6 Steps to Thriving at Work: Step 1

Self-Evaluation: A Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these suggestions to perform your own evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses.

What do you do? Write a one to two page summary of your main skills, responsibilities, tasks, and the approximate percentage of your time on the job that you dedicate to each.

How to measure success? You can’t know how well you’re doing without first articulating exactly what it is you’re supposed to be doing. Get a copy of the following: Written job descriptions for your current position and the positions above and below yours

Your company’s official employee evaluation form

Compare the list you created to what your employer “officially” expects from you. Are you performing at job level, above or below it? What responsibilities should you have but don’t? What’s preventing you from taking on more responsibility? Lack of skills, opportunities, time? What responsibilities lay beyond your current position?

Now peruse the official evaluation form. On what criteria will you be evaluated? What’s the ranking scale? Where do you rank in each area? Where would you like to be? Scrutinize the past months and recall concrete examples of good and poor performance. Write them down.

Using your self-rankings, determine what resources you need to get where you want to be. More training? More time? Or just the opportunity to show you can do it? Skills can be gained by going back to school, through on-the-job experience, by reading, or from official or unofficial training. If you’re having trouble with time management or interpersonal relationships, devise a plan to address these areas. Whatever your areas of concern, the first step to addressing them is identifying them. Then devise a plan to address them.