Staying on the Job: How to Answer End-of-Year Performance Review Questions was originally published on Ivy Exec.
End-of-year performance reviews are essential for career growth. They help you and your bosses identify achieved goals and the areas you need to work on to be a better employee.
Unfortunately, the process can be dreadful and sometimes intimidating. You may feel your supervisor is minimizing your success by comparing it against their expectations.
Preparing for your performance review can take the edge off. It allows you to focus on the benefits of the process rather than the negative side. Understanding how to answer review questions will help you pass the appraisal and keep your job.
Here are some practical pointers to help you give the best responses.
Practice With Common Performance Review Questions
It’s not always easy to predict the issues that may come up when meeting your supervisor. Still, it doesn’t hurt to brainstorm ideas and prepare. Identify common appraisal questions within your level and get ready for the interview. Altogether, maintain an open mind so that some questions don’t catch you off guard.
Know Your Main Achievements by Heart
Employers use key metrics to measure your performance and value to the company. For example, if you are a salesperson, they may look at the revenue you generated in different quotas. Besides, they will consider your customer service skills and the win ratio.
Learning your achievements by heart can save you during an end-of-year performance review. It’s great to have evidence you can refer to when pointing out your strengths. If you have enough information to support your claims, your employer is more likely to notice your value.
Ensure Your Responses Sound Natural
Preparing for a performance review is vital, but it shouldn’t affect the quality of your responses. Instead of having ready answers, brainstorm the responses to various questions. This way, you can share key points while ensuring your replies aren’t generic.
It’s pretty normal to panic during a performance review. After all, your supervisor can use it to determine if they want to keep you in the company. Staying calm will help you listen actively and give the best responses. It demonstrates your confidence and lets you showcase your communication skills.
Pausing before answering ensures you give natural responses. You can organize thoughts and assess the information your supervisor wants to gather by asking a specific question. Stop and think for about five seconds to articulate your responses. If you have multiple ideas, pick the most direct and concise answer.
Address Your Faults
It’s human nature to have shortcomings, but they can cost you your job. While you may not want to look back at your mistakes and failures, they will likely come up during your end-of-year performance review. So, how can you stay ahead and improve your chances of retaining your job?
The best strategy is to acknowledge your failures and their impact on the company. After that, highlight the improvements you’ve made so far. Develop a solid plan to address the effects of your mistakes during the review. By doing this, you show your supervisor that you are working towards perfecting your role.
Be Careful About Your Body Language
Your body language accounts for a significant portion of the information passed during an appraisal. The things you say and your attitude when conveying them will affect how your supervisor receives your feedback.
Here are body language tips to follow when answering performance review questions:
- Avoid fidgeting
- Don’t cross your arms
- Wear a genuine smile
- Watch your hand gestures
Eye contact is a crucial part of business etiquette and is important in interviews such as performance reviews. You don’t want to stare at your supervisor; instead, take breaks to write notes and then regain eye contact. This way, you will appear confident and interactive without being creepy.
Use Self-Assessment to Prepare Your Answers
Receiving feedback from your seniors will help you overcome obstacles. It improves productivity and allows you to feel proud of your work.
Still, self-assessment is the key to a successful performance review. It helps you reflect on your work and identify significant accomplishments. Likewise, it increases self-awareness, allowing you to understand your strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, you can identify the areas you need to improve before your bosses point them out.
Other benefits of a self-assessment include:
- It can improve engagement during the appraisal
- It helps you set realistic goals for the next year
- It allows you to monitor your progress
Did you set personal career goals before the beginning of the year? If yes, you need to do a self-assessment before your performance review. This way, it will be easy to take accountability for your accomplishments and failures. You can explain how you learned from various mistakes and outline your plan to improve productivity.
Common Performance Review Questions and How to Answer Them
Appraisers use various types of interview questions for a complete evaluation. They may ask behavioral questions, which focus on past actions, and situational ones that gauge your problem-solving skills. Let’s explore some common questions and how to answer them.
How did you do on the targets you set during the last review?
Start by listing the goals you met, then mention the ones you haven’t fully reached but have good progress. After that, bring up the targets you didn’t achieve and highlight the factors that set you back.
What achievements are you proud of this year?
Name key accomplishments related to your role in the company. It can be securing a big client or heading a major project successfully. You may also mention other career wins, like completing a course or joining an industry organization.
What do you find most challenging about your role?
This question allows you to convey your concerns about the work environment without being rude. For example, you may mention you found it hard to complete collaborative projects. This subtly suggests the need for a team-building program.
Is there something you need to improve your performance?
Mention the resources that can help you do your job better. You can also point out factors that diminish your efforts at work and suggest some solutions.
Ace Your End-of-Year Performance Review
Instead of worrying about an upcoming appraisal, you can focus on highlighting your value to the brand.
Prepare adequately, maintain a positive attitude, and be open to criticism. Applying these tips will ensure your answers showcase professionalism and dedication towards self-improvement.
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