As one of the leading employment agencies in Miami, Future Force knows nobody likes performance reviews. But they’re a fact of life for many employees. If you have one coming up, what can you do to not just prepare for it – but get through it with flying colors? You need to promote yourself and your accomplishments throughout the past year. Here are some steps to take to help you do that:
Make your own brag book.
By the end of the year, it’s hard to remember all you’ve accomplished during the year. That’s why you should create and contribute to a brag book throughout the year. In it, keep track of your achievements, even if it’s as simple as some positive feedback from a colleague or customer. In addition to noting each accomplishment, describe the impact it made on the company. Before your performance evaluation, sit down and review your brag book so your accomplishments are fresh in your mind.
Be as specific as possible.
To promote yourself, you need to be specific. Simply saying you’ve “done a good job” isn’t enough to make an impact. Instead, you need to describe – in detail – the contributions you’ve been making each day. While you don’t want to go through every single accomplishment from the past year, focus instead on three of four key achievements that really made a positive impact on the company. For example, if you were in charge of a certain project that was successfully completed, what effect did that have on the company bottom line?
Ask colleagues to give feedback.
In an ideal world, your manager would be asking employees for feedback for performance reviews. However, most supervisors are too busy to take this step. As a result, it’s up to you to take it for them. So ask your co-workers to put in a good word for you with the boss. When you ask, just keep it simple and say something like: “I have my evaluation next week. Since we worked on ABC project together and it went well, would you mind sharing some feedback about my work with the boss?” The worst that can happen is they turn you down.
Would you like more help finding a new job in the New Year? Call Future Force. As one of the leading employment agencies in Miami, we can connect you with the top employers – and the top jobs – in and around South Florida. Contact us today or search our Miami jobs now.