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eerie_reverie

My annual PA is on Monday, and I'm nervous!!!

 

The way the process works at my company is, you have goals for the year, which you evaulate on a scale of 1-5, 3 being "meets expectations". Then, your supervisor makes some comments and adjusts the ratings accordingly.

 

My first year, I was the first person my boss managed. He thought I was a prodigy :love: and gave me extremely high marks. His supervisor had to tone it down for me because my average was so much higher than everyone else's.

 

The second year, I ranked myself a "3" down all the goals, not wanting to be cocky. I was hoping he'd adjust upwards, but he left my rating as is, which led to my raise not being as high as I'd hoped. We were having a rough spot in our relationship at the time, which I think contributed towards my "average" grade.

 

I am pondering my strategy for this year. Truth be told, I'm hoping for a promotion, but I'm nervous. I am not as professional as I should be in terms of my behavior around the office, which is goofy, sometimes bordering on construction-crew lewd - not what one would expect from a manager, which I'm hoping to become this summer - though everyone seems to like and respect me and even appreciate my sense of humor(god knows why).

 

I am also insecure about the fact that some days I don't do s!ht, which I make up for with occasional strokes of genius. My boss is aware of this. Today I told him I was on a roll, and he canceled all my meetings so I could concentrate. :rolleyes: Perhaps this isn't a huge issue, but I'm always stressed about it.

 

Is there anyone more experienced out there who can offer any last-minute tips on a successful PA/ tipping the scales at the last minute in favor of a promotion??

 

I have made such great progress in the last year. I've passed 2 exams in my field (passing 1/year is awesome), I was involved in every important project in our division, I mentored the **** out of an intern (to the satisfaction of his boss, who actually saw progress in the socially retarded college kid), I even conducted some interviews (with ivy league grad students, which was ironic in its own way). I deserve a promotion. :bunny::bunny::bunny:

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My annual PA is on Monday, and I'm nervous!!!

 

The way the process works at my company is, you have goals for the year, which you evaulate on a scale of 1-5, 3 being "meets expectations". Then, your supervisor makes some comments and adjusts the ratings accordingly.

 

My first year, I was the first person my boss managed. He thought I was a prodigy :love: and gave me extremely high marks. His supervisor had to tone it down for me because my average was so much higher than everyone else's.

 

The second year, I ranked myself a "3" down all the goals, not wanting to be cocky. I was hoping he'd adjust upwards, but he left my rating as is, which led to my raise not being as high as I'd hoped. We were having a rough spot in our relationship at the time of the PA, which I think contributed towards my "average" grade.

 

I am pondering my strategy for this year. Truth be told, I'm hoping for a promotion, but I'm nervous. I am not as professional as I should be in terms of my behavior around the office, which is goofy, sometimes bordering on construction-crew lewd - not what one would expect from a manager, which I'm hoping to become this summer - though everyone seems to like and respect me and even appreciate my sense of humor(god knows why).

 

I am also insecure about the fact that some days I don't do s!ht, which I make up for with occasional strokes of genius. My boss is aware of this. Today I told him I was on a roll, and he canceled all my meetings so I could concentrate. :rolleyes: Perhaps this isn't a huge issue, but I'm always stressed about it.

 

Is there anyone more experienced out there who can offer any last-minute tips on a successful PA/ tipping the scales at the last minute in favor of a promotion??

 

I have made such great progress in the last year. I've passed 2 exams in my field (passing 1/year is awesome), I was involved in every important project in our division, I mentored the **** out of an intern (to the satisfaction of his boss, who actually saw progress in the social retard), I even conducted some interviews. I deserve a promotion. :bunny::bunny::bunny:

 

I HATE those "rate your own performance" things. My company does them too and they are so tricky! Our's are a little different though, they have us fill out an evaluation for the supervisor/company and then the supervisor completes an evaluation using the 1-5 scale you described. It's so tricky to answer because you don't want to be cocky and say you have no weaknesses, but you don't want to say you have TOO many weaknesses either! There are so many trick questions on that thing that you can't really answer honestly!

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eerie_reverie
I HATE those "rate your own performance" things. My company does them too and they are so tricky! Our's are a little different though, they have us fill out an evaluation for the supervisor/company and then the supervisor completes an evaluation using the 1-5 scale you described. It's so tricky to answer because you don't want to be cocky and say you have no weaknesses, but you don't want to say you have TOO many weaknesses either! There are so many trick questions on that thing that you can't really answer honestly!

