3 Performance Review Tips for Employees

Dreading your upcoming performance review? One of the most crucial components of managing and growing your career is to solicit feedback, honestly self-asses (not criticize), and discuss your performance, progress, and achievements with your boss on a regular basis. Whether or not your organization has a formal performance review process, it’s up to you to ask your boss for time to discuss your future with the company.

Here are 3 performance review tips to help you feel confident prior to sitting down with your boss to discuss your performance:

  1. Celebrate! Seriously.
    What are you really proud of having accomplished in the past few months? Give yourself the credit you deserve. If you can’t toot your own horn then reach out to colleagues and peers that you trust and ask them to share with you how you’ve made their job easier. Then go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back.
  2. Prepare.
    It takes time and effort to review your own work, projects, and achievements but it’s worth it. Pull out your job description and highlight areas where you’ve met your goals and where you’ve exceeded. To help make this easier for yourself next time, create a “celebration” email folder and track all of the positive feedback and good results you receive moving forward.
  3. Be open.
    The best way to grow in your role is to truly consider the feedback and perceptions of others and assess how you’ve handled challenges. Be open and curious, but know that at the end of the day you get to choose what growth areas you tackle. No one is perfect and a review discussion is an opportunity for you to focus on how you want to show up moving forward.

You can get comfortable giving and receiving feedback with practice and preparation. Before meeting with your boss it’s important to ground your self-assessment in facts, measurable outcomes, and tangible achievements. Build your confidence in the work you’ve done. Then add in the intangible goals you’ve achieved like managing multiple relationships, mediating client concerns, and being the “go-to” person in the office. Once you’ve done the prep work you’ll be looking forward to your performance meeting and ready to show your boss why they’re lucky to have you on the team!