Self Appraisal

In most companies, the appraisal cycle has a component of self-appraisal where the employee has an opportunity to detail out his/ her key accomplishments over the review period. This then is meant to act as an input to the appraiser as they assess the employee's performance.

Over the last two decades, 9 times out of 10, I have diligently filled my self-appraisal, highlighting my big wins, contributions as well as key areas to work on. While at times it feels extra effort, and even an irritating chore, I can say with confidence it has played a small but consistently positive role in my shaping my career trajectory. It's helped me in two ways.

1. It has been a lever to favorably influence (or at least refresh) the narrative before the big promotion/ increment/ new role decisions are made for the year.

2. Grounds me on my performance, and areas I need to strengthen for the year ahead. While this can be done anytime, often the issue is taking out dedicated time to so. The self-appraisal is like a review alarm for me to do this.

Over the years, I have seen a handful of team members do a great job of the self review opportunity, while a majority let it pass or use it in a suboptimal way. In today's times when getting attention is at a premium, it's a missed opportunity in my view. Often all it takes is 30 mns to it done. Those 30 msn have absolutely no downside, and potentially a large upside.

Tip: Self appraisals aren't meant to just show how awesome you have been. Having only greens on your goal sheet can mean two things. You are a rockstar OR more likely your goals are conservatively defined.