If you're self-aware, you can improve yourself and impress those around you. And most importantly, you can impress your boss and use that to edge your way to a promotion. A self-assessment before a performance review is a great way to take control of your career. Here are a few tips for you to get started.
If you're new to self-evaluations, you might feel overwhelmed. Where do you even start? It's not easy critiquing yourself or preparing for someone else's criticism. Before you get started, you need to think about the following:
Your goals
Recent accomplishments
Ways to be more productive as an individual
How you've improved
What you can do to grow
Sometimes, HR gives employees a form to use for self-assessment. However, that's usually just a formality and may not cover everything. You can add to the form to make sure you make the right impression.
Take some time to think about your goals for last year and for the future. Has your manager mentioned anything to you about goals you should be working towards? Perhaps they wanted you to take more initiative, be more of a team player, or obtain a new certification. If your manager hasn't given you any goals, think about what you need to climb the professional ladder. A colleague or mentor may be able to help you.
Then, consider whether or not you reached your goals. Write down the actions you've taken to accomplish your goals and the obstacles that kept you from reaching them. When the time comes for your performance review, you can use the information to help your boss guide you.
At times, goals and accomplishments overlap. But there will be some accomplishments that weren’t goals, but rather outcomes. Over time, your boss probably won’t remember the accomplishments and they need reminders. Before your performance review, make a list of everything you accomplished since the last review. Think about this as a list of highlights from your career.
When you recall your accomplishments, be specific. It’s not enough to say that you completed a project or improved production. Be extremely specific and use metrics when possible. If you’re hoping for a promotion, your accomplishments could be what keep you in the running.
One of the most difficult parts of an evaluation tends to be the insights into productivity. Why is this so challenging? When you find ways to be more productive, you need to be critical of yourself. It means thinking about your weaknesses and how you can improve as both a person and an employee.
To come up with ways to be more productive, consider your recent projects. What challenges did you face? When did you feel the most productive? What was one of the most rewarding times in your career? Do you have any habits that help or hurt your productivity? You don’t necessarily need to come up with ways to be more productive; during your evaluation, your employer can help you with that. If you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can give your boss enough insight to help you improve productivity.
If you want to keep your self-assessment positive, you need to focus on the ways in which you've improved over time. By pinpointing the ways in which you've improved, you accomplish two things. First, you show your boss that you're aware of your weaknesses. Secondly, it shows your employer that you have taken steps to be better.
With that said, you should still be open to feedback from your boss. You may be aware of some of your weaknesses, but there are probably some issues you don't realize. When your boss gives you feedback, be open to it. It may overlap with what you've noticed, or you could end up realizing a flaw that's holding you back from success.
Another way to impress your boss is to have a firm plan for professional development. Going into your assessment with a plan shows your boss that you're a leader. This is another situation in which your manager may have some input, but going in with a general plan shows that you take the initiative.
What should your plan include? The answer depends on your role and situation. As you try to come up with a plan, think about your career goals. Where do you see yourself in five years? Then, consider what you need to do to get to that point.
It's also important to think about your values, whether they're professional or personal. If your company has a list of values, think about how your own beliefs tie into the company's beliefs. Think about a time during which you used those values to accomplish something or an action you took to comply with the values.
Your company might not have any defined values. In that case, you need to get creative. Consider what values your manager or boss has. Then, come up with examples of times when you lived up to those values. This might be a good time to ask your boss to clarify their values.
Your evaluation can do more than impress your boss. If you do a great self-assessment, you can open the door to new opportunities. You might end up with a promotion or a new job. Additionally, you set yourself up for a better future. You can use your self-assessment to improve your resume or to come up with a plan on how to improve yourself.
Not all employers offer evaluations. Fortunately, you don't need to wait for your evaluation to do a self-assessment. You can take time to analyze yourself every few months. And, if your boss hasn't done an assessment yet, you can ask them about one. They may have forgotten to schedule it. Typically, employers appreciate workers who are open to feedback and who take the initiative.
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