Advice from a manager: when you are doing a personal review, realize that most, if not all, of your performance cannot be graded as a 5. If you list all 5s for every single question, then you can take my position because you are more qualified for it than I am.
Understand that a 3 is a baseline and it is okay to be a 3! It means you are getting the job done. If you have done some amazing things, tell me about them and grade yourself a 4 for exceeding expectations!
If you are in a new position and are just learning the ropes, you will probably be a 3. If you have been in your role for a bit and you are aiming for a payraise or a promotion, then I’m looking for a lot of 4s and maybe a 5.
Please don’t be upset if your manager grades you lower than what you graded yourself at. It’s not that we don’t like the work you are doing, but we are level setting with you.
The last reviews I did for my team, everyone was a 3. When I tried to go higher on the score, my boss (C-suite) would say “was it truly ground-breaking or was it them just doing their job a bit better?” A good manager is asking themselves those questions when they are going through your review.
The best thing you can do is have a debrief call with them and ask “what can I do/demonstrate to exceed expectations?” I can guarantee that your boss has a ton of things on their head that they would love someone to step up and show their worth. Maybe it’s as simple as assembling a list of vendors/products that helps to address a gap in your Org, maybe it’s having you take on a project, maybe it’s developing documentation to help onboard a new employee so they can get up to speed faster.
A 3 means you are delivering on your job description. When you start going above and beyond is when you can start looking higher.
Remember, it’s okay to be a 3. :)
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