How to assess your own performance at work

It doesn't matter if you're at the senior most position in your company or you're a fresher, everyone has to evaluate their performance at one point or another. You might be doing it for your personal reference to know where you can better yourself or you might be doing it for you company's annual performance review. Either way, you need to assess your strengths and weaknesses with an unbiased eye to know where you stand. Here are three easy ways in which you can assess your own performance at work.

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Take a hard look at your career graph

Evaluating your performance doesn't only involve assessing how you are doing at your current job – it also includes taking a hard look at your long-term career plan. Does your present job play an important role in where you see yourself in the future? Is it a stepping stone to where you want to be five years down the line? If the answer to those questions is a yes, you are probably doing things right. Self-evaluation also gives you an opportunity to assess the kind of skills you wish to acquire in the long run which will lead you to your ultimate goal. If you don't already have a plan in place, self assessment gives you the opportunity to figure out what you want. Doing this will put things into better perspective and make expectations tangible.

Have an honest conversation with your seniors

Your seniors have seen you grow. They know the new skills you've acquired in your tenure at the company as well as your strengths and your weaknesses. If you really want to assess your performance, keep the talk of increments aside. While money is important, it is your skill-set that will help you reach your goals and not your salary. Use your self-evaluation as an opportunity to understand what sets you apart from your team members and how solid your contributions are. Asking your supervisors questions like ‘What would you like me to focus on?’ and ‘How can I make your job easier?’ will help them to evaluate your performance better.

Remain positive while dealing with your short-comings

While evaluating your performance, make sure not to blame your shortcomings on your co-workers and clients as there will always be some hindrance no matter where you work. It's upon you how you overcome those obstacles and do a good job regardless of the circumstances. Try to do a balanced self-appraisal. No one is absolutely perfect. We all have our flaws. When we recognise our weak points and work on those to better ourselves, we begin to excel at our jobs. It is for this reason that you should never beat yourself up and always remain positive while assessing your performance.

The only person who will be able to give you an accurate insight into your performance is yourself. It is therefore imperative to do a self-appraisal every six months to know where you stand.