What is your Biggest Achievement: Sample Responses for Freshers

What is your biggest achievement? What do you consider your most significant accomplishment so far? As a fresher, you can expect these questions while attending an interview, and you have to be prepared to answer them with confidence and poise. Choosing which achievements to highlight and learning to communicate them effectively is essential. 

Here are some sample responses and tips for answering the question. 

Read More:

• Why do recruiters want to know about your greatest achievements?
• How to pick an accomplishment
• How to communicate your accomplishment effectively
• Sample answers
• Frequently Asked Questions

Why do recruiters want to know about your greatest achievements?

It is one of the most common interview questions because the employer can get more information about the prospective employee’s capabilities and the relevance of the candidate to the team’s needs. Your answer to the question “What are your achievements?” will let the interviewer analyze your leadership skills, ambition level, qualities like determination and hard work, your views on success, and soft skills. It is an opportunity to display your creativity and stand out from the other candidates.

How to pick an accomplishment

As a fresh graduate, it is challenging to pick an accomplishment since you have to talk about your challenges and how overcoming them helped you get where you are today. You can cite an incident from your college/university or internship life that highlights your drive to succeed.

• The most crucial step is to read the job description carefully and identify the essential skills the company is looking for.
• Do basic research about the company – scan its website and social media portals and search for the latest news. Read its mission and vision statements carefully.

Once you clearly understand the employer’s needs, identify and write down your qualities, skills, and incidents that highlight them. You can also turn experiences such as part-time jobs, projects, internships, assignments, social impact, sports, and extracurricular activities into achievements by emphasizing the skills you developed and the impact you made. For instance, if you worked part-time while studying, you can talk about how you saved money, managed your time effectively, and developed valuable customer service skills. Similarly, if you completed a challenging project or assignment, you can highlight the problem-solving and analytical skills you utilized.

How to communicate your accomplishment effectively

• It is recommended to frame your response using the S-T-A-R method (Situation – Task – Action – Results). Start by describing the situation and then talk about the task you had to do to accomplish the target. What are the actions you had to implement, and how did the results turn out to be? Focus on effort and explain what happened after your action.
• Provide a broad view of your achievements, preferably with quantified results.
• Be honest with yourself and the company.
• Be clear, concise, and specific.
• Ensure that the tone is positive and self-assured.

Sample answers

# SAMPLE 1 

My biggest achievement as a computer science engineering fresher is developing a machine learning model that accurately predicted the likelihood of fraudulent transactions. I worked on this project as part of a course project in my final year of studies. The model achieved a high level of accuracy in predicting the likelihood of fraudulent transactions, with a precision rate of 95% and a recall rate of 90%. Throughout this project, I developed my skills in data analysis, machine learning, and programming languages like Python. As a result of my work on this project, I was recognized as the top performer in my class and was awarded a certificate of merit for outstanding performance. The project was also presented at a national-level conference on machine learning and data analytics, where it received positive feedback from industry experts and academics.

# SAMPLE 2 

During my third year at the college, I was selected for an internship at the prestigious National Institute for E-Governance. During the three-month training, I was asked to develop an app to help deal with the rising number of cybercrimes in the country. To help reduce money fraud and related crimes, I created a simple app that allows victims to register a crime at the nearest police station and follow up on the case with help from leading lawyers and law students. The app received positive feedback from the company and the training supervisor, and it was later presented to a panel of judges at a national technology competition. I was thrilled to learn that my app won the best intern award, which was a significant achievement for me as a fresher.

# SAMPLE 3

In my final year, I was elected as the editor-in-chief of our college magazine. However, it was when the college was forced to conduct studies online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was challenging to coordinate the online editing and selection of submissions since it was always done at the college with many hands to help. I took it up as a challenge and decided to publish the magazine online within a month. I created groups and allotted tasks and conducted interviews online. I coordinated with multiple groups online to make the jobs easier and familiarize the group members with the online functions. I was able to publish the first-ever online magazine for our college, which received much appreciation. 

In conclusion, when answering the question “What is your biggest achievement?” as a fresher, it’s important to highlight something you’re proud of and that showcases your skills, qualities, and potential. Consider academic, personal, or extracurricular accomplishments that demonstrate your strengths, determination, and drive. Be specific, concise, and confident in your response, and use the opportunity to sell yourself and why you’d be an asset to the company.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are some common mistakes I must avoid when sharing my achievements?

Stay calm while answering the questions, and always be honest. When sharing your achievements in an interview, it’s important to present them in a way that highlights your strengths and abilities without coming across as boastful or arrogant. Be humble and modest, but also make sure you make the best pitch for yourself.

2. How long should my answer be?

Your answer should be concise and to the point. Aim for a response that is around 1-2 minutes long but be prepared to expand on your answer if the interviewer asks follow-up questions.