“What are you most proud of?” might seem like an easy question, but can be a little tricky to answer.
Similar to other behavioral interview questions, the recruiter wants to uncover how you respond at work and understand your values and priorities.
Through questions like this, the recruiter wants to gauge the skills you put to work as it will give insights into your capabilities.
If you have a job interview lined up, let's walk you through how to talk about your proud moments along with sample answers of "What accomplishments are you most proud of?"
Sample answers of "What accomplishments are you most proud of?"
Here’s how you can answer the HR interview question, “What are you most proud of?”.
Sample answer #1 (Fresher with no work experience)
"I'm proud of scoring the highest in my paper presentation in my second year of college.
I had been a nervous public speaker and had a tough competition with at least 7 of my classmates with the same topic as mine. My challenge thus was not just to present it better than others but to add more value to my paper.
After doing my research, I had reached out to a senior who helped me to dig deeper into my research as my objective was to add a unique value to my paper.
After much discipline and hard work, my paper was ready to present, and the professors seemed really happy with my paper.
This experience taught me to learn to ask for help when required and to challenge my comfort zone at every stage to excel."
Sample answer #2 (Entry level)
"I'm most proud of successfully completing my internship and scoring a 7 GPA in my finals.
It was a tough decision as the internship period taught me the practical application of my education, and I did not want to put it on hold.
But through extreme discipline and dedication, I completed both with flying colors. I even received the award for the Best Intern for 22-23."
Sample answer #3 (Managerial)
"A moment that I am most proud of is when I trained and guided a team member to success. In his initial days of joining the team, he was struggling to keep up his performance.
So, I decided to sit down with him and have a one-on-one conversation to understand the problem from his perspective. Once I understood the problem, suggesting a solution became easier. This experience helped not only to gain his trust but also build a rapport.
Also, I started a fortnightly catchup with each member to address their problems and coach them in the right direction. Now, my team is functioning much better than the previous years."
How to answer "What are you most proud of?"
With clarity on why recruiters ask, "What accomplishments are you most proud of?" let's dive into factors to cover when answering this HR interview question.
Be realistic & relevant
Remember to evaluate the job role you are applying for when sharing an experience to answer "What accomplishments are you most proud of?"
This will allow you to find an incident that can help you highlight the skills the recruiter is eyeing. Ensure that when talking about the incident you can show contribution that helped the team.
Also, it is best to highlight number when answering this HR interview question as it makes the answer more realistic and relatable.
Ensure it is impactful
"What are you most proud of?" requires you to build up your story. Otherwise, the recruiter might not be able to gauge the impact or the importance of your proud moments.
Make sure it is lasting
The best way to impress the recruiter when answering "What are you most proud of?" is to build up your story and give them a clear picture of why the incident makes you feel proud.
But ensure that it doesn't feel like a one-time thing. Explain how you followed up and used this incident as a catalyst to move past new challenges, etc.
In short, describe how your experience inspired/impacted your team.
Use it as a catalyst for other achievements
It is important to highlight your consistency as a one-time lucky candidate won't be appealing to the recruiter.
So, when answering "What are you most proud of?" cover how this accomplishment inspired you to continue to achieve and succeed.
Conclusion
Hopefully you found these tips to talk about your proud moments useful. Make sure to practice answering “What are you most proud of?” to be confident during the interview.
Apart from this, make sure to dress appropriately for the big day and re-check all your documents.
All the Best!
