Regardless of whether you aced your employment law training or came top of your class in chef school, as an employed individual, you will need to undergo a performance review every few months. While this can be very stressful, doing well is quite possible, granted you follow a few simple guidelines.
Often, your basic performance review will require that you write what is called a self appraisal. This is a document in which you assess your own performance throughout the working year. Executed well, the self-appraisal will show your employer that you know and understand yourself as an employee, and that you are aware of areas in which improvements might be made.
Writing a self-appraisal may sound difficult, but in fact it is relatively simple. As long as you stick to a few basic principles, you will be able to produce a useful document that casts you in an appealing light but which isn't biased or unfounded.
Balance is key to the business of writing a review of your own work. It is important that you expound on your moments of success, but you will also need to point to characteristics that you think need to be developed and also to weaknesses that have to be eradicated.
When you are writing up the review, it is also a good idea to be as specific as possible. Cite examples of your achievements, and mention particular moments in which you feel you might have done better. This gives the impression that you take your work seriously, and keep constant tabs on your successes and on the projects in which you think your work was not as strong as it could have been.