How to evaluate your own performance.

BEATING YOUR BOSS TO THE PUNCH How to evaluate your own performance. Remember the feeling you got in the pit of your stomach when it was report card time in school? No matter how much calculation you'd done, you still had that moment of doubt: "Could it be worse than I think it's going to be?"

BEATING YOUR BOSS TO THE PUNCH How to evaluate your own performance. Remember the feeling you got in the pit of your stomach when it was report card time in school? No matter how much calculation you'd done, you still had that moment of doubt: "Could it be worse than I think it's going to be?" Thankfully, report cards--and parent-teacher conferences--are a thing of the past. Still, we do have to be accountable to our superiors, and that means we often find ourselves wondering how secure our positions are. "Am I doing my job well? Does my boss like me? Does she think I'm a slacker?" What's more, it often seems like the only way we can monitor our career development is through negative feedback and annual reviews. It's important, however, to do more than that. In fact, a key step to staying successful is evaluating yourself before your boss does. William Frank, a career consultant, suggests you follow these steps as part of a process of self-evaluation. Keep a weekly journal of your accomplishments. When it comes time to update your resume or review your evaluation, you'll have the data on hand. Also, keep track of things you feel to didn't excel in. That way, you won't be caught off guard when your boss criticizes you. Practice success skills. There's enough gray areas and 'he said-she said' scenarios in the working world. Make sure obvious expectations (i.e. showing up on time and finishing projects you start) are fulfilled. Force communication. Don't assume that because your boss isn't saying anything, everything's in check. Your boss may be preoccupied and you may need to take initiative to keep things on track. Some useful questions to ask are: Am I meeting expectations? Am I focusing on the right projects? Am I getting the kind of feedback I need? Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Try to draw attention to what you are best at, excel in that area, and then do your best in the others. Develop good work relationships. Bosses are looking to build strong teams, so focus a chunk of your time on your co-workers. Staying 30 minutes late to help a team member finish a project won't kill you, and it'll help build your reputation as a strong team member. Ultimately, your self-evaluation is the only way you can document your work performance. Although doing it can be tedious and annoying, it's easier to evaluate your own performance and make the appropriate improvements or changes than to be surprised by an unfavorable review somewhere down the road.