As many of you actually dread this process of please assess yourself undertaking personal self evaluations of your work performance, let me show you how approaching your annual appraisal with a constructive attitude is vital to an effective and rewarding result for you.
Try to think of self evaluations as a chance for you to rate your skills and put forward a strong case upon which a salary increase or promotion may depend. It's not always easy to compliment yourself on the work you do, but, it can be a very important time to make sure your boss knows what you've done and how aware you are of your own strengths AND weaknesses. Please make sure you know what your boss is expecting from you and what specific topics your boss needs you to cover.
It is not a good idea to leave this self appraisal until the very last moment. Instead, make yourself prepare it a few days before your annual performance review, then leave it for a day or two before you re-read it. Hopefully, these general tips for writing your self evaluations will help you showcase your strengths and help you get promoted or receive the salary increase you deserve.
Self appraisals or self evaluations are where you, get to give opinions - preferably backed up by accomplishments - about your performance. You need to critically analyse your performance, strengths and weaknesses, accomplishments, problems you have encountered and any training needs you feel you may have.
What To Include In Your Self Evaluations
In order to gather the right information for your self evaluations of your on-the-job performance, I recommend that you include statements about these key areas:
Your current job responsibilities (use your job description as a reference point);
Your achievements;
Your goals for the coming year;
Areas in which you may improve;
Training requirements you need for your present job;
Additional responsibilities you are ready to add to your remit;
Any problems you have encountered and solutions you have come up with;
Continuing professional development (CPD);
Areas of the job you like or dislike.
On this last point you should also be ready to explain what it is you like or dislike and have some ideas about improving or managing the parts you dislike more effectively.
Most self evaluations should be based on your organisation's competency framework which will include a range of competencies such as:
Communication Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Results Focus
Working in Teams
Customer Service
Adaptability/Flexibility
Initiative
Decision Making
Leadership
Managing Self
It is a positively good idea to quote actual examples and situations to support your self assessment of performance - the STAR routine of situation, task, action and result, typically used in competence based interviews, is a good basis for your self evaluations.