Performance review

At the company I work for, there are performance reviews every 6 months. These typically last for one hour and involve discussion of past performance, future goals, etc. I will soon be having my 3rd performance review at this company.

I have to confess that I find these reviews very difficult and stressful. I can say honestly that I work hard and I meet or exceed expectations, and point to results in projects that I was working on. From past experience, my manager will probably agree. But that takes maybe 5 or 10 minutes,so what do I say for the rest of the time? I don't have immediate ambitions for promotion because the only current openings are for management which doesn't interest me. I do have ambitions but they're not really related to my current work!

By nature I'm a bit introverted; I come across as sociable and friendly but that's because I learned the knack of good preparation and good listening This does not help in the current situation; the more I prepare, the more stressed I become because it highlights the artificiality of the situation. I really want to get the review over with and get back to work! Any tips on how to approach the review?

Are you just looking to fill the rest of the time, or to gain something else from the meeting? Surely your manager has a structure which they follow?

If not maybe ask your manager is there anything they think you could inmprove on. Ask if there is the possibility of other opportunities within the company in the future (aside from management roles).

I often use this time to review the company as well as myself, pointing out any problems or issues I may have had or mentioning changes/improvements in the company which I think have worked well.

I agree with lightup, the review is an opportunity for you to discuss not only your recent performance, but also how you are finding the job, if there are any issues that need to be addressed, training opportunities, future developments for the dept / team, are there job opportunities in other depts etc.

It is also an opportunity to give your manager feedback or highlight areas that you need support in - though depending on your manager they may not be open to receiving feedback!

Do you also set the objectives for the next 6 months at this meeting? If so this could be another area to give input on the areas you would like to focus on - it'll also fill in some time! Look at what development / training you may need to achieve those objectives - this could be coaching or mentoring that will help you develop your skills.

Autumnleaf,

I was in a somewhat similar situation some years ago with some colleagues re: the career ladder not suiting us as it was geared towards people management and we all wanted to remain in the techie world. We all brought this up at our annual review and were then placed on a committee that introduced a new technical stream to the company hierarchy so that people could progress in a technical path, not just people management.

In fairness, our management were excellent and were very aware of individual suggestions etc which was to everyone's benefit in the long run.

Maybe you could address the shortfall for you with regard to your next career move. Even if it never happens you are identified as a motivated, interested employee which sometimes might be missed if you are quite introverted. In my experience, over the years, introverted employees have been extremely perceptive about their work surroundings because they spend time listening rather than talking all the time. Believe me, you have a huge amount to offer any company by the sounds of it.

Best of luck.

P.S. As for fretting about the review itself, your manager is the one that should set the agenda for this and control the progression; just have a think and make note of the various points that you want to get across yourself. If it only takes 30 minutes, then great, don't worry about the time.

The review is something your manager has to do as its a requirement of his/her job. If there is a lot to discuss it's can mean that the employee is having a whinge about things, or because the manager has 'issues' to address with the employee. An hour is allowed but if it takes 10 mins that's fine too - at least in my opinion it should be. So don't be alarmed if someone else is in there for 'ages'. Employees who are interested in their current work and genuinely enjoy being at the level they are at are worth their weight in gold. If you need things to chat about, have a couple of examples of things in your current work that went well, and throw in a couple of things your manager did to support you in that role (that really helped you, an example of what a great manager they are). You could discuss one example of something that wasn't going so well, and how you did some nice problem-solving to fix it (makes you look great). And include a nice example of you being a team player, even if it's only how you made time to chat to the new guy last week. Tell your manager you are really enjoying your current role, and if possible try and think of a couple of improvements you could introduce to your current working practices (even little things like some time management stuff, a to-do list, or writing up a list of next weeks tasks every Friday).

sadie said:

The review is something your manager has to do as its a requirement of his/her job. If there is a lot to discuss it's can mean that the employee is having a whinge about things, or because the manager has 'issues' to address with the employee. An hour is allowed but if it takes 10 mins that's fine too - at least in my opinion it should be. So don't be alarmed if someone else is in there for 'ages'. Employees who are interested in their current work and genuinely enjoy being at the level they are at are worth their weight in gold. If you need things to chat about, have a couple of examples of things in your current work that went well, and throw in a couple of things your manager did to support you in that role (that really helped you, an example of what a great manager they are). You could discuss one example of something that wasn't going so well, and how you did some nice problem-solving to fix it (makes you look great). And include a nice example of you being a team player, even if it's only how you made time to chat to the new guy last week. Tell your manager you are really enjoying your current role, and if possible try and think of a couple of improvements you could introduce to your current working practices (even little things like some time management stuff, a to-do list, or writing up a list of next weeks tasks every Friday).

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i'd go with that