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COMPETENCY #3—PERSONAL MOTIVATION 125

Result: For my three-month review, I drew up a checklist of the meas-

ures I had achieved, along with key ideas to enhance the department’s pro-
ductivity. My efforts and ideas garnered a promotion within a year’s time.

Question 105. Recall a situation when you took on a self-starter ap-

proach to a project.

Situation: When I was hired as an assistant for Editorial Secrets, I

searched for ways to carve a niche for myself. Concurrently, I took pride in
performing the tasks that were listed in my job description, including taking
minutes during departmental meetings.

Action: From those meetings I learned a lot about writing copy for

brochures and Web sites. Occasionally, I would take it upon myself to write
some copy and compare it to the final product developed by the copywriter.
Through this exercise I learned about the skills in which I excelled and what I
needed to improve.

Result: Over time, I had a portfolio of ads I had written and I showed

it to the department head. She assigned me a small project, which was sent
directly to the client. The client was impressed with the material, and after a
while I was assigned more complex projects.

Question 106. Describe a time when you chose a course of action that

had a significant impact on your career.

Situation: When I graduated from college I wanted to work in the in-

dustrial design department of the Lion Plant Company because the organi-
zation’s international reputation as an industry leader was well known.
Unfortunately, there were no positions open in my department of choice.

Action: I applied for the only open position, which was in the mailroom,

anticipating that when a position became available as a designer, I could sub-
mit an application.

Result: It turned out that I enjoyed the camaraderie in the mailroom.

My desire for industrial design took a backseat to the mailroom’s depart-
mental concerns. When the mailroom manager retired, I took over his posi-
tion and worked my way up to an even higher position.

Question 107. Describe your most recent achievement and explain

how your actions benefited investors.

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