As many people are preparing for the holidays, corporate America is getting ready for its annual review season.
It sounds scary, especially if you are new to corporate culture but it is an opportunity for job growth and evaluating your role, in a good way!
This is your opportunity to sit down with your manager and see what they can help you accomplish in your role. Sure, you also need to use this time to discuss your role, any challenges, hurdles or opportunities of growth, but those don't need to be negative aspects of your job.
The annual review is a time to leverage yourself in your role and utilize having your manager's attention to make yourself seen. Impress them this year by being prepared and assertive with your role on the team.
Try to see it as a moment of abundance, not scarcity in terms of understanding how you can succeed and excel in your career.
What Is A Performance Review
A performance review is a meeting between you and your manager where your performance in your role will be evaluated. Depending on the company that you work for, it might be a quarterly review, twice a year or just once.
You can expect your manager to come with multiple agendas. One, a prewritten and standard document outlining your progress thus far in your role. This may sound intimidating, but if your manager has good communication and leadership skills they want you to be successful in your role, and feel comfortable receiving feedback
Second, they may have a different document for taking notes based on your conversation about your progress. They will want to know your thoughts on your role, and if you are both aligned and on the same page about your success and career.
The point of this conversation is for the worker and manager to work together to communicate and understand each other, but mostly them wanting to understand you and your thoughts about your role. They will want to see an active interest in your own success and hearing your feedback and perspective is vital for them to understand their own team.
That's what will go down, so knowing the procedure, here is how to ace it and make a good impression this year.
How To Ace Your Performance Review And Get The Most Out Of It
Have an active role in your review, don't sit and take the information. Nodding your head in agreement is not the same as being on the same page as your manager.
Ask clarifying questions and draw out statements they make, as well as your own opinions. If there seems to be a miscommunication on one side, be active in solving it with clarity.
For example, if your manager wants to know why you always turn in a certain project late, explain yourself and why it is hard for you to make this deadline. That helps both of you because they know the underlying issue and you can make a new deadline together that meets everyone's expectations.
It is okay to not be perfect, but use this time to communicate to your manager how you can meet halfway to work better as a team. To really impress them, come prepared with notes that you want to share. Reflect on your role, anything that you have learned and want to do better, come with intentions moving forward.
This is also your moment to ask for more, whether that be the responsibility or the opportunity for a raise. Know what you want, and be ready to ask for it and explain why you deserve it. If your goals seem out of reach, for now, use the time to set a timeline for reaching them in the future.
Performance Review Do's And Don't
The annual, or quarterly, review won't be as bad as you think. The longer you work your way up the ladder in corporate, the easier it will become to navigate and know what you want. What might be your biggest challenge, in the beginning, is how to get the most of your role. Try your best, and showing initiative, especially at the beginning of your career will help you shine regardless.
Here are some tips for rocking your annual review:
- Bring an organized personal agenda with intentions, strengths and weaknesses
- Be active in the conversation, comment on what your manager believes to be your strengths and weaknesses
- Don't be defensive or make excuses, it is okay to say that you are wanting to improve on something. Do explain yourself in an assertive way.
- Be confident, you deserve to be here. This is a review, not a firing!
- Ask for the possibility of a raise, promotion or taking on more leadership if you are wanting to advance in your position.
