That Scary Time Of The Year

It is that time of the year again!  

I do not mean Christmas.  We still have about 90 days to procrastinate for the girls.  I mean it is the Focal Point Review again, for employees who follow the fiscal year calendar.

Taken from platowa.com

Selling myself and "bragging" about achievements isn't really one of my best traits.  I cringe and die when asked.  I was asked once, by my boss no less, why she should give me an "Achieving the Expectation" rating.  I knew I deserved something decent, given that there has been improvement of late with the department.  But see, the first thing that came to mind was, "Uhhh... You don't have to, if I do not deserve it".  This was never articulated, of course; sanity arrived just in the nick of time.

From freshbooks.com

Again, don't get me wrong.  I do not underestimate myself - I just don't like enumerating the good stuff I do.  And the bad stuff?  Oh yeah, I love a good roast, even when the flamethrower is aimed right at me.

So I have been delaying the write-up.  That's mistake number one because more often than not, it is better to bullet-write it as is, review and put the selling factor into it; and probably do a third look, to polish it even more (that's a tip from my boss).  That's ideal unless you work better under pressure.  I don't so I am D-E-A-D!

BFF Google to the rescue! I found some informative posts about an effective way of doing your write-ups.  I hope this can help you as much as it helps me.  

This is from Business Week's Performance Do's and Don'ts.  Go visit the site for more detailed information.

• Do Take It Seriously.  This is your chance to let your manager see your importance to the team.  If you decide not to convince them with the pre-tense that she should know how good you are, then you might be in for a big surprise.
• Do Be Prepared.  In my case, we do a monthly meeting to discuss the entries to my Balanced Scorecard.  This helps you keep track of what you did all year.  If you document it well enough, you won't miss anything to review.
• Do Seek Clarity.  If your manager has a feedback for you that doesn't seem so clear, then speak up!  It is critical that you are not confused with what you need to do so you know how to act on it.
• Do Learn The Lesson.  It is always an advantage to listen to a third-person's view.  Sometimes we get too engrossed on delivering that we forget to innovate.  It will help you develop more if you treat the review as more than an exchange of forms and a a few more extra bucks on your paycheck next year.
• Don't Be Unrealistic.  If it is too good to be true, then it is not true.  Annual reviews follow this process too.  If you make it appear like you're perfect, then there's no real path for more improvement.
• Don't Grovel.  This is me.  Don't underestimate or berate yourself. Same concept as appearing like you're perfect... only on the other end of the spectrum
• Don't Place Blame.  Too unprofessional!  It also makes you look like you really do not have control over things.

This is the corporate me signing off to stop procrastinating now. Wish me luck. Mommy me goes back on regular programming later.