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Every year or so, you’ll undergo a performance evaluation at work. This process often includes a self-evaluation in which your employer asks you to assess your own performance. In your self-evaluation, you’ll reflect on your achievements, goals, and areas in which you think you need to improve. This is a great opportunity to showcase your skills and contributions, as well as your level of self-awareness, but conducting an effective self-evaluation takes a bit of finesse. Here are some common mistakes to avoid.
Downplaying Your Contributions
A self-evaluation is the perfect time to showcase your skills and achievements, and how they’ve had a positive impact on your team, as well as on the company at large. The key here is to not be too modest, as it might send the wrong signal. If you downplay your contributions to your employer, you might come off as lacking in confidence or motivation. Along with this, your employer might think you're uninterested in your work, or that you’re not invested in the success of the company.
Ignoring Areas for Improvement
On the other hand, you can also run into problems if you completely ignore your weaknesses or any mistakes you have made. Remember, we all make mistakes; if we didn’t, we wouldn’t know how to improve. It’s important to demonstrate humility and self-awareness in your self-evaluation, and if you can show your employer how you’ve learned from mistakes, you’ll earn some major points.
Not Providing Examples
Whether you’re talking about your achievements or areas in which you need to improve, make sure you provide examples to back up your claims. In the past, we’ve talked about tracking your achievements, and this can make performing a self-evaluation much easier. While you’re at it, take note of any instances where you learned a valuable lesson. For example, you might say “During [Name of Project or Task], I learned how important teamwork really is.” If you don’t provide examples, you’ll come off as being vague, and your employer might see you as being dishonest.
When deciding which examples to share on your self-evaluation, make sure you strike a fair balance between your contributions and the areas in which you need to improve. If you focus too much on the positives, it might seem like you’re intentionally ignoring your weaknesses; however, if you focus primarily on the negatives, you’ll come off as lacking in confidence. Neither of these outcomes are particularly good, so it’s important to be fair and honest about your performance, the things you’re most proud of, and what you’d like to work on.
Not Seeking Feedback
One of the primary reasons you’re being reviewed at work is so you can receive feedback on your performance. When your employer provides you with feedback, you can then use the information to make improvements, or to determine whether you’re on the right track. For your self-evaluation, include any instances where you received feedback, and how you applied it. Along with this, keep an open mind during your performance review—if your employer thinks you’re being resistant to feedback, it won’t be a good look.
Comparing Yourself to Others
When performing a self-evaluation, the key word is “self.” Resist the urge to draw comparisons between yourself and other coworkers, or yourself and…well, anyone, really. By comparing yourself to others, you’re sending a message that you’re insecure about your work performance, or that you’re unable to reflect on your achievements and your professional growth in a meaningful way. Worse yet, comparing yourself to others could make you seem envious of the success of others, which might paint you in a negative light.
Your self-evaluation is an opportunity to demonstrate your sense of self-awareness to your employer, complete with your strengths and the areas in which you need to improve. Keep the focus on yourself and your own performance, and ensure that you’re making connections between your work and your employer’s mission and values whenever possible.
Not Proofreading
One of the silliest mistakes you can make on a self-evaluation is failing to proofread your work. Think of your self-evaluation as a reflection of your work ethic and communication skills and do your best to maintain a high level of professionalism. If you hand in a self-evaluation that’s full of spelling and grammar mistakes your employer might see you as being careless or uninterested, which won’t be a good look moving forward.
When your employer notifies you that you’ll be conducting a self-evaluation, set aside some time to prepare. Ensure that you’re expressing each idea clearly and concisely, and that you’re consistent in how you present yourself. A great tactic for reviewing your own work is to step away from your draft for a little while, and then go back to review it when you’re a little less familiar with it. If possible, you could also have a trusted friend or family member check your work before you submit it to your employer.
Your ability to conduct an effective self-evaluation will improve over time. As you gain experience, you’ll feel more comfortable talking about your achievements and contributions, as well as your weaknesses. Regardless of your level of experience, give yourself plenty of time to conduct your self-evaluation, and start preparing as soon as your employers notifies you that you have a performance review coming up.
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