From The Straits Times    |

Upsell your achievements or downplay your failures? Singapore experts share pointers on how to submit a balanced self-appraisal form that works to your advantage.

 

Work: How to Write a Good Performance Appraisal of Yourself

Stumped about how you should write your performance appraisal?
Singapore expert share tips. Image: Getty Images

BE OBJECTIVE
When reflecting on your achievements, get feedback from your teammates; ask them to highlight some of your positive traits and cite examples, if possible. “This way, if you state that your colleagues feel that you are a results-oriented team player and you are able to back your claims with concrete evidence, it is a balanced reflection of your performance,” explains Karin Clarke, regional director at Randstad, a recruitment and
HR service provider.

Refer to your previous goals or your job description and reflect that in your performance appraisal if your performance matches up. David Ang, executive director at Singapore Human Resources Institute, says: “Use specific incidents to describe how you met or exceeded your key performance indicators. For example, you can say: ‘By attending at least two networking events every month, I was able to bring in 20 to 30 new sales leads monthly.’”

MISTAKES – TO COME CLEAN OR NOT?

The idea is to be honest, but you should craft your sentences in a way that they don’t greatly discredit you. Trying to cover up your mistakes or worse, lying about your achievements, lets you run the risk of being caught, which can then lead to a breakdown in trust between you and your employer.

Timothy Chan, director of Singapore Polytechnic Business School, says: “When you have not met certain goals, cite specific reasons and what you learnt from it. Focus on things you can improve on, for example, a self-improvement course may be able to help correct your poor time management.”

David also points out that mistakes could also be indicative of flaws in the work process, so it’s important to bring them up when doing your performance appraisal so that you and your boss can work through them together.

IT’S NOT PERSONAL

While you might be tempted to unload your grievances about teammates who don’t carry their weight, or the lack of training opportunities, your performance form is not the right avenue to get into this.

“Separate your emotions from the facts and don’t criticise anyone in your self-appraisal,” says Timothy. Karin adds: “The performance form should only be used to showcase your personal abilities. If you need to air your frustrations, let your boss know in advance and schedule a separate session.”

This article was originally published in SimplyHer Nov 2011.