{"id":30508,"date":"2013-07-17T12:15:14","date_gmt":"2013-07-17T16:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=30508"},"modified":"2013-07-16T23:56:45","modified_gmt":"2013-07-17T03:56:45","slug":"keeping-track-of-your-accomplishments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=30508","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Track of Your Accomplishments"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Keeping Track of Your Accomplishments<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"diana<\/a>I\u2019m learning a lot in my current administrative position, and not necessarily what I thought I\u2019d be learning. It\u2019s exhausting (I\u2019m either traveling to or at work 14 hours out of the day) and I find the position really uncomfortable, but the latter is a good thing. I\u2019m out of my comfort zone and I feel like I\u2019m learning skills I\u2019ve never had to learn before, at least not to this extent. (On a side note, Naomi is a saint for putting up with my perpetually-late blog posts due to said exhaustion.)<\/p>\n

One of the things I\u2019ve learned that\u2019s stuck out in stark relief is just how much I concentrate on the negative in my job performance.<\/strong> I\u2019ll do one hundred things in a day (no joke), and I may do 97 of those things either competently or impressively well. I don\u2019t think about those 97 things, though; I always fixate on the 3 that I either didn\u2019t do well or didn\u2019t do well enough<\/i>. It\u2019s a big obstacle both in my confidence on the job and in my ability to sell myself and my skills. I know I\u2019m not alone in this.<\/p>\n

One thing I\u2019ve learned is to keep a running account of what I do<\/strong>. Not a daily tally, no, but a record of my daily tasks and any projects I\u2019m in charge of. It took a while to get it together (and I was given a template), but it\u2019s amazing how much I do but didn\u2019t realize I was doing (if that make sense).<\/p>\n

So, to help you out, I\u2019m including below the basic sections that I have in my record.<\/strong> I\u2019m also going to include a filled-out list so you can see just what goes into it. Set it up in whatever format you like: Excel, PowerPoint, Word, written on paper with pretty pictures drawn into the margins. It\u2019s amazingly useful for seeing what you\u2019ve accomplished and it can also act as a base for a portfolio. Once I have some time I\u2019m going to use this format to expand upon what projects I completed in the past, including my internships, dissertation, class projects, and anything I\u2019ve done in past jobs that I feel is relevant. Go forth, and let me know if you make any additions!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Name of project\/task<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Reasons this task is necessary\/needed<\/p>\n

Key Milestones<\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [List the main steps in this projects, including a target date or date completed if you like]\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Next step]\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Next step]\n

 <\/p>\n

Open Issues and Risks<\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [This section is to list any obstacles you overcame, complications that arose, and issues you see\/saw from the start]\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Next issue]\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Next issue]\n

 <\/p>\n

Next Steps<\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [This section is great to keep track of where you are in the process and to help you figure out what you need to do next; not necessary for a portfolio]\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Next step]\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Next step]\n

 <\/p>\n

EXAMPLE<\/b> \u2013 This example is actually a past project I did, but I\u2019m writing it below as if it\u2019s still in process to show how I use the Next Steps area.<\/p>\n

Development of the library at the Westchester Italian Cultural Center<\/span><\/p>\n

The center wants to set up a scholarship program with NYU to facilitate research into Italian-American culture. The current library consists of donated books and supports neither current patrons nor projected scholars.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Key Milestones<\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Compiled a list of current library holdings from multiple records and notations of donations.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In conjunction with advising professor from NYU, compiled a weeding list to free up space in the library and remove irrelevant titles.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Created an acquisitions list from many sources to support both current patrons of the center and the proposed scholarship program.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Advised on possible cataloguing programs to keep track of holdings and provide searchable access to the catalogue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Open Issues and Risks<\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There was no comprehensive recording of donations and holdings of the library prior to my research<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Needed to marry needs of current patrons and needs of projected scholars.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Center was a distance from where I lived, so I had to do most work remotely while working full-time elsewhere.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Next Steps<\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Find SOURCES for acquisitions list.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Compile spreadsheet using SOURCES to track most listed\/suggested titles.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Using this spreadsheet, create acquisitions list for library.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Research cataloging options for library.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina Keeping Track of Your Accomplishments I\u2019m learning a lot in my current administrative position, and not necessarily what I thought I\u2019d be learning. It\u2019s exhausting (I\u2019m either traveling to or at work 14 hours out of the day) and I find the position really uncomfortable, but…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[233,3592,3996,3633,4887,4888,4886],"class_list":["post-30508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-articles-2","tag-blog","tag-diana-la-femina","tag-inalj-south-carolina","tag-performance-evaluation","tag-project-management","tag-tracking-accomplishments"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-7W4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30508\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}