Do any of these situations apply to you?

• You have enjoyed steady career progression and have been unexpectedly thrust into the job market for the first time in 15 years.
• A viable opportunity for internal promotion has popped up, but you will be going up against some the company's top employees.
• You have reached the proverbial 'glass ceiling' and want to pursue new executive opportunities.
• A mentor you admire wants to introduce you to a key decision maker and a preliminary interview is scheduled.

All of these situations have one thing in common: They require you to put your best foot forward and provide proof of performance. Whether you are actively job hunting, preparing for an interview or about to connect with a new contact, you need to be able to articulate your key strengths and unique value proposition.

If you haven't sat down and evaluated your career success in a long time, now is the time to start. One of the areas where many senior professionals fall short is in capturing strong, quantifiable and qualitative achievements relevant to their industry. For example, the success for a sales executive is going to be defined in terms of sales growth, market share expansion and strategic alliances, whereas a finance executive is going to attract attention if she has noteworthy achievements that relate to P&L management, ROI maximization and cost reduction.

So how do you define success in your industry? Here are a few memory-jogging questions to help you identify and chronicle high-impact achievements that can power up your resume and impress any interviewer.

1. Have you recommended a new system or process that improved efficiency or productivity?
   

   Possible answer: Introduced innovative process improvement initiatives that automated 45 processes, shrunk operating costs by $500,000, and eliminated 100 percent of manual, time-consuming tasks.

2. Did your actions directly save the company money or time?
   

   Possible answer: Identified $13.5 million savings in general and administrative expenses by conducting extensive review of corporate and field sales operations.

3. Were you responsible for reducing costs or trimming operations?
   

   Possible answer: Slashed annual HR expenditures by $18 million by eliminating duplicate costs, creating benefit efficiencies and reducing employee training costs.

4. Did you initiate a new program that positively impacted the bottom line?
   

   Possible answer: Increased annual revenues 20 percent by introducing a 'first-of-its-kind' technology program which offered customers a complete suite of IT solutions instead of a la carte services.

5. Have you ever been involved in a start-up or turnaround operation? What was the outcome?
   

   Possible Answer: Conceived and developed a start-up technology consulting firm from the ground up to over $3 million in operations in just three years.

6. Did you receive a powerful compliment or testimonial from a senior leader in the company?
   

   Possible Answer: "Has devised an innovative marketing philosophy that has rebranded ABC Company in the marketplace and positioned us for success. Her contribution to the team has been valuable and her expertise as a marketing guru is evident." Chief Marketing Officer, ABC Company

7. Did you generate reports or data that improved decision making?
   

   Possible Answer: Eliminated over $80,000 in project delay costs by implementing a project monitoring system which helped senior managers make informed business decisions on asset and resource allocation.

Getting prepared to document your career accomplishments is not always an easy task. Don't overwhelm yourself by trying to capture 10 or 15 years of accomplishments in one day — start by working with one company at a time, then pull it all together. Then, you'll be prepared for your next opportunity.