What to Say on an Employee Self-Evaluation
If your employer asks you to write a self-evaluation, it's not necessarily because he is lazy or indifferent. In some instances it could be that he lacks a clear idea of all the tasks you actually perform or what type of training you need to perform those tasks better. Employee self-evaluations are also an opportunity for management to gauge your enthusiasm, confidence and ambition in a context that may not present itself in regular workday interactions.
If your job description has not been updated from the time you were first hired, there may be a chance that it fails to reflect new duties you have assumed or old tasks that have been eliminated as a result of technology, streamlining or irrelevance. Since employee evaluations are used to assess your readiness for promotions, it's critical that you provide a thorough overview of your current responsibilities, projects and active interface with clients, vendors and company personnel. Through examples, demonstrate how you have taken the initiative to redefine and enhance your role for the company good.
Use your employee self-evaluation as an opportunity to toot your own horn and claim ownership of your ideas and innovations that have saved the company time and money, resolved significant problems, improved working conditions and increased the company's visibility in a positive way. Use active verbs, incorporate statistics and reference any awards, commendations or accolades you have earned in the performance of your job.
References to training classes in self-evaluations serve two purposes. The first is to let your supervisor know that you are not as comfortable with your job duties as you feel you could be. Perhaps you received insufficient training when you were hired or were not given the appropriate resources to teach yourself. Identifying the classes you feel would help you is a demonstration of your sincerity to give your employer your very best efforts. Second, your employer may not know what your career objectives are unless you communicate that readiness for new challenges and experiences. Identify classes and workshops that will build on your existing skills and knowledge and prepare you for promotional or lateral opportunities within the company.
Self-evaluation also provides a chance to express ideas about what you hope to accomplish between now and the next performance review. You may, for instance, want to increase your personal sales quotas, reduce your staff's absenteeism or transition to a paperless office. Articulate reasonable goals, methodologies and time frames. Where applicable, request management's assistance in helping you achieve these objectives.