WWYD: PA/self-evaluation?

eacerna

It's THAT time of the year again for performance appraisal! Boo! My boss asked me to do a self evaluation this year. I think he asked me to do one a couple of years ago (we skipped PAs last year coz of major company lay offs) and every year, I always have the same dilemna. When you do your self evaluation, would you give yourself high marks? I know I am good at what I do so I shouldn't short sell myself. However, I know I am not perfect and tend to more critical of myself. I may not give myself high marks because I believe there is always a room for improvement but then what if my boss thinks otherwise? I do not want to call attention to my shortcomings that only I can see and my boss doesn't even know? WWYD?

 

PugRolls

I say, never sell yourself short in these things and spin everything into a positive.  You can answer the "areas for improvement" questions like you would in a job interview; start by identifying strengths and then state how those strengths will help you take your job to the next level (as in, the position you'd be in when you get a promotion). 

MauiWedding08

UGH - I HATE those. I think you should include valid concerns, especially if they are things that your boss could help you fix (i.e. better ways for staff to communicate in order to help you complete tasks in a more timely fashion).  But don't rake yourself over for things that are not noticeable, not a huge deal, or not affecting your work.  For example, I could honestly say I need to be more motivated to work on monday morning/friday afternoon but it's a non-issue because I meet all deadlines.

I know the format is always different but for mine I'm able to talk about all that I have accomplished in the last 6 mo and last year.  It's helpful b/c I don't have direct supervision so I like to highlight things I have accomplished first.  It then has a prompt for things that could be improved - I tried not to be too hard on myself - especially since my job is so dependent on other people's cooperation.

Otherwise, let them know what a stellar employee you are. 

husky422

if you don't self-promote yourself, no one else will.  give yourself high marks, if your boss disagrees, he/she will let you know.

i learned a long time ago that working hard and hoping someone will recognize it usually is a losing game. 

now go put yourself on that pedestal! 

kaesha

I've never had to do one for a job, but I make my students do these all the time. Really fascinating how honest they are!

redshoegirl

PugRolls:

I say, never sell yourself short in these things and spin everything into a positive.  You can answer the "areas for improvement" questions like you would in a job interview; start by identifying strengths and then state how those strengths will help you take your job to the next level (as in, the position you'd be in when you get a promotion). 

  I like this advice! I've had to do self-evaluations in the past and HATED them - I would always make the critical stuff (we had to use templates that had an area for negatives, so you couldn't just leave them out ) things that could be better but that I was already improving on.

eacerna

husky422:

if you don't self-promote yourself, no one else will.  give yourself high marks, if your boss disagrees, he/she will let you know.

i learned a long time ago that working hard and hoping someone will recognize it usually is a losing game. 

now go put yourself on that pedestal! 

this is also what DH told me!!

thanks for the input girls! i value all your opinion!! i haven't even taken a look at the form yet. i dread doing this every year ugh!