Review Season: Self-Assessments

It's review season for many other companies - and us! During review season, the company's and the employees' wins and losses are reviewed, and the maps for the next year and beyond are charted. What comes with this is the often very uncomfortable segment of the self-assessment, which we will talk about today.

It isn't uncommon to dislike boasting about one's goals and achievements. It can make people uneasy about listing their good sides for fear of sounding 'full of themselves' or 'vain'.

Even those who feel comfortable representing themselves during self-evaluations can have a hard time finding the right tone when they do so. The balance between not saying enough and saying too much can be tricky to straddle, but we want to encourage everyone to evaluate themselves constructively and fairly.

But first: Why the self-evaluation? Your boss will write the facts about you and decide what will be on the record, no?

Well, only if your manager is unable to be objective and misses the goal of the review period.

The self-assessment isn't a Gotcha, where the boss will let you evaluate yourself and then tell you how wrong you are. Sadly, only some companies take the time to explain self-evaluations' value to all involved.

In a healthy company with good managers, self-assessments have a few functions. For one, it allows you to remind your manager of your wins. Did you crack bugs that had plagued the code for weeks without anyone getting them busted? Were you the one to raise the value of a project with your key contributions? Did you step up and train members of your team up to be more valuable? Have you gotten a new certification or learned a new skill? Review carefully how you contributed to the whole company, your team, and yourself. This is your time to advertise your skills, experience, and value. Remember that your manager is likely to have several reports, which leads to them forgetting some of your wins this year without any ill intentions.

It can also help you find weaknesses in perception – either by being overly confident or overly meek. Picture a team member describing their work as adequate when they have gone above everyone else. When a manager sees such a perception, they can address this and help them re-evaluate their contributions. At the same time, a team member thinking they are the best the team offers will have the chance to get feedback on how to reach the goal they strive for.

Keeping these points in mind, how do we create a valuable self-assessment?

1.??????Review your job and its tasks

Before even sitting down to the actual writing of your self-assessment, review what is expected of you. At your current pay band and role description, what is it the company counts on you every day to produce or deliver? Knowing what you should do clearly will give you a good idea of where you rank in the work you bring to the table each day.

It helps to do this throughout the year, too! For example, if you find yourself frequently tasked with something below or above your skillset, address this with your manager. You need to be utilised correctly to be the most effective at what you do. Your manager can help you adjust work, shift your tasks, or bring up your workload with their own superiors.

2.??????Consider your position in the company, team, and in relation to your manager

When you write your assessment, remember that you are part of a team – you have colleagues, supervisors and possibly subordinates. Consider how your work influences the group: Do you frequently pick up tasks from other team members? Have you helped create a process that helped your group or another team in the company? Were you able to coach new team members? Are you able to fulfil your manager's needs? Are you picking up work of your own volition? Your assessment lets you present how valuable you are to the company.

3.??????Proudly showcase your skills, wins, or value

This goes hand-in-hand with the previous considerations. If you think about the good things you do, you can present them to the reader. Do not think this is vanity or boasting – it is what you have done, created, or added to the group. Be honest, do not invent achievements, and be prepared to answer questions about the wins you list. Even if you feel uneasy about it, this is the time and place to boldly show your best self!

4.??????Humbly admit to mistakes or weaknesses

Of course, not everything we do in a year is a clear success. As you think of things that went well, also consider those that did not. The missed deadline, the time you needed to hand some of your work off to a teammate, the bug you couldn’t fix – it is uncomfortable to consider these things clinically, but you’ll think of them regardless.?

Do not hide where you failed! Instead, face the misses. No one in any company likes failures. What matters after a mistake are the needed corrections, lessons learned, and growth. List what went wrong, but also add how it helped you prevent the same issue from happening again. Put into perspective how the weakness showed itself by adding how you overcame it. It will showcase your growth and your adaptability.

5.??????Look to the future

Add to your assessment, which is a snapshot of the now, how you strive into tomorrow. What skills are you currently adding? Where are you aiming to be in half a year? Having a vision for your career will help put your work into perspective – for yourself and your manager. Can they help you gain new skills? Maybe you can plan to shift your work around to allow you new opportunities.

Remember that your assessment isn't a matter of right or wrong. It's not written to see if you and your manager agree on everything you have done in the last year.

Your self-assessment is a valuable tool in your career progression, and you would do yourself a disservice to hold back when writing about yourself. Be truthful, be precise, and take the time to celebrate yourself!