 

Heh, at least the one I have to do is really open-ended. I even got to back-date the goals. But I still hate how it is stressed that expectations for us are are "really high", so meeting them is great. What does it mean to exceed them, then? I honestly don't even know if I am being modest or cocky.

 

The good news is, when I passed my last exam and got a raise, my boss assured me that I hadn't been skipped over for a promotion - that I'd hear about that, during the PA. I am not 100% certain I am getting one, but he made it sound likely.

 

If that's the case, I am extremely excited, because it likely means I'll get to manage someone - at least an intern over the summer. From the experience I have with training people and being listened to as the main source of expertise, I know I get a HUGE kick out of being in charge. And I think I'd make a good boss.

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eerie_reverie

That was so fun, I wish we did it more often. I love compliments. At one point I almost said, "Now tell me how pretty I am."

 

The only semi-critical thing my boss had to say was that it was "great to be social" and all, but I might "consider" my behavior. Because people respected "us" and he "hasn't heard anything," but...

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desertIslandCactus

Perhaps it's best to be happy for your job rather than worrying about strategy to receive a good appraisal.. Also there is responsibility involved in managing another, not just a feather in your cap.

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You know, Spook. It could make a big difference on your appraisal, and you might get that promotion you're after if you were to sleep with your boss.

 

Have you ever considered that?

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eerie_reverie
You know, Spook. It could make a big difference on your appraisal, and you might get that promotion you're after if you were to sleep with your boss.

 

Have you ever considered that?

 

my proposition did not go over well

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  • 2 weeks later...
jean-luc sisko

Outline a plan for improvement.

 

Also, speak with your manager regarding this, since s/he is supposed to care for your welfare whilst in work.

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Outline a plan for improvement.

 

Also, speak with your manager regarding this, since s/he is supposed to care for your welfare whilst in work.

 

Hi,

 

I agreed with you. Any way, your points of view make me thinking about some thing for my project.

 

Pls try to keep posting. Tks and best regards

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I have 75 performance appraisals to sit through - as well as give - starting next week. A few employees will be very happy, a few will be very disappointed - and the bulk will receive an average performace appraisal. Here are two key failures I see in how some employees approach their reviews and goals:

 

1) Some see it as a checklist, and only do what is on the list, but nothing more for the year.

 

2) Longer term employees seem to believe that years in the company entitle them to something bigger - even though their contributions are on par with someone new to the company.

 

This will not get you a stellar review - maybe an average one at best. A stellar review is given to someone who is willing to do anything necessary to help the company succeed. If that means helping others to succeed when they are struggling, being proactive about letting management know that they are ahead of schedule, and can be utilized for other pressing issues. Or, even taking a stab at proposing new ways to improve the overall company, and writing a proposal for management to review.

 

These kinds of employees are the most valuable to have. They are self aware, and intelligent enough to realize that if the company does not make money, they do not make money.

 

I can't tell you how many times I have been awed by employees of failing divisions in a large corporations who seem to think that the corporation has endless streams of money to reward them - regardless of failure.

 

Make yourself into someone that management does not feel they can do without. This kind of employee is capable of occasionally missing certain goals, but still eligible for stellar reviews - because - the company doesn't feel they are replaceable, and will make sure they are taken care of so they will not leave to go elsewhere.

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jean-luc sisko

I think it also depends on the corporate culture and one's own management team. A supportive manager that counsels and offers constructive input can help employees develop well.

 

A good review is given to somebody who simply does well. I would define doing well as being proactive, dressing well (appropriately for their role/position or work environment), good attendance, high quality work (the most important factor), and getting on well with all employees in the organisation.

 

I think the key in being a good employee is demonstrating value to one's employer.

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the way to not be insecure about your performance because you goof off is to not goof off. I personally could not imagine goofing off at work. It would make me so unbelievably insecure that I couldn't handle it. In actual fact, any goofing off I might do would likely result in me working harder, because I'd feel very uncertain/unsure/unhappy/worried that my lack of good effort will not go unnoticed. I do not enjoy that insecure feeling, and therefore would never ever conciously slack at work or certainly never justify it.

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jean-luc sisko

I think an employee must have an intuitive sense of how well s/he does.

 

Is work of high quality? Is work of high productivity? Any write ups, or scoldings, or major mistakes? Any incidents of poor attitude towards co-workers?

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I think an employee must have an intuitive sense of how well s/he does.

 

Is work of high quality? Is work of high productivity? Any write ups, or scoldings, or major mistakes? Any incidents of poor attitude towards co-workers?

 

I am continuously suprised at how "self unaware" that people can be - even after being told several times that their performance is not up to par. Those are always the most painful performance appraisals to give.

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