You will use your written accomplishments in at least three places: the resume, marketing letters and face-to-face meetings. At the start of this exercise, many people--even senior executives--say something like, "I didn't really accomplish anything, I just did my job." It's natural to feel that way. Yes, you did your job, but you did a lot more besides. You were accomplishing things even when you didn't know it. You may have hundreds of accomplishments. It's just a matter of digging for them.
Many times we take ourselves for granted. But we shouldn't, because what we can do easily might sound downright impossible to the average reader.

Duties and Responsibilities Versus Accomplishments
Your duties and responsibilities refer to the general scope of your job, such as "sales" or "selling." Accomplishment statements give specific examples of tasks you finished. The following chart shows the difference.

Typing 85 words per minute isn't necessarily an accomplishment. It's a skill. But quickly typing a 50 page report in two hours so it can be mailed by 5 p.m. is an achievement.
Being an excellent manager isn't an accomplishment. It's a skill. But leading a task force that develops a new money-making product in less than two months is an accomplishment.
Maintaining productivity is not necessarily an accomplishment, but maintaining productivity under adverse circumstances is. See how this works?

If you can't remember your successes, then think of problems you've solved. Take a sheet of paper and divide it vertically into three columns, and title with the following:

Don't be afraid to take credit for what you've done, especially in the early stages of this project. Most of us undersell ourselves. We tend to claim too little for ourselves--not too much.
Job-hunters hesitate to take credit for an entire project, especially when they managed the project or had others help. Don't worry about that. If you write "Saved $20MM by installing new computer hardware and software system," the reader will assume you had help with the project and didn't do it alone. So don't be shy. Speak up!
Whenever possible, try to show how what you did contributed to company profit. This shows that you were thinking about the bottom line--and sometimes that's more important than what you actually achieved.
However, not everyone saves the company $3 million per year or improves productivity by 182%. Some people really do "just do their jobs." Still, you can find accomplishments that "sound impressive," and for the purposes of this exercise, that's what counts. So look for things that sound difficult to do, even if they weren't.

In a seminar at US Steel in Provo, Utah a secretary said, "I've never accomplished anything." I said, "How long have you worked here?" She said, "Ten years." I said, "How many days of work have you missed?" She said, "I've never missed a single day." And I said, "That sounds like an accomplishment to me."

Also, there's a thin line between sounding good and bragging. Sounding good is fine but bragging isn't. One client told me he had sold his duck logo (a piece of artwork on a business card) for $3,500. I could tell the art was inexpensive "clip art," so I disbelieved him and never again fully trusted what he said.

"Reduced operating costs 4%," is fine--but sounds as if it could've been achieved with one phone call to a vendor. Therefore, it sounds weak--or if not weak, it doesn't sound nearly as strong as it could if "struggle" were added.

Whenever possible, add the agony of the process. Show the dragons you slayed, describe the 14,000-foot mountains you climbed without oxygen, and mention the bushels of broken glass you tiptoed across to complete your task. Don't exaggerate, but don't minimize, either. Let's reword the above accomplishment, adding struggle:

"In midst of strong, ongoing opposition from consultants and peers on senior management team, reduced vendors from six (6) to three (3), negotiated sharply discounted raw materials prices, and cut operating costs 4%, a savings of $228,000 per month."

After you've drafted your "triples" and "home runs," read them from the viewpoint of struggle. If they sound too easy--like you could've completed them on your cell phone by the pool--go back to the drawing board. You're not finished yet.