How to Write a Self-Evaluation: Tips, Dos and Don'ts

A self-evaluation, as the term suggests, refers to an assessment of one’s own skills, activities and progress. In a workplace scenario, a self-evaluation report is written to let your higher officials learn about your professional activities and growth. As human beings, we all need appraisals and appreciation for the work we are doing. But before you can expect someone else to praise you for your work, you must know what you do and how good you are at it. Almost all organisations ask you to send in your self-evaluation. Also, you must not only reflect on the previous year and demonstrate your value to your employer, but you must also do so with humility and a desire to learn more. In this article, you will be introduced to the factors that have to be included inyour self-evaluation.

Table of Contents

• Writing a Good Self-Evaluation
  • Know the Use of the Self-Evaluation
  • Listing Out Your Accomplishments
  • Adding Analytics
  • Mention Your Struggles
• The Final Self-Evaluation
• Dos and Don’ts of Self-Evaluation
• Frequently Asked Questions on Self-Evaluation

Writing a Good Self-Evaluation

You must know that at some point, you will be asked to write a self-evaluation, so the best way is prep work. Therefore, it is good to keep notes of everything you do. Keep notes of all your work and all your struggles so that you do not have to worry about anything during the time of evaluation. Throughout the year, you can maintain a record of all that you learn and work on; that will help you to brief your self-evaluation.

There are various ways to put together a good self-evaluation. Given below are some of them.

Know the Use of the Self-Evaluation

Before writing a self-evaluation, it is essential to know its use — whether it is a performance review or whether it will be used for your appraisal or bonus, etc. You must know how in-depth the evaluation must be. All these factors will be really helpful in writing the best self-evaluation.

Listing Out Your Accomplishments

It is time to think about all your achievements over the past year. Think and list down all the work you have done. While reviewing it, you can filter them and include the most relevant ones. You can list down the essentials — the things you are most proud of and those that have brought value to the company.

Adding Analytics

After you have collected enough information, you can also include the analytics such as the customer reviews or increased number of customers or increased percentage, etc. We all know the value of data. At the end of the day, data will be evaluated. Therefore, all the extra time you have put in to analyse the data will pay off.

Mention your Struggles

Your self-evaluation should not only talk too much about your achievements. You need to also include the challenges or the struggles you had to go through to achieve your goals. Make sure to present it in a positive tone.

The Final Self-Evaluation

After you have prepared the rough self-evaluation, merge all the points and create the final one. Keep in mind to highlight the important ones and use appropriate language. Read on and follow the steps mentioned below to write a good self-evaluation.

Narrow Down the Accomplishments

After you have mentioned all the accomplishments of the past year, review all the points and mention only the important ones. It is a good way to add all those achievements for which you have supporting data. Show off your best work and mention the ones you are most proud of.

Align Your Review with the Team’s Goals

While reviewing your achievements, do not forget to align those with the team’s achievements or goals. Mention how you have been of great help to your team’s achievement of the goals.

Stay Positive While Describing Your Challenges

In your professional life, it is obvious that you will have to go through a lot of struggles. Something that can make you a little different is if you stay positive and overcome all the challenges. It is essential that you find all the obstacles and find the solution to those. While writing about the challenges, keep in mind that your aim is not to showcase your struggles but to show your willingness to grow.

Focus on Yourself

Keep in mind that the review is about yourself. So, even if your team cannot achieve the goals, you can still focus on yourself and mention your achievements. Your self-evaluation is not the place to play a blame game. If you have any issues with your coworker that have affected your work, then it is your responsibility to bring this matter to your manager long before the review.

In addition to this, ask about various growth opportunities A self-evaluation is a good start to finding space for your professional development opportunities. In today’s world, to get what you want, you need to ask for it. This will help you build a strong career.

Dos and Don’ts of Self-Evaluation

• Keep in mind to incorporate all the feedback you have received so far. You can add testimonials and quotes that you have received from others.
• Do not keep your accomplishments in bullet points. Rather, explain it briefly in a way that covers all that you have to say about that particular accomplishment. However, make sure you do not boast.
• Prioritising the highlights will be really helpful. Do not mention all the achievements. Rather, only mention the major achievements.
• After writing the final review, it is essential to proofread and edit the review. Having even minor errors will create a negative impression on your career.
• Always take opinions from your friends, family, and colleagues because they know you better. This will help you write a good self-evaluation.