The Importance of Achievement
Well I hadn’t planned to be updating this again. I wagered we’d all be standing amidst a sea of cosmic carnage as the angels and devils wage unholy war. So that didn’t happen, and I must admit that it was a disappointment for me at the very least. Does anyone know how to properly dispose of a body? No? Never mind, I didn’t say anything.
Now where were we? Ah! Achievements, I’m not talking about standing atop a mountain or running a marathon, but achievements in a relatively stationary hobby: Video Games. I strongly feel that this is a tool that is understated by gamers and developers alike.
Achievements in life, even on the miniscule level, are important. These create tangible or semi-tangible commodities that are produced through acknowledging an experience. The anti-achievement argument seems to stem from the argument that “Games did quite well without them for years.” I’m not so sure that they have not existed in games in one fashion or another for a long time, but even with that not mentioned video games have been constantly evolving for decades. There is almost nothing outside of the hard skeleton of the product that is the same as it was in the 80’s or 90’s.
The major advance in achievements in gameplay came with online databases. These provided a persistent environment for these accomplishments to carry from game to game. Where previously achievements in a game were contained on a memory card or emotionally on the disc itself they were now shelved in constant environment that all people could observe and thusly their value increased.
Pixels on the Screen. As some of players I know would say, this is again a very flawed point to make. A song is notes in series, a movie is a series of images, the images a collection of tiny spots of color in series, and the human body a collection of code and a set of base elements (again in series and patterns). We can take any component of life or anything we cherish and deconstruct it into meaningless drivel. It’s a flawed view and one that I won’t examine further, feel free to do so yourself.
If a person accepts any of the above content as valuable then they shouldn’t have much difficulty finding video game achievements valuable. These things are no less silly than trophies from sports or awards for job performance. In the end its an object that gains as much value as we give to it. The nature of society and individualism dictates that not everyone will agree on the extent of the value but holding any particular part as valuable and another as not is fairly dissonant.
Obviously there are negatives. Achievements can be treated poorly, constructed without good design and given out for trivial repetitive acts. Properly designed achievements can add enjoyable replay value, give players goals to rise to, and help them experience backstory to a game that they might otherwise never notice. It’s difficult and admittedly done poorly often (in my experience) but when done properly it adds another level of value to the game without much added investment.
I find it very unlikely that achievements will turn out to be a fad. They tap into an integral part of the human experience, creating tangible otherwise intangible things. Helping us, in a way, materialize a simple indicator of something we previously could not properly express. They can still improve, as can all things, but I believe the groundwork is solid.
Duties are not the same as achievements
Your achievements are the things you did in a job which made a positive impact and contribution to your employer’s business. They demonstrate to a potential employer that you can do the job well. On the other hand, the skills and knowledge you would be expected to have in order to perform your everyday work duties do not count as accomplishments, unless you can demonstrate specifically how you used them to benefit your employer.
Quantify your accomplishments
Accomplishments are not just an exaggerated way of describing your skills and experience, they’re tangible proof of your past performance. They are most powerful when you quantify them using numbers or percentages, for example the statement:
‘increased sales’
is much stronger if the reader knows by how much you increased sales:
‘increased sales by 15%’, or ‘increased sales by £10,000’.
If you don’t know the exact number it’s fine to estimate as long as you state that you are estimating and you are confident that the estimate is fairly accurate and would be confirmed if an interviewer asks a previous employer for a reference.
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Everyone has achievements
A common mistake when creating your CV is assuming that the only sort of contribution that counts is increasing company sales or winning new customers. Sales are undoubtedly very important but there are many other ways to make a positive difference, so don’t be tempted to think that you didn’t make an impact just because you weren’t in a sales role. Other ways that you may have made a contribution to your employer’s business include the following:
• Increasing the loyalty or satisfaction of existing customers • Solving a problem or challenge, e.g., decreasing customer complaints • Saving money, e.g., negotiating a better deal from a supplier Saving time, e.g., suggesting a new time-saving process
• Developing an idea your employer acted on • Launching new products, projects or initiatives • Increasing the company press coverage or market recognition
How to identify achievements
One of the best ways way to identify your career accomplishments is to look at your skills and previous job duties one-by-one. As you go through them ask yourself what positive difference you made to your employer while you were doing that particularly activity.
Also review work-related feedback you’ve been given including positive comments and praise as well as formal inputs, e.g., the results of performance reviews.
Outside opinions can be helpful
Some people have difficulty identifying their achievements and find it helpful to get input from supportive colleagues and friends, or even previous employers. Asking someone else to make an objective assessment of why you were particularly good at your job is likely to reveal things which you may not have considered. They may also be able to help you quantify the difference you made.
Individual versus team achievements
If some of your best results were achieved as part of a team you can certainly still include them, for example:
‘member of a high-performing team which won the regional support award last year’
Highlighting team performance demonstrates not only that you’re a high-achiever, but also that you’re a good team player. However it doesn’t tell a prospective employer how you contributed to the team’s success, so for maximum impact you need to make sure that you include specific details of the role you played. Don’t leave the person reading your CV to guess what your contribution was.
Personal achievements
People with little or no previous work experience should still aim to include achievements on their CV. If you’re in this position it’s fine to include accomplishments from other parts of your life as long as they are relevant to the job you are applying for. Areas to look for achievements include volunteering roles, sporting activities and your academic record, for example:
• Raising money for charity – quantify the money raised and what you did to raise it • Serving on a community or student committee – what role did you play and how did you make a difference? • Leading a student team on a project – what size was the team and what did it achieve under your leadership? • Awards won – don’t just list the awards, elaborate on what you did to win them
Accuracy is vital
It’s important to be honest about your achievements. Don’t be tempted to exaggerate as it’s very easy for employers to check on your claims. False information on a CV is very likely to result in your elimination from the application process or even criminal charges or dismissal if you’ve already been hired. Make sure that you can back up your claims with further details and be prepared to elaborate on them in an interview.
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