What a self-assessment is for
This is not a test. It is the document you fill in for yourself a week before your performance review, and it is the starting point for the conversation you will have with your manager.
Two things it does:
- Makes sure you come into the review already knowing what you want to say, instead of being put on the spot.
- Gives your manager a read on where you think you stand, so the meeting can focus on what matters to you, not on the things they already know.
How to fill it in
Set aside a quiet hour
This is worth 45 to 60 minutes in one sitting, not five interruptions across the week. Before you start, pull out your last goal set, your one-on-one notes, any positive feedback from clients or colleagues, and anything your manager has flagged recently.
Write what is true
Where something went well, say so. Where something did not land, say so. Guessing what your manager wants to hear makes the review less useful for both of you.
Use the AI assist if you are stuck
The Proud of, Stuck and Strengths sections each have an AI assist button. It pulls from the rest of your form (your role, your goals, the notes you have written) and drafts a starting paragraph. It is a starting point. Edit it so it sounds like you before you save or print.
The ten sections and why each one matters
1. About you
Just the basics. Name, role, manager, review period, today's date.
2. The period in one line
One sentence that captures how the last period actually felt. Busy but solid. Harder than expected. Great start, rocky finish. Get it out of your head in a line before you go into detail.
3. Goals from last period
Go through each goal you set with your manager. Rate yourself honestly, say what worked, say what got in the way. The rating matters less than the comments, which is where the conversation actually happens.
4. What I am proud of
Name the two or three things from this period you want your manager to notice. Impact on customers, on revenue, on the team, on the work itself. Specific beats general.
5. Where I got stuck
The honest one. What did not land the way you wanted. What has been harder than you expected. You do not have to have the answers yet. Naming it is the point.
6. Strengths I leaned on
The capabilities you have used well this period. Problem solving, client relationships, coaching, project delivery, collaborating, leading through change. Keep it short and concrete.
7. Where I want to grow
One or two development areas you want to work on next period. Tie them to the role, to the team, or to your career. This seeds the Development Plan Generator in Team Management.
8. Career horizon
Where you want to be in 12 to 24 months. Stepping into leadership. Deepening your craft. Moving sideways into a new function. Or staying exactly where you are and getting better at it. All valid.
9. Wellbeing and workload
Honest check-in on how you are going, not on what you have produced. One line is enough. If things are hard, say they are hard. If things are good, say they are good. Your manager cannot respond to something they do not know.
10. What would help from my manager
The ask. Training, coaching, cover, feedback, a project, more time to plan, a conversation about something specific. If you do not have an ask, write "keep doing what you are doing". That is valid too.
How your manager will use this
Your manager should read this before the meeting and use it to shape the conversation. They will bring their own view to the same questions: where they think you have tracked well, where they have seen you stretched, what they want to talk about.
The meeting is where the two views meet. Most of the time they overlap. Where they do not, that is the useful part of the conversation.
Common mistakes
- Writing it the night before. You will write what is easiest, not what is true. Give it a week.
- Underselling. If you exceeded a goal, say so. If a client specifically asked for you on the next project, that counts. Your manager is not reading your mind.
- Overselling. Claiming you met a goal you did not meet will come up in the review anyway. You will just have the hard conversation twice.
- Keeping the wellbeing section blank if things are hard. If you are burned out, if the workload is unsustainable, if something at home is affecting work, your manager needs to know so they can do something about it.
- Skipping the ask. The "what would help" section is where most people go blank. Even "I would like more notice on client timelines" or "I would like a coaching conversation about giving feedback" counts.