Career Advice Talk

Handling Performance Reviews

5th May, 2009 - Posted by Robin Ogden -

Guest Post –  Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart , a career coaching firm that specializes in working with Gen Y young professionals.   Formerly in corporate HR and retained search, Caroline most recently headed campus recruiting for Time Inc and has also recruited for Accenture, Citibank, Disney ABC, and others.

Some companies have regularly scheduled reviews, but some don’t.  Furthermore, in this chaotic market, even regular reviews might get pushed off.  With the downsizing and restructuring in today’s market, your job may have changed significantly.  You may have more responsibility or completely different tasks added to your plate.  So you want a review to make sure you’re on track to meet your goals (and to confirm what these goals are in this ever-changing market).  It is important to use these reviews to your advantage – as a chance to make adjustments in your approach, identify blind spots and figure out how you can contribute value-added to others.

Take time before responding.  During the review by all means ask for clarification and get specific examples so you understand exactly what the reviewer is thinking.  But don’t try to justify or respond to the feedback.  You are getting someone else’s perspective.  Even if you disagree, this is what they think.  Take a step back and ask yourself:  what have you done to contribute to this impression?  Is this an accurate reflection of what you are trying to accomplish?  If not, what might you change?

Help the reviewer help you improve.  Coach the reviewer to give you the feedback you need.  Ask the reviewer what s/he might want differently?  If there is a communication problem, how does s/he like to communicate – email v in-person, regularly v at project stopping points?  If the reviewer feels like goals haven’t been achieved, confirm the goals AND the metrics used to measure the results.  Maybe you are focusing on revenues and the reviewer cares about customer satisfaction.  Maybe you think clients just want the best price but they want more access to you.

Define a concrete action plan.  Schedule a meeting after the review to decide on a plan going forward.  Feedback is only useful if it’s used.  How do you want the next six months to differ from the first six?  What one goal would add the most value now and take priority in the short term?  What can you do to ensure that the next review is a positive one?  If you think the process is unfair, this may mean looking for a new job that is a better fit.  In that case, even a negative review is a benefit if it brings you closer to your ideal situation.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.