Keeping Track of Your Accomplishments: How to Write a Brag Book
I like to relate careers, interviews, and job searching to dating.
Imagine you are actively dating. Read the two scenarios below and think about who you’d rather go on a date with.
A person walks up to you and says “I am the nicest person you have ever met, I’m funny, and I’ll treat you better than anyone has ever treated you before.”
or
Your friend comes up to you and says “I know you have been dating, and I have the PERFECT person for you. They are nice, absolutely hilarious, and will treat you right.”
I bet you would at least consider going on a date with the second person. Why? Because the information came from a credible 3rd party, who holds more weight than the person speaking about themselves.
Before you think I am encouraging you to keep a brag book about your dating life, let’s go back to careers.
The importance of 3rd party reliability is true in the professional world too.
When you talk about your own accomplishments and triumphs, it helps to frame your “bragging” and let others speak for you. Knowing how to write a brag book will leave you with a log of affirmations and acknowledgments from your peers.
In an interview setting, your brag book can set you up for success to call upon instances where people acknowledged your success.
This article teaches you everything you need to know about how to write a Brag Book:
What is a Brag Book?
Where Do I Keep My Brag Book?
What Should I Include in a Brag Book?
How Do I Quantify My Accomplishments?
Is a Brag Book for Sales Only?
How Often Should I Update My Brag Book?
What is a Brag Book?
A brag book is a place where you record all of your work accomplishments, awards, wins, and even affirmations or quotes from your colleagues. Your brag book acts as an easy place to keep key milestones across your personal and professional life. You can reference it when you’re building a resume, interviewing for a new job, navigating a salary increase, or even when you need a morale boost.
Basically, If you are asking yourself “How do I keep track of my accomplishments?” — The answer is a Brag Book.
Nancy Von Horn, MCC, MSSW | Career and Leadership Coach | Korn Ferry Advance
“Let’s face it, our brains are on overdrive, taxed and full. It’s a no brainer in today’s world that we need tools and structures like a brag book, or we simply won’t be able to remember.”
Where Do I Keep My Brag Book?
I recommend storing your brag book online. Keeping your data in the cloud makes it easy to find and recover your data in case you lose your laptop, phone, or physical notebook.
Another benefit of storing your data online is that it allows you to keep a written record of how you have excelled and progressed throughout your career.
I keep my brag book in Airtable. It’s basically a functional excel that lets you easily filter and create category specific records.
There are many cloud-based storage, or note-taking services that will work like Microsoft OneDrive or Evernote.
What should I include in a Brag Book?
Remember this acronym “W.I.I.F.M.” – What’s in it for me? Use this acronym as a mantra to guide your brag book entries.
When you are presenting your entries in the future, think about who you may be presenting it to then ask yourself “What would they want to hear?” It may sound odd to write with someone else in mind, but it will allow you to position yourself in a way that makes sense to them.
For example, consider a potential interviewer; what would they want to know about you and your accomplishments?
Here are a few things you can include as you track your work accomplishments that will translate seamlessly to what an interviewer will want to know.
Anytime you hit or exceed a goal
Anytime a client, co-worker, boss, friend, (really anyone) says something positive about you
Note: As soon as this happens, your next question needs to be “Can I quote you on that?”
Any awards, certifications, and recognition you received
Anytime you went above and beyond your core job description to provide value.
Details matter! Be sure to include context when you are adding to your brag book, even if you think it’s unimportant. A year from now, you may not remember the subtleties of your entries, do your future-self a favor and add detail.
Quantify, Quantify, Quantify.
Try to be as quantifiable as possible. Showing numbers and statistics will hold much more weight when you detail your accomplishments. Basically, what did you do and by how much?
What did I increase?
Examples: revenue, brand recognition, customer satisfaction
What did I decrease?
Examples: support tickets, costs, overhead.
How many?
Examples: calls were you making in a day, tickets were you closing, processes did you implement?
When the time comes, quantifiable data will help you build out your resume and show your value in the best possible way.
Note: If you aren’t able to find quantifiable data, be sure to add the skills it took to complete your goal.
Is a Brag Book for Sales Only?
Some believe that a brag book is only relevant for sales positions, that is not true. A Brag Book is for everyone; for any role in any department at any company. The content will vary from position to position and will include relevant information specific to your job role. Your Brag Book is specific to you and your accomplishments.
How Often Should I Update My Brag Book?
Ideally, you are updating your brag book once a month. Pick a set date and commit 13 minutes to make any updates.
Did anything positive happen this month?
Is there anything new in your personal or work life? If so, what?
Did you receive any praise this month?
Did you receive any certifications?
Your Brag Book is only as good as the content you put into it. At the very least, update your brag book once a quarter.
Reflect.
There will be a time when you are frustrated with your current role, in need of a change, or you’re feeling low and need a motivation boost. When this time comes, reference your brag book!
If you’ve followed the steps in this article, then your brag book is full of positive achievements, quotes, and certifications. It’ll serve as a reminder that you are on the right path.
When the time comes to find a new position, receive a promotion, or ask for a raise, you’ll be happy you have kept a list of accomplishments along the way.
Stay up to date.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. I hope it was helpful for creating your brag book.
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Adam Berguem | Author
Text #career to 760-239-0640 to contact me directly to ask questions, receive occasional tips, and to stay get updates on the next blog post.
Kara Brandon | Editor & Graphics
Kara is a UX/UI designer by trade and can be contacted at karalbrandon@gmail.com