The Performance Review. It seems that every company, organization, and t-ball league has one today. Not only are they rampant, but many times they are the single gateway to your next raise or promotion. The problem is that a lot of people don’t know how to get the most out of their review, and consequently they miss out on great opportunities. It’s not because they don’t want to get to that next level, it’s that they don’t know how. This is where the tips below come in. In my experience, if you really make an effort to work them into your routine, you will definitely see the difference the next time your review comes around.

• Analyze your last review - This is something that you should have done right after you’re last review. You want to start working on your weak areas immediately so that next time they are your strong areas. A good way to do this is to write down each weak area, and brainstorm how you can improve in that area. Write the resulting ideas down and keep this list visible at your desk. Make sure you try to work on at least one of the ideas everyday.

• Get intermediate feedback - I wrote a whole article on getting feedback, that’s how important it is. To make it short and sweet, the first time an area in which you can improve is identified to you should not be in the formal review. With that being said, it’s pretty much assured to happen. However, you can minimize this. Make sure you get feedback from not only your supervisor but also any team members whom you supervise on a regular basis. If you’re unsure how to do this, you can read my aforementioned article on asking for feedback.

• Prepare for your review - This is an extremely important piece of advice. Before your review, you need to make sure you get yourself prepared. For starters, if you can get your hands on the criteria for the review, take a look at it and try to fill it out like you were reviewing yourself. If you can’t, make a list of what you think your strong and weak areas are. Most importantly, be honest. If you can’t be honest with your weak areas especially, then don’t even bother following any of this advice. We all have weak areas, identifying them is the only way we improve on them. For your strengths, write down specific examples of how you are strong in each area. For example, if you are a good team leader, you could write that your team finished all of its work on schedule (list the specific milestones you hit). For your weaknesses, write down some ideas on how you could improve (similar to the first bullet point). Make sure to bring your lists to your review.

• Make your review a two way conversation - During your review, don’t just sit there like a fence post. Make sure you understand all of your supervisor’s points. If you think they are missing a strength in your review, take out your strength list and suggest some (along with your supporting examples). Also, if you think that they identify something as a weakness that you don’t think is, discuss it. The important thing to remember here is that this is your big chance. In my company, these reviews can be YEARLY. Once a year is not a lot. Say what you need to say, make sure you understand everything that went on. If you need to work on something, make sure that you know what direction to take. You can even ask your supervisor for suggestions. If they are already on your weakness list, bounce some of the ways to improve off your supervisor to see if they agree. Another thing that goes a long way is to show that you are actively taking charge of your career. Showing you are interested in maximizing your performance at work is guaranteed to raise your stock with your manager.

Note: These tips are based on the fact that you have a meeting to go over your review with your boss. If this is not the case, try to schedule one. Otherwise, do the best you can to take the review that they have given you and write up any questions/concerns you might have with it. Then, email them this list and try to initiate some kind of back and forth. Otherwise, the review doesn’t end up doing anybody much good.

These tips are guaranteed to make your next performance review better for both you and your boss. However, don’t limit yourself to these tips alone. If you can think of something else that will help, go for it. There probably are many things you can do that are specific to your line of work that can help you out. Make a concentrated effort, and I’m sure you’ll be glad with the results.