start to remember who you really are - and a great place to start is with your achievements (and silencing your inner critic).
This is where you need to start remembering all the stellar and audacious things you have done in your career and life over the years. It is all too easy to space out on the accomplishments that you have achieved when you are deep in the mire and muck. So crack open your journal and start writing down all of your achievements. Refer to your old resumes, jobs listed in your LinkedIn that go to the ‘before’ times, volunteer work you did with the kids, schools, church, Greenpeace, whatever….just write it all down.
Label this list and call it your ‘Big Hairy Achievements’ or your ‘Brag File’ or another saucy name that makes you smile. Point is you are taking an intentional walk down memory lane to remind yourself that you kicked ass in the past and you continue to kick ass and will kick ass until the cows come home! You do!
This is the point of recalling our past achievements - not kicking cows - but overcoming limiting beliefs and negative self talk! Deeply knowing your value will help kick those noisy hamsters in your noggin to the curb. Recalling and celebrating your past achievements will build up your strength and resiliency and begin to spark happy thoughts in that lovely brain of yours. Recalling your achievements will bring you joy and fill the negative Nancy critic voice with ‘hell yes’ and ‘OMG I remember doing that’ and soon enough the dark self talk will melt away and be replaced with more positive self-affirming speak.
You will need to actively work on this and every time you feel a dark thought about your self worth creep in you need to push it away and then reach for your journal where you have your brag file and gobble it all up!
The power of your mind is incredible. You are much more capable than you think and you are not limited to what you think or believe - this is an important realization. You have power over your life and you can use it to create anything you want. Read that again - anything you want! Self-development is a lifelong process and you will have many opportunities to remind yourself of your accomplishments.
So start writing your list - if only a few things come to mind that’s ok - write more when they come to you. To make this exercise even more impactful spend some time writing down what is important about each accomplishment and why it's special to you. Write down how you feel about the accomplishment (proud and accomplished). Write down what effect this accomplishment has had on others — your family and friends or co-workers who helped make it happen. Finally, write down how this accomplishment will help further your career goals in the future by helping build up your portfolio or gaining new skills/experience.
Your accomplishments may not always be crazy big or monumental
but they will lead you towards making you feel good about yourself -
and that is the ultimate goal to rewiring your brain and feeling better.
The more often you do this exercise the more likely it is that your accomplishments will remain with you for a long time and help guide your future decisions. In addition to reflecting on your accomplishments, it is also important to reflect on how they made you feel. When we accomplish something that makes us happy, it’s natural to feel good about ourselves.
“Our sense of pride and accomplishment can help boost our confidence and self-esteem when we need it most.”
Keeping track of your career successes and accomplishments will also help you quantify details of your work history or share specifics when the time comes to present yourself to a potential company.
In terms of your job search, being able to provide proof of claims in the form of achievements and results are beneficial during all the stages of a job search or career progression. Achievements and results help employers compare progress to others and gauge your level of ability and proficiency. Metrics, measurable achievements and business impacts will help you stand out as a super star during the hiring process - if you haven’t started your Brag File you may be at a loss when it comes time to talk about all the fab things you have done - so get at it!
Here is a list of ideas you can add to your Brag File:
Initiatives you took on or kick started
Descriptions of major projects or achievements - include quantifying details such as numbers, percentages and dollar figures
Presentations you’ve created and/or delivered
Publications you’ve contributed to or been featured in - doesn’t matter how old these are - wrtie them down!
Mentoring or employee development that you have taken on or performed for others
Testimonials, emails, or letters of appreciation from customers, clients, peers, or superiors
LinkedIn recommendations
Media mentions
Performance reviews
Awards or honours
Business improvements you generated
New learning or education, including training certificates
Expanded skill sets (both soft and hard skills)
Include detailed metrics as you go because you will forget these numbers - include budget sizes, team sizes, cost-savings, revenue gains, new sales, market expansion, profitability improvement)
Volunteer experiences
Include other big wins or noteworthy tasks from your life - can include travel, debt repayment, completing a program, etc
Again - deeply knowing your value in the form of achievements and results are amazing mood boosters and mindset resets as well as being beneficial during multiple stages of your job search which may include: writing your resume, optimizing LinkedIn, conducting a killer interview, pitching a case for a job promotion and negotiating the salary you deserve!
You are amazing and all of your achievements are stellar reminders of how undeniably fabulous you are! Keep your list close by and add to it, reflect on it and most of all celebrate talented you - your present and future self will thank you from the bottom of their gorgeous hearts!
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