A is for… Appraisals

A is for… Appraisals

Welcome to the first 90 days A to Z Challenge. Our theme this year is all about things that you can do to maximise your first 90 days of a new job or role. This series of posts assume that you have also moved company, but these prompts can also be applied if you have moved internally.

Let’s kick off with another A is for…. Appraisals. However, Appraisals (whether formal or informal) are a vital part of settling into a new job or role. An appraisal is in its most simple form an opportunity to check in with your boss and see how you are getting on.

If you don’t have a formal scheme

If you don’t have a formal scheme/process and you are a competent employee you will often be left to just get on with the job. After all, you are getting on with it.

Feedback often comes in the form of negative feedback only. Therefore you will usually only get told if you are doing a bad job, but not always get positive feedback/reassurance that you are doing an adequate or good job. This may mean that you are not getting direct feedback.

Direct feedback can be worth seeking out because a simple feedback point (and a simple change) can make all the difference between an adequate job and a good job. Direct feedback can help steer you in the right direction for improving, getting rid of bad habits early as well as sharing knowledge.

If you have no formal structure you should ask your line manager or boss for an opportunity to “check in” and see how you are getting on. After all, if there are any issues, you will want to get them sorted before they become a problem. The last thing you want is issues coming to light at the end of your probationary period (when it may possibly be too late to do anything) particularly if there is an easy fix.

Show up armed with questions. This should be a fact-finding mission. If possible and if you think it would be better – tell your boss in advance what you would like to discuss so that they have an opportunity to prepare. This is particularly useful where they may need to get information from other people.

If you do have a formal scheme

If your company has a formal process, you will be expected to work within this framework. So it is in your favour to find out as much as possible about the framework:

• What is the process?
• What is done and when?
• What are the next steps?
• What are your targets / goals?
• Where do you find out more information?
• What is expected?
• Are you meeting company expectations?

We recommend that you keep a record of this. We use our Career Progression Goals & Meetings Notebook for this purpose. You can also use a career journal and prompts to help you note questions that you might like to ask and identify where you are perhaps missing information.

Action Point: Write a list of questions for your next appraisal and keep a running list so that you are not worried about it at the last minute.

This blog post is an extract from our upcoming “First 90 Days” prompt journal which is being published later this year. You can pre-order your copy.

If you are dropping by as part of the A to Z Challenge – don’t forget to leave a comment to say hi with a link to your blog. Do you have a formal or informal appraisal process? Which do you think works bes? Share in the comments.