Everyone is anxious about their performance review.

It is intimidating to have your performance put under the microscope, but try these tips.

1. See it as an opportunity to grow and learn.
2. Only a poor manager uses a review as a chance to list all your shortcomings during the past year.If yours does, ask them to speak to you at the time of the incident rather than wait a year to show you how to improve your performance
3. Plan you review carefully. This is the opportunity to have your career plan reviewed with your manager, and recorded with HR.
4. Consider your past years performance. What have you done well/badly? Why? What have you learned?
5. Consider next year’s likely workload as you see it. Do you have everything you need to complete that .What are your training and development needs?
6. At the review, accept constructive criticism . Ask for advice about how things might have been better handled.
7. Ask your manager what he expects the next year to bring for you, and consider whether that produces any further training and development needs.
8. Ask how they see your career unfolding.
9. Talk about your medium and long term goals. Ask if they think you can achieve them, and ask them to plan a strategy to help you achieve them.
10. Develop an action plan together for your next year, which can be the starting point for next years appraisal.

With this approach, the performance review becomes a positive experience and not something to be dreaded.