Posting by Liz Koblyk, Staff Career Advisor
Performance reviews can be valuable sources of constructive feedback—and of anxiety, dry mouth, and a sudden inability to express your accomplishments. You can make your upcoming review easier by incorporating strategies suggested by UW managers.
First, keep a record of your accomplishments and provide your supervisor with concrete examples of what you’ve done. Your boss may remember all of your achievements—but they’re also trying to remember the accomplishments of their other direct reports. Providing concrete examples gives your boss the reminder and the evidence he or she needs to justify giving you an excellent performance review. As one UW manager says, “Nobody knows your job better than you do. Don’t assume your manager knows all the details.”
Another tip is to be proactive and mentally prepared when it comes to constructive feedback. Identifying in advance areas you’d like to improve and goals that you’d like to reach shows that you’re committed to performing well. It can also guide your manager to provide you with feedback where you feel you could most use it. And be aware that you’ll likely receive feedback in other areas, too; your boss’ job in the performance review is to clarify ways in which you could improve, so expect criticism. Handling feedback well brings an added bonus: the willingness to seek out and act on constructive feedback is one trait that UW HR professionals identify as common to UW staff who advance their careers quickly.
If you’re not comfortable blowing your own horn, have a look at the “Marketing Yourself” section of Career Services’ Career Development eManual, or book an individual appointment with me to talk about performance review strategies.
Liz Koblyk is the Staff Career Advisor at Career Services. Appointments and workshops with Liz can be booked on the Career Services website.