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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). Some companies have regularly scheduled reviews, but some don’t. Furthermore, in this chaotic market, even regular reviews might get pushed off. It is important to ask for a performance review and use it 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 hive 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 or in-person, regularly or 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 your clients just want the best price but they want more access to you. Define a concrete action plan. Schedule a meeting for after the review (so you have time to prepare) and confirm an action 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 review is completely wrong or the review 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.
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