How to prepare for a performance review as an employee, and what to say in it
In short
Collect your year as things that happened, write a short self-assessment, answer criticism by asking for a concrete example before you defend yourself, and bring one or two requests of your own.
A year-end review often feels like an exam: your manager has a form, a rating and an opinion, and you are there to hear them. It works better as a conversation with two agendas: your manager's, about how your work is seen, and yours, about what you need for the year ahead.
Most of the preparation is memory. By December, the project you finished in March has faded, for you and for your manager. Whoever brings the facts shapes the review.
How to prepare for a performance review as an employee
- Go through your calendar, sent emails and project tools for the year, and note what you delivered, with dates and numbers.
- Note what went less well, and what you changed. Naming it yourself is easier than hearing it first.
- Reread last year's goals, if there were any: done, partly done, or not done and why.
- Write down what you want from the review: feedback on something specific, a development step, a change in workload, a salary conversation.
- Prepare two or three questions for your manager (examples below).
Self-assessment examples
A self-assessment is stronger when it reads like a report, not a mood. Compare "I worked really hard this year and went the extra mile" with "I delivered the client portal in June, two weeks before the deadline, and onboarded three new colleagues in the autumn." The second can be checked, and it does not ask your manager to agree with an adjective.
For weaker areas: "My reports in the first quarter were late twice. Since April I block Thursday mornings for them, and the last six were on time."
How to respond to negative feedback in a performance review
Criticism in a review usually comes as a summary: "Your communication could be better." Before you agree or disagree, ask for an example: "Can you tell me about a situation where you noticed that?" Then say back in your own words what you heard, so you both mean the same thing. Then ask what good would look like: "What would you need to see by the next review?"
Those three steps take the heat out of the moment and turn a judgement into something you can work on. You can still disagree afterwards, with the example in hand. If this is the part you dread, rehearse it with a counterpart who gives you a vague criticism.
How to disagree with a performance review
If you think a rating is wrong, say so calmly and with facts, and say what you would like to happen: a change to the wording, your comment added to the record, or a follow-up meeting. Many review systems allow a written response. Write it a day later, keep it short and stick to observations: dates, results, what was agreed.
If you want to talk about pay, put it on the agenda; the page on how to ask for a raise shows how to prepare the figures.
Why it often goes wrong
"This review is unfair, you never notice what I do."
"Unfair" is a verdict, and "never" is a pattern your manager can disprove with a single example. They will defend the review instead of looking at the part you think is missing.
It also hides what you actually want, which is probably that a particular piece of work is seen and counted. Name that piece of work and ask for it to be included; that is something your manager can do today.
How to open
Each opening has four parts: what happened, how it leaves you, what matters to you, what you are asking for. Take the one that suits you and put in your own details.
Asking for the example
- Observation
- In the review form you wrote that my communication with the client team could be better.
- Feeling
- I'm unsettled by that, because I don't yet know what it refers to.
- Need
- I need to understand the feedback so that I can work on it.
- Request
- Could you tell me one or two situations where you noticed it, and what you would like to see from me by the next review?
Adding what is missing
- Observation
- The review covers the second half of the year; the client portal I delivered in June and the onboarding of three new colleagues are not in it.
- Feeling
- I'm disappointed about that.
- Need
- It matters to me that the whole year is part of the assessment.
- Request
- Could we include both in the review before it goes to HR on Friday?
Firm
- Observation
- My rating for delivery is "below expectations". Of my eight projects this year, seven were finished on or before the agreed date.
- Feeling
- I feel frustrated, and a little worried about what the rating will mean for next year.
- Need
- I need the rating to match the results it is based on.
- Request
- I'd like us to review the rating together this week. If we still see it differently, please include my written comment in the record; I'll send it to you by Wednesday.
Before you bring it up
- Send your manager your self-assessment, or a short list of the year, a few days before the meeting. Then it is in their head when they fill in the form.
- Put your own topics on the agenda at the start: "I'd like to keep ten minutes at the end for development and workload."
- Afterwards, send a short summary of what was agreed: goals, support, dates.
When they answer
- They say You need to take more ownership.
- You I'd like to get that right. Can you give me an example of a situation where you would have wanted me to take more ownership?
- They say Nearly everyone gets "meets expectations" this year, it's the system.
- You Thanks for telling me. What would I need to show next year for a higher rating, and can we write that down as a goal?
- They say The rating is final.
- You Understood, the rating stays. Then I'd like my comment added to the record; I'll send it by Wednesday.
Questions to ask in a performance review
- What would you most like me to keep doing next year?
- What is the one thing that would make the biggest difference to my work, in your view?
- What does "exceeds expectations" look like in my role, concretely?
- Which goals for next year matter most to you, and how will we measure them?
- What support can I get: training, a mentor, time for a project?
What to say in a performance review about your own requests
The review is not only your manager's turn. If your workload has grown, bring the list of tasks and ask for a decision on priorities; see telling your boss you're overwhelmed. If you want a development step, name it: a course, a project, a role. If you want more money, say that you would like to discuss your salary, and ask for a date if it does not fit into this meeting. One or two requests are enough; ten get none of them decided.
Try it on your own sentence
Write the first sentence you would say. The simulator’s rules read along and show which words put the other person on the defensive.
No sentence yet. The flagged words and the question to ask yourself appear here.
Three steps, your sentence comes along. No account, nothing stored.
Frequently asked questions
How do I prepare for a performance review as an employee?
Collect what you delivered this year with dates and numbers, note what went less well and what you changed, check last year's goals, and decide what you want from the conversation. Send a short self-assessment a few days before.
What should I say in a performance review?
Summarise your main results, name one area to improve and what you are doing about it, ask your questions, and bring one or two requests for the year ahead.
How do I respond to negative feedback in a performance review?
Ask for a specific example, repeat in your own words what you understood, and ask what good would look like by the next review. You can disagree afterwards, calmly and with facts.
How do I disagree with my performance review?
Say in the meeting that you see it differently and why, with results and dates. Then write a short, factual response and ask for it to be added to the record, or ask for a follow-up meeting.
What questions should I ask in a performance review?
Ask what you should keep doing, what would make the biggest difference, what a higher rating looks like in your role, how next year's goals will be measured, and what support you can get.
The four steps of observation, feeling, need and request are based on the work of Dr. Marshall Rosenberg and the Center for Nonviolent Communication (cnvc.org). This site is not run by a CNVC-certified trainer.