How to ace your end-of-year review
As the holidays approach, it is often hard to stay
focused on completing tasks and staying motivated at work. The end of
the year, however, is often the most important time to truly stay
focused on your job and your career ambitions. Most organisations
perform end-of-year reviews, and in order to be prepared, here are a few
helpful hints on how you can ace your evaluation.
Hint no.1: Be prepared
Conduct a self-review before you meet with your manager. Be
honest with yourself and evaluate how well you managed your objectives,
summarize what you accomplished and give yourself an overall rating.
Hint no.2: Use examples
Be sure to share one or two stories that illustrate how
you've gone above and beyond the call of duty. Look back on the year and
take note of all the projects you have been involved in - often times,
important projects or unexpected meetings that showcased your new skills
or abilities may be forgotten by the end of the year.
Hint no.3: Have a plan
Identify your weaknesses and what you can do better,
coupled with a plan that details how you think you can improve. Also,
prepare a long-term plan that demonstrates the direction you want to
take with your career. This type of thinking will impress your superiors
and demonstrate that you are not just focused on getting the job done,
but also focused on building a successful career.
Hint no.4: Be reasonable, yet courageous
Evaluations are often the time to seek
raises or promotions. Unreasonable requests will often be ignored and
counter-productive, but well thought-out and warranted requests will
signal to your manager that you are serious and eager to advance in a
structured and calculated fashion.
Hint no.5: Reach a consensus
By the end of your evaluation, try to reach some kind
of consensus about your overall performance. If you can't agree with
your supervisor's assessment, ask for more time to find information to
back your claims. This way, both you and your supervisor can reach a
mutual agreement on your overall performance.