Evaluating Your Own Work
Writing your self-evaluation can feel like a monumental task. How are you supposed to summarize a full year of work, successes, challenges, and changes? It can help to remember this isn’t supposed to be a test. It’s simply a part of the conversations you’ve been having all year with your manager. It’s also a good opportunity for you to reflect on your own work and start to think about what you might want or need for next year.
Set aside ten minutes. Writing your self-evaluation can be very easy to put off. It can be helpful to block off time on your calendar, even ten or fifteen minutes.
Go back through your archives. Trying to remember all the work you did over the last year can be surprisingly difficult. Looking back through your old emails and files can be helpful reminders of the work you did.
Stay focused. Don’t feel like you need to summarize absolutely everything you did. Pick out the most significant challenges you may have faced or the work you’re especially proud of.
Keep it short. This doesn’t need to be a multi-page document with charts and graphs. A bulleted list or a few short paragraphs are more than sufficient.
Imagine you’re giving helpful feedback. It can feel awkward to talk about your own work. Pretend you’re writing the assessment of a colleague you enjoy working with—emphasize successes and be open about areas for improvement.
Identify patterns. Notice if any patterns have come up in your work or the feedback you’ve received over the year. Think of ways you can develop particular strengths or address any issues for next year.
Talk about career development opportunities. Set the stage for the year ahead by bringing up possible career development opportunities. Write down a few notes about resources that might help you or goals you hope to achieve.