Wondering how to prepare for a performance review? Start by focusing on what matters most: evidence of your wins, a handful of growth areas, and key points for your manager.
This looks like pulling a few metrics or examples that show impact. Note strengths you want to build on, and draft questions that make the conversation useful. Keep salary talk for another time, and aim for a calm, clear discussion. These performance review best practices help you prepare for a review at work without overloading yourself.
If you’re ready to feel confident in your next performance review, read the guide below. You’ll get 7 essential steps and practical performance review tips to highlight your impact, handle feedback, and set clear goals.
Why Preparing for a Performance Review Matters
Preparation for a performance review is important for the employer and the employee alike. Preparing for your performance review can help pinpoint the areas you want to draw attention to during the meeting. It can also show your employers that you’re serious about your career and want to grow. Your performance review is a chance for you to showcase your achievements, address areas where you could improve, and communicate directly with your manager.
Spend some time reflecting on your accomplishments and strengths before your performance review. Gather as much data as you can to support your strengths and achievements. You should also identify areas where you could grow.
Performance Review Best Practices for Employees
It’s important to approach your performance review with a positive mindset. Anthony DeRosa at the Wall Street Journal explains that a performance review is a chance to highlight your value to your employer. He recommends that you come into the meeting prepared with specific details and facts about your performance and why that has been beneficial to your employer or company. This way, you can walk into the review with confidence.
Most workplaces that have performance reviews carry them out on an annual basis. It can be especially helpful to avoid looking at your performance review as negative or something to fear. In the modern workplace, they’re meant to encourage dialogue and transparency between management and employees, and in turn, can lead to improvement and professional development alike.
If you’re looking for performance review advice, we have you covered. These seven best practices for preparing for your performance review can help you feel poised and calm.
Step 1: Reflect on Your Key Accomplishments and Gather Data
Don’t depend on your manager to remember all that you accomplished during the past year. Leading up to your review, gather supporting data to prove what you have achieved. You can also prepare notes for these key accomplishments or any other topics you would like to discuss during your performance review.
In many workplaces, you will have to complete and submit an employee self-assessment before your performance review meeting.
Step 2: Identify Strengths and Areas for Growth
Remember job interviews in which you were asked to describe your weaknesses? If you’re like most of us, you probably chose to talk about weaknesses that sound like assets. An example could be talking about how you get frustrated when people don’t meet their deadlines, which gives the impression that you take productivity very seriously.
Do the same kind of thing when you decide on the “areas for improvement” that your manager asks you to identify.
Step 3: Be Open to Constructive Criticism
Don’t let yourself get defensive if your manager offers any criticism. Instead, receive that feedback in a constructive way by viewing it as useful input you can draw upon to improve. Better still, you can ask for specific examples and suggestions on how to channel this feedback into positive changes.
If you feel caught off guard and unsure of how to respond to a piece of criticism, ask to schedule a brief meeting the following week to discuss further once you’ve collected your thoughts. Think about the criticism you receive as part of the process of improvement.
Step 4: Ask Management How You Can Improve
If you’re pursuing a promotion, your performance review is a good opportunity to find out how you can boost your job performance. This can help you in your pursuit of a higher position.
The performance review is an excellent time to talk about the aspects of your job that you enjoy doing and the type of tasks you are particularly good at. You can also talk about where you would like to be in the next few years, and why you want to achieve that position.
Step 5: Offer Suggestions That Would Better the Company
In 2024, Bankrate’s Employment Security Survey found that 48% of the American workforce were likely to look for a new job sometime in the next year. Of this group, 23% said they were very likely, and 25% said they were somewhat likely.
These stats make clear that if you’re feeling dissatisfied with your current job, you’re not alone. But before you consider resigning, consider offering suggestions for improving your department during your performance review. Should more information be shared, or should specific useless reports be eliminated? Can the company invest in new technology? Is there an underutilized team member who might be able to share some of your workload?
More now than ever before, many employers know it’s important to keep their employees as happy as possible in the workplace.
Step 6: Avoid Salary Discussions
Your performance review isn’t the right time for talking about your salary. Each of these topics are significant enough in their own right to warrant a separate meeting. Plus, compensation isn’t necessarily tied solely to performance.
In some cases, it’s best to schedule time with your manager to discuss salary at least a few months before your next review date. Collect data on how much people are paid for similar jobs in your industry, and ask if there are any tasks you can do to earn more money.
During your performance review, one thing you can do is remind your manager of any of your current job responsibilities that go well beyond your job description. You could consider requesting a new job title to better reflect the work you do.
Step 7: Set New Goals
It’s important to achieve clarity on your goals, both short and long-term. Your performance review is a good time to set new goals for the upcoming year. At the end of your review session, you and your manager should establish these goals.
Ask for clarification on the goals of your company and department. Find out if there are any metrics that you can watch to keep track of your progress.
Common Performance Review Mistakes to Avoid
There are certain common mistakes that employees often make when they’re preparing for their performance reviews (or during the performance review process itself). Keep these in mind when preparing for your annual review.
- Failing to prepare: It’s important to prepare for your performance review. Set aside some time to think about and document your achievements over the past year, and consider what you would like to talk about during the review.
- Being defensive: Being defensive is a big no-no in performance reviews. Instead, you should see any criticism as constructive.
- Not having clear career goals: You should bring solid career goals to your performance review. This will help show your manager that you take your job seriously and have an earnest desire to enhance your skills.
How Preparation Leads to a Successful Performance Review
Knowing how to prepare for a performance review turns a nerve-wracking meeting into a focused conversation about impact and growth. Check your company’s process, complete any self-assessment, and come ready with examples, questions, and clear goals.
Stay balanced and kind to yourself. Do the prep, show up curious, and use these performance review tips to guide the discussion. Small, steady steps add up—and your next review can move your career forward.
Ready to feel confident in every review? Join SUCCESS+. You’ll get step-by-step templates, guides, and short courses to plan goals, handle feedback, and communicate your impact.
Photo courtesy Muhd Imran Ismail/Shutterstock.com
