Ask the expert: Prepare for your work appraisal

By MARIE WILSON

Q. I have my performance appraisal meeting in about two weeks. I've worked here for about eight months, and it's much more formal than the firms I've worked for before. I've never had a real appraisal meeting before, and I'm not sure how to prepare.

My co-workers have told me that they are pretty straightforward, and that we discuss overall performance and any problems. I would like to discuss my interest in getting some in-house training in some areas where I feel weak, but I'm afraid that might put my pay increase at risk.

A. In preparing for a performance review meeting, you should review your job description and look for any areas where your job is changing, or is different than what is described, so that you can discuss this with your supervisor.

Try to think back on what has been expected, review any goals that have been set and gather your thoughts and any information that you have on your performance to date.

Also, think through the areas where you are not sure how you are doing and want to get additional clarity about what is expected.

If there are areas where you need to improve, try to agree what improvement would look like and a plan for how you'll make sure things are on track.

It is difficult to discuss training needs at the same time as a pay raise or bonus. It's a basic communication dilemma - you want to look as good as possible when pay decisions are being made, but you need to discuss weaknesses when you are trying to plan for your development on the job. Many organisations separate these two issues in terms of decisions, and certainly in terms of meetings.

If you are not required to discuss both in your appraisal meeting, I would suggest you focus on just the basics for the interview - a review of goals and performance.

Ask for separate times with your supervisor to discuss your training and development needs and your overall career goals. You'll need to discuss feedback from your supervisor, and your own perception of your performance, before you can discuss pay-related matters; another brief follow-up meeting may be scheduled for this.

Too many meetings? Not really, you've gone a long time without a formal review, and two to three focused, shorter meetings may result in much better decisions.

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