Some find the thought of a job appraisal scary. The thought of sitting across from your boss or superior answering questions about your performance, defending the decisions you have made and explaining the mistakes you couldn’t avoid.
Here are some ideas on how to handle a job appraisal:
- Preparation
Make a list of the most recent projects and tasks that you have worked on. For each project write down a couple of successful points of what went well – how you communicated well within the team, how you used your initiative to implement a new idea, or whatever. Then list what you believe could have been improved, which areas you could develop yourself and how you could go about doing that. By doing this exercise you can intercept most of the questions that may be asked.
- Get in the right mind-set
A job appraisal is not an exercise to trip you up, expose you or embarrass you. The purpose of a job appraisal is to allow your employer to understand what you are capable of and what you need to do to improve your job performance. By understanding this you will be able to get in the right frame of mind. Being confident in the knowledge of what you have achieved will allow you relax and perform the best in your appraisal.
- Listen and learn
A job appraisal, when done well, will provide you with incredibly helpful advice and opportunities to improve yourself and your work performance. A job appraisal is not about holding you accountable for the things you have done wrong, but instead it is about giving you the ability to learn from somebody else’s experience and opinion.
- Don’t go on the offensive
Employers want employees who can identify ways to improve, accept advice and outside opinions, and are willing to advance themselves. By going on the offensive any chance of a promotion or pay rise will be lost. Being overly defensive, or even offensive, will show that you are unable to accept criticism and shows you are unwilling to change.