Performance reviews are usually a requirement at every stage of your career. Sometimes they are effective and useful and other times a matter of protocol and waste of time. Because I love giving and receiving feedback, performance reviews are exciting to me. They allow me and my supervisor uninterrupted time to talk about me and how I can be better in my role.
If you haven’t had your mid-year review, answering the following questions will help you prepare. And if you’re reading this after your review, connect with me in the comments or on social media to share what you would add or wish you’d read before it happened.
You should always prepare for your review with your supervisor by assessing your performance through honest self reflection. If there’s a rubric in place that your supervisor will use, it’s best to sit down in advance of the day or week before your review to truly analyze your performance. By doing this you can be proactive in identifying wins and losses, strengths and weaknesses and areas for improvement. It can also prevent you from facing surprises and give you something to compare your scores to. By answering the following questions you can also gauge your overall fulfillment and growth in your role, which I find to be beneficial at any stage in your career and multiple times per year.
In what areas of your role are you excelling?
What element of your role do you perform best and how can you do it better?
What areas of your job do you find challenging or need additional support?
How are you advancing toward the goals you set at the beginning of the year?
Do you feel your skills are being utilized to the fullest?
What skills have you gained or strengthened in the last six months and how?
Which skills do you think you could use more and how? Identify specific projects, programs or departments.
What is the best day you’ve had at work in the last six months and why?
What has been the biggest success in your company or team in the last six months or year and how did you contribute?
What would you like to learn over the next six months or year? This could be skills-based, in relation to the company or general topics like leadership.
Do you feel that you are treated with respect and how?
What are you most looking forward to in your role over the next six months or year?
What do you like most about your job?
Would you reward yourself a raise or bonus based on your performance alone? Why or Why not?
What would you change about your role, department or company that would be beneficial beyond your personal interests or development?
While all of these questions may not be discussed in your review, by preparing ahead of your review you can enter it more confident and comfortable with the conversation. And It should always be a two-way conversation. While you definitely don’t want to be argumentative, defensive or disrespectful, you should definitely share which elements of your review that you agree and/or disagree with. Always be prepared to support your statements with facts and/or evidence. Also, just as your supervisor is evaluating your performance, if you have feedback on theirs, specifically on how they can be a better leader or help you achieve your goals and tasks, speak up. Most leaders, especially the good ones, will be open and appreciative. Your success is your supervisor’s success and the opposite is also true. Being able to review goals and progress will contribute to your success for everyone involved. By the end of your review you should understand your view on your performance as well as your supervisors and what can and should be done by both parties to reach desired goals.
With clear expectations, you and your supervisor can update or add to goals and strategize ways to achieve success in the next six months or year ahead.
Listen, ask questions, take notes, design an action plan and put it into work immediately. No matter how you feel when you leave your performance review, it should set the stage for the next step(s) toward reaching your goals this year and into the next. Implementation is what matters most at the end of your review.
How do you prepare for your performance reviews? What questions would you add to the list above? Share below in the comments or connect with me on social media @JASMINECTATE.
Hugs & Handshakes
Jasmine C. Tate