Career Paths and Performance Reviews

• Try to find a career path for the job you are in.
  What is the next logical promotion?
  Will it bring you greater financial reward, does it have more responsibilities?
  If there are no career opportunities and you are ambitious, you may realise that you are in the wrong job and decide to start looking around. If, on the other hand, doing your job well may lead to a promotion, you will need to know what it is that you have to do to get the promotion!

• Get your supervisor to explain in detail what is required of you to gain promotion in your job:
  What do you need to do in order to get ahead in the job you already have, or move laterally, or get an increase in pay?

• Agree with your supervisor on your plan for accomplishments.
  This way, you and s/he can be on the same wavelength as to how you meet their requirements, and you can feel confident about getting an excellent performance rating or a promotion for the next review. Also, this way you have a clear career path. Sometimes this is best sort when apply or taking up a new position.

• By the way, don't argue or take things personally.
  It never pays, the review is not a reflection or your own accomplishments or self-worth -- it's only a perspective of the reviewer given a set of priorities that the reviewer has. Try to find out where the reviewer is coming from and get a sense of his/her plans for the department, so that you can know how to deal with him or her in this next year. This way you are in a better position of understanding what is expected of you.

• If it turns out not to be a good review, quietly look for another job.
  Between the boss and the subordinate in a performance review, the boss usually wins! And your prospects of promotion within the job may not be realised.