It's evaluation time for AOL Jobs reader Jared....
My boss lets me write my own performance review. I thought that was a good thing until I watched a recent episode of Mad Men, in which Peggy Olson went to her boss and asked for a proper review of her performance. She believed that the company was avoiding its responsibility to review her performance, thereby avoiding giving her a real chance of advancement. Does Peggy have a point? Should i go into my boss's office and do the same thing?
True story, I briefly reported to a woman who I'd been dating; now that was an awkward "performance appraisal".... Being asked to fill out one's own performance review has become increasingly common in the past decade or so, and frankly, I think it's completely absurd. On the big list of office responsibilities, evaluating performance falls squarely on management's side of the ledger. They get paid more, and that's one of the not-so-fun tasks they should be required to do in return.
So, I say, if you're asked to review yourself, give yourself an extremely positive evaluation. Scale of 1 to 5? Fives across the board, baby. You kicked world-class butt this year; let them tell you otherwise. In a case where you genuinely feel you're due for a raise and/or promotion: 1) list your accomplishments in detail in your self-review; 2) mention the possibility of a raise/promotion in the review; 3) ask for a meeting with your supervisor to discuss the review; and 4) be sure to get a signed-off copy of the review at the end of the process. Then, when you're done doing their job, you can go back to your job: hanging out by the water cooler discussing the latest Mad Men.
