It is this time of the year, you received a notification about your appraisal, and you feel you have nothing to say. Usually, fashion companies will send theirs a week or two before your meeting with your manager, which lets you plenty of time to start gathering all the information you need for your D-Day. An appraisal shouldn’t stress you out; it is simply a way to track down your performances and see what you can do to perfect them. It also helps you to know where you want to take your current role.
When you’re always plugged in, it is difficult to leave space to self-reflection, and I love appraisals for that reason. Writing down everything you’ve accomplished and what you want to do in the future will motivate you to achieve your professional goals. Everyone experiences a lack of motivation in their career at least once, but I think appraisals are an efficient method to analyse why you’ve lost interest in your job objectively.
So without further ado, here are some tips on how to get the most out of your appraisal.
Keep a record of your performances
Whatever the department you’re working in, keeping track of your achievements is essential. Like a diary, it will help you keep track of your progress, and when the day of your appraisal will arrive, you won’t have to scratch your head to find where all the data you need is. If you are digital-savvy, use your phone’s notes or Evernote to write down every of your accomplishment along with some figures to make it more accurate. For example, say you’ve worked on some email campaigns, in your notes you could indicate:
- The title of the campaign
- The percentage of people who opened the email
- The click-through rate of your email links
- How much money the email brought in
It is only one example, but the great thing with the digital space is now you can quantify almost everything. Shares, link clicks, views, the amount of time spent on a page etc…there are so many possibilities to help you prove you’re doing a great job so don’t hesitate to ask for data each time you work on a specific project.
When I was working at Topshop, my weekly meetings helped me keep track of everything I did. Each week, I needed to report my social media numbers, the amount of money gained through them and anything significant that happened during that period. Then, I classified everything week by week – according to the trading calendar – and put them into monthly files. Excel was tremendously helpful as I created spreadsheets helping me track down which periods my market was the most active on social media and the customers buying patterns.
Doing this will save you a lot of time when filling in your appraisal. You will only need to go back to these records and pick the numbers needed.
An appraisal meeting is the right moment to tell your manager what you want from your role
Depending on where you’re at in your career, an appraisal can be the occasion to discuss with your manager about the evolution of your position, a raise or a promotion. And for these, you will need these essential records I just spoke about. In fashion companies, being promoted or getting a raise is extremely hard, so if you can prove you’ve reached your goals appraisal after appraisal, it will be an advantage to get what you want.
Bringing your previous appraisals can also help your manager realise how far you’ve come since you started. It also contributes individuating qualities you didn’t see yet and inform the new direction you’ll be taking at work. Sometimes it isn’t about a promotion but rather small changes that will take you where you want to go. Depending on the company, your manager will also have to fill your appraisal and give you the complete version. Highlight your manager’s observations and compare them with the new ones to see where you’ve progressed and where you still need to work.
Keep your appraisals for your future job
Even when leaving a company, I always keep my assessments. It is a great support to update my CVs. Everything I’ve written in my appraisals is useful according to the type of position I am applying to. If it is a more editorial role, I will use the part of my appraisal showing my accomplishments in that field; if it is more analytical then, I will use the ones related to social media and projects I did with more number-driven departments.
Former appraisals can serve to prepare an interview. As much as a CV looks good on paper, only examples illustrating your skills are impactful during an interview. You may have worked on so many projects that you forgot an important one. Appraisals will refresh your memory and help you build your storytelling plan. So keep yours preciously!
How do you feel about appraisals? How do you approach them? Tell us in the comments below.
