Have you been asked to perform a self-evaluation for your performance review, and you don’t know where to start? Or maybe you aren’t even sure what a self-evaluation is. If that’s the case, you might find this guide with real-world self-performance review examples useful.
A detailed and honest self-evaluation highlights your strengths, helps you improve your weaknesses, and gives you a better idea of where you are professional. Self-evaluation also lets your manager know the best ways to assist you and get the most out of you. But a proper structure is key for an effective self-evaluation.
What Is A Self-Evaluation?
Self-evaluation is a process of analyzing and reflecting on your job performance and contributions to the company. The process is systematic and focuses on many different aspects of performance, like leadership skills, productivity, creativity, time management, and more.
A good self-evaluation should be completely honest and assess both your strengths and weaknesses. You won’t get anything out of a self-evaluation if you aren’t honest. Also, a template is often used for self-evaluation.
Above is a good example of a template, but you’ll want to add the 10 headings from the blog for the best results.
The Benefits Of Self-Evaluation
Self-evaluations are beneficial as they allow you to show your value to your employer, awareness of your flaws, and how you will improve your flaws. Identifying areas you need to grow is much easier after a self-evaluation.
Completing a self-evaluation will also make future performance reviews easier. You will have a structured evaluation to help you give detailed answers to the performance review questions.
Also, the process will give your manager an insight into what motivates you and how you can perform your best at the workplace.
9 Self-Evaluation Examples For Performance Reviews
Now you know what a self-evaluation is and its benefits, the next stage is to break down the components that make up a performance review self-evaluation.
Self-performance review examples are given to help you understand each part and act as a guide. Take time to think about each one carefully, and don’t give generic answers you think your manager wants to hear.
1. Personal Or Assigned Goals
Every employee will have assigned or personal goals to work on. The goal could be mastering a software program, improving communication, or improving time management skills.
So for this part of the self-evaluation, you need to evaluate your progress in achieving the goal. What steps are involved in achieving the goal, and which steps have you reached? Using SMART targets can be useful for this.
Using a structured approach like this means you will find it easier to define, track, and assess your progress.
For example;
Goal: Increase social media conversion by 8% in the next quarter.
Evaluation: Our marketing department aims to increase our social media conversions, so I went on an advanced social media certification course to update my knowledge and learn new techniques.
We came close to our goal and achieved a 7% increase. Using my knowledge gained from the course and practical lessons learned through the campaign, I now feel like we will be able to meet our next target.
2. Areas Of Accomplishment
Your areas of accomplishment are a key part of self-evaluation. But don’t just write out your job description; share the value you bring to the company.
For example, have you:
- Influenced a process change
- Made major contributions to a project
- Served on a committee
- Wrote an impactful report
- Took the lead on a team project
- Mentored another employee
- Ran a conference or event
- Designed or ran a training session or meeting
You also need to state the impact your accomplishments have had on the company.
For example;
I streamlined the conversion funnel by simplifying the checkout process. I collaborated with multiple departments to make it look appealing, professional, and more streamlined in line with major competitors.
The project was completed on schedule and was a success. Our conversion rate increased by 5%, partly due to the simplified checkout process and other external factors.
3. Problem-Solving
Self-evaluating your problem-solving skills is the next part of a performance review. Show both your problem-solving strengths and weaknesses. Also, give examples that illustrate your evaluation.
For example;
Strengths: My ability to solve problems is generally very good. I use a problem-solving process that divides problems into manageable chunks, allowing me to analyze each part and find the problem.
I also utilize the help around me by asking for outside perspectives and deferring to those more knowledgeable in a particular area.
An example of this was when I had a problem with some code I had written. To find the problem, I broke down the code into sections and assessed for any mistakes. Once I found what I believed to be the problem, I asked a coworker for their opinion before successfully fixing the code.
Weaknesses: I will often ask others for help, even when I am sure of the answer to the problem. Asking for help is important, but so is knowing when to trust myself. I will address this by logging all the times I have successfully solved a problem on my own, hopefully boosting my confidence.
4. Productivity
Do you hand your projects in on time? What efforts do you make to ensure you are using your time productively? These are the types of questions you should be asking in the productivity part of your self-evaluation.
