First Real Job? Year-End Review Tips

Very few people look forward to the end-of-year review, and this is especially true in the first years of your first professional role.??I caught up with the son of a friend over the holidays, and he had questions about what to expect as he finishes his first year in a fully remote role with a small start-up company.?While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, herein are some tips to make the process as productive and rewarding as possible.?Among other things, we will cover:?attitude, context, perspective, focusing on outcomes, pivoting to future opportunities, and getting paid. Caveat: I am not an HR professional, but have lived on both sides of the review process for many years, and now work with recent graduates as they enter the work force. Take what you like, provide feedback on how to make this better.

Attitude:?Find your happy place and consider writing your self-assessment as an opportunity to showcase your accomplishments and strengths.?Sure, it can feel like a burden and initially be awkward, so try to create a positive mindset based on the fact that your story deserves to be told.??When you decide to be your own best advocate, you can be comfortable highlighting your results and summarizing key achievements.??

Context:?Be aware of the business performance of your company, division or team.?Has it been a rockstar year that smashed all financial goals, have results been “meh”, or have people around you been disappearing due to budget cuts???Yes, your individual performance matters, but you should understand how things are going, as the overall conditions will usually impact your manager’s view and affect the potential for promotions and raises.

Perspective:?Put yourself in your manager’s shoes.??We often get idealistic and believe our manager spends time noticing our daily performance and planning for our success.?Unfortunately, this is not realistic, as most managers are usually overwhelmed by their own role and still figuring out how to lead teams.?If you recognize this, take the initiative to help your manager help you.??Make the process as easy on them by writing a clear, succinct summary of the past year and stating your readiness for next opportunities.?Over the years, the people on my team that presented me with a compelling view of their capabilities moved further and faster than those who expected me to fully recap everything they did and define their next role.

Focus on outcomes:?There is no doubt that you did a lot of stuff over the last year, but no manager wants to read a multi-page project list of all your activities.?Break the year into relevant chunks and summarize the highest impact results that you delivered in each chunk. ?If you just started the job in the last year, identify 2-3 things that you mastered during your first twelve weeks. ?Maybe you took the initiative to train yourself on some basic business processes/systems, or you were lucky enough to jump in on a key project.?Keep it brief and focus on results.??During the six months after your onboarding period, you should have been up and running and delivering results in your everyday role.?Highlight a project or two that you played a significant role in, with a focus on the business results.??If you found a way to make your day-to-day more productive (e.g. improved a process or tools), reference what you did and the benefit it creates.??Then, look at the last three months – this is the most important period – and determine what you are doing now that is having a positive impact.??Everyone is affected by recency bias, so emphasize the biggest results you are currently creating.?

Pivoting to Future Opportunities:?If you have effectively delivered on the points above, you have earned the right to discuss what comes next.?Assuming you have been successful in your current role, you should have some idea of where you want to create further value for the organization.??Maybe you had a chance to work with customers as part of your work and discovered that this a strength and a passion.??Reference your success in that area and discuss opportunities toward ?being a “Customer Success Manager” or other client facing role.??If you found joy in untangling outdated processes or systems, perhaps you may want to explore project management or operational roles.?During the early stage of your career, examine your recent experiences to help you gauge your interest and potential for new paths.??

Getting Paid:?This is where Attitude, Context, Perspective, Outcomes and the Future come together.?Everyone wants a raise, and that desired raise is usually more than your company is planning to offer.?Anchor your expectations in reality – how is the company performing? If it has been a bad year, expect something on the low range.?If growth is off the charts and you are part of a small group of employees working 24/7, things should be a bit more lucrative.??Beyond the company’s performance, be aware of how much discretion your manager has.??Frequently, HR or senior execs establish the boundaries of raises and managers are just the messenger, so even if they agree with you, they can only initially offer sympathy (not more dollars).?In this case, make your manager your partner and align on how to create the value argument for re-evaluating your raise. ??While there are many ways to approach this, focus on:?the incremental value that you are creating (and will continue to create) that exceeds what is expected in your role.?If your role has a job description, compare what you are delivering to what is in the job description.?Ideally, there will be some obvious and compelling capabilities and results that you are consistently delivering.?If you work in a small company without job descriptions, go back to original emails or discussions that established the initial expectations for your work. ?Highlight what you are now doing that exceeds those expectations.??The key is to focus on how you consistently exceed the expectations of your role and how that leads to impact and value creation.??Things not to focus on:?The amount of hours you work, your “loyalty”, how you compare to someone else on your team, or any unrequested sacrifices you have made during the year, how much money you need.?While these all may feel important to you, they are subjective and do not directly translate to value for your employer.

Be prepared for the worst case scenario – a low raise and no support from your manager.?If this occurs ?assess your own assessment – have you been realistic about your accomplishments and potential? ??If not, are you passionate about succeeding in this role and with this company??If you are, create a plan to be more effective.?If you have been realistic about your strengths and your manager/company do not agree, use everything in your assessment to update your CV and target new opportunities - it may be time to move on.

This is only a snapshot of a delicate process, but hopefully you can take away some ways to reframe the end-of-year review to make it work better and help you achieve the career results you are seeking.?Every organizational ecosystem differs, so adapt these tips to your situation and use what works for you.??