Self-Evaluation Examples and Tips for Improving Yours
Using self-evaluation examples as inspiration for your own assessment is a great way to take the stress out of preparing for a performance review. A self-evaluation is a great opportunity to showcase why you are such a valuable part of your company.
While self-evaluations are often different at every company, there are certain guidelines that everyone can use. Having knowledge of good self-evaluation examples can help you shape yours into a piece that shows both where you shine in your job as well as where you plan on improving! In doing so, you are more likely to stand out to your manager and get the advances you’re looking for during your next performance evaluation.
Self-Evaluation: Examples of Benefits
While many workers today don’t like focusing on themselves, the opportunity to provide a self-evaluation is one you shouldn’t take lightly. A self-evaluation is a perfect chance to showcase what you’ve succeeded in at your job, but the benefits of them don’t stop there.
While you’re creating your self-evaluation, it’s a great opportunity to find areas where you can improve. Any great self-evaluation example you run across will list areas for growth and opportunity as an example of why you should be kept in your position going forward. These acknowledged areas show your manager that you are dedicated to growth and give you metrics to measure yourself against when the next performance evaluation comes around.
In addition, creating a self-evaluation allows you to prepare for your performance review and the conversation that will likely entail. When review time is approaching, it’s a good time to begin looking at all you have accomplished over the last year so you can be refreshed on each project. This will allow you to be ready for any question your manager may ask you while you’re taking part in your performance review.
Tips for Putting Together Great Self-Evaluation Examples
It can be hard to write about yourself because you may find it difficult to balance pride with boasting. Not to mention it can be awkward at times as well. However, following these tips can help you put together a well-thought-out self-evaluation that is sure to impress your managers!
Be as Specific as Possible
When you’re telling your manager about your strengths, going into detail and providing examples of your strengths can make a much better impression during your evaluation. When you opt for vagueness, it can cause your manager to become concerned that you either aren’t confident or that you haven’t truly been productive and useful. Neither of these opinions is the one you want your boss to have about you, so it’s important to do all you can to avoid them.
Take the time to think about the daily tasks you do that you excel in and then elaborate on them. You don’t have to showcase every attribute that comes to mind, but it doesn’t hurt to start with a large list of skills and then narrow it down to the ones you want to focus on during your evaluation.
When you choose the personal characteristics you want to focus on, just make sure you can be specific about how they help you in your work and provide examples of them in action as much as possible.
Use Metrics
Utilizing metrics to showcase your strengths at work is a great way to provide a self-evaluation. Data and metrics don’t lie, so if you find numerical proof to back up what you’re saying, use it.
Not only do metrics help showcase what you’ve done, but they can also serve as leverage to get you where you want to go. Your evaluation is a time to consider what you want next out of your job. When you’ve chosen your next goal, find metrics that highlight why you’re the one to complete said task.
Goals should always be a part of your work experience, no matter how long you’ve been in your position. It’s common to set goals when you start a new job or get promoted to a new position. However, many people fail to keep setting goals once they reach their initial one. Use the metrics connected to your company and position to come up with goals and express them through your self-evaluation.
Give Weaknesses a Positive Spin
An essential way to make sure you avoid coming across as too boastful in your self-evaluation is by making sure to touch on your areas of opportunity. However, there is a right way to do this, so you don’t come across as lacking confidence in your ability to do your job well.
Be transparent about the areas of your job performance that need to be improved but express them in a way that makes the areas seem like growth opportunities.
When you mention an area that you haven’t performed as well as you would like, provide an actionable plan for improving on that area of your job in the coming period.
Keep Track of Everything You Do
When self-evaluation time comes, it can be easy to only focus on what you’ve accomplished over the most recent weeks or months. However, you have likely had many impressive accomplishments since your last performance evaluation.
In order to make sure your impressive efforts don’t get forgotten due to when they occurred, consider keeping a journal or note on your computer where you make notes of accomplishments you are proud of.
Then, when it’s time for you to put together your self-evaluation, you can reference the notes you’ve been taking all year. This will help you present a well-rounded self-evaluation that spans the entire year.
Self-Evaluation Examples You Can Use
While your self-evaluation requirements will differ based on your company and even your position, there are certain areas that you are likely to be asked to evaluate.
We have provided you with some starting language that you can use in order to create an impressive self-evaluation in the most common areas you will be reviewed on.
Remember to personalize what you say. If you only use our self-evaluation examples and don’t include personal examples, metrics, or specifics, your report will come off as not genuine, which can be a deterrent to your manager during your performance review.
Not everyone excels in the same areas, so we have provided you with examples of how to express your strengths or your shortcomings in the popular areas to be evaluated on.
Communication
Strengths
- Having strong communication skills allows me to evaluate and determine the most successful way to speak to everyone I come in contact with at work, including colleagues, clients, and management.
- Since I don’t always perform the best communicating in person, I focus on having clear lines of communication through work email and chat, which has helped me to become more confident in my ability to ask for help when needed.
Areas of improvement
- I can struggle to communicate well when I am overwhelmed by my surroundings or personal workload, which can lead to a breakdown in communication. However, I perform much better when I take a moment to gather my thoughts. Moving forward, I’ll be taking time to make some notes on what I would like to say before speaking, allowing me to improve on my communication.
Teamwork
Strengths
- I make it a priority to help my new team members feel included in the workplace by sharing my personal experience when I first started here. This allows new employees to develop a personal connection, allowing them to feel more secure and like they’re part of the team.
- I work well in a team setting because I do my best work when I’m able to bounce my ideas off of others. Taking part in a group project allows me to perform my best and builds my overall confidence in my position.
Areas of Improvement
- I don’t always perform my best in group settings because I have trouble delegating tasks. Instead, I often take on too many responsibilities myself, causing me to be overloaded and leaving my group members out.In the future, I would like to step back a bit more and allow others to have a say in group projects. In doing so, I will help harbor an environment of teamwork and unity, allowing all group members to feel like they are assisting.
Takeaway
Self-evaluations can be intimidating when you first consider them. However, having self-evaluation examples to go off of can help you to know how to express your strengths in your workplace as well as your areas of improvement.
Plus, having examples of both allow you to avoid coming across as either too boastful or not confident enough. Both of which are not ideal for a self-evaluation.
Remember to be specific in your evaluations, including examples of work you have done recently and any metrics that showcase the strengths you have or the need for the next step you have in mind.
Keeping these tips in mind will allow you to create a self-evaluation that will have you prepared for your performance review! The eLeaP continuous performance management system provides organizations with powerful options to attract and retain high caliber team members.