For example;
Strengths: I organize my tasks by order of importance, so I can use my time more productively. I put measures in place to ensure I won’t be distracted and try to focus on one task at a time.
Weaknesses: I sometimes struggle with time management and take too long to complete a task, even when I have organized my tasks. I put this down to perfectionism.
To correct this, I am trying to learn the difference between doing a good job and spending too much time trying to make the task perfect. I plan to look at my colleagues’ work output and remind myself that I can achieve a high standard within the time frame and don’t need perfection.
5. Leadership
Even if you aren’t in a leadership role, assessing your leadership skills is still important. Leadership can be mentoring, helping and guiding colleagues, and setting a good example.
For example;
Strengths: I guide my colleagues by example and assist them when they ask for my help. For example, when a colleague was struggling with a call to action for their landing page, I gave my opinion on their current ideas and offered my suggested improvements.
Weaknesses: I don’t always notice when my colleagues are struggling and only help them when they ask for it. I am trying to be more attentive, so I can help colleagues with their personal and professional problems.
6. Team Collaboration
How you collaborate with your team is vital for achieving collective objectives. Regardless of how well you perform individually, you need to be able to collaborate with your team to get the best results.
For example;
Strengths: I contribute ideas during team collaboration while also listening to my team’s ideas. I show respect to my team at all times and show their contributions are valued.
For example, during a brainstorming session, I contributed the idea to diversify the social media platforms we use for our content marketing. When my colleague pointed out some of the social media platform examples were not suited to our kind of marketing, I took this on board.
Weaknesses: My communication skills are sometimes subpar. I don’t always communicate exactly what I mean when I offer my opinion verbally, leading to confusion. I think I can correct this by thinking about what I want to say before saying it and, time permitting, writing it down so I can better formulate my contribution.
7. Creativity
Creative solutions help your company stay ahead of the competition by producing innovative results. So assessing your creative contribution is important.
For example;
Strengths: I am self-aware of my creative strengths, allowing me to take creative risks when appropriate. My assessment of my creative output is good, so I don’t waste time on bad ideas.
For example, I had an idea to use a very minimalist design for a client’s website. But I soon realized the design specification would make using a minimalist design very difficult, so I didn’t waste time on a bad idea.
Weaknesses: I sometimes find it difficult to take on board criticism of a creative idea. I need to remind myself it’s part of the creative process and will make the idea better. I plan to assess the creative process of previous successful projects so I can see criticisms’ positive effects in action.
8. Time Management
How you manage your time is critical for meeting deadlines and working productively. Also, having good time management makes you less stressed and happier. So it’s important to honestly assess your time management skills.
For example;
Strengths: I organize my time, so I can complete tasks on time and to the best of my ability. I do this with an organizational planner, a daily to-do list, timesheet apps, and calendar reminders.
An example of this is when I had an increased workload with several upcoming deadlines. I organized my time using my planner, so I was tackling the most pressing tasks first; I used my to-do list to ensure all the day’s tasks were completed. My calendar reminders ensured I didn’t miss the deadline, and I managed to hand in my assignments on time.
Weaknesses: Despite knowing when my deadlines are and having my tasks planned out, I will still stress about completing the tasks on time. To solve this, I need to learn to trust my process. I will look back on my previous projects and assess how my process enabled me to complete the assignment on time.
9. Feedback
How you act on feedback is very important for your professional development. Feedback will identify your weaknesses and help improve them. But giving constructive feedback is important as well, so your colleagues can get the same benefits.
For example;
Strengths: When I am given feedback, I take it on board and try to make the changes necessary. For example, I was told my content writing didn’t quite meet the specification brief. I took this feedback on board and changed my content to fit the brief.
Weaknesses: I find it difficult to give others constructive criticism. To improve this weakness, I will look back at feedback others have given me and try to replicate it with my own feedback.
In Closing
Self-evaluations assess your strengths and weaknesses and let you know how to improve. But you need to be honest for a self-evaluation to be of any use to you and your manager. You can improve your productivity, time management, and problem-solving skills, just to name a few.
A holistic approach to self-evaluation, as demonstrated by these self-performance review examples, will ensure you don’t just focus on your strength and improve. So use these self-performance review examples today to deliver the best performance review you can.
