Database Underground | Sean McCown » Ace Your Review

November 06, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Ace Your Review

TAGS: General Database

This is another topic that's near to my heart as it effects our bank accounts. I'm talking about your yearly performance review. So many companies will make you fill out a self-eval and then your boss will add his comments. This gives you a chance to tell him what you've done in your own words. Others will simply fill out what they thought of your performance and discuss it with you afterwards.

In either scenario, your bonus typically hangs in the balance, so it's important to know how to maximize your chances for a glowing review.

One of the biggest problems I always has was remembering anything significant I'd done. A year is a long time to remember every single thing you've done, and if you can't remember it then what makes you think your boss will? He's got 20 of you to keep track of. So what I do is I just keep a running list of projects I've worked on so I can just go back over it for the review. If I'm filling out my own eval then I fill it out directly from my list. If my boss is filling it out, then I bring my list with me to the meeting. That way if he gives me a low grade on something, I can say, but you're not remembering these things I did earlier in the year.

Customer service is quite often a big part of a DBA's job. And it's a good part of almost every eval I've had, so I also always save emails I get from anyone complimenting me on my fast service, or my willingness to go above and beyond. Just keep a folder in your email marked review or something, and whenever you get one of those emails, esp from your boss, just drop it into that folder. Now when it's time for him to tell you that he doesn't remember you doing anything exceptional for the customers, you can show him those, esp the ones that came from him, and you can remind him that the work you've been doing has been getting noticed by everyone.

Stand up for yourself. If you think something's wrong, then say it. don't just take what he tells you because he may not be remembering it correctly. For instance... at my last gig I was in the middle of my review and my boss counted off on me because I never finished a project that I promised I would finish. He had it marked down that I hadn't finished it, and used it as a way to say I needed to improve on my follow-up. I reminded him that while the project was on my plate, the entire thing was cancelled by the business unit, so it would be foolish of me to continue with it since funding had been pulled, and the server was reallocated. What did he want me to do? I can't possibly finish it, so there's no way he can count it against me. He hadn't remembered that part of it, only that it hadn't gotten done.

When asked what you think of your skills, speak highly of yourself. If you don't blow your own horn then nobody else is going to. If ever there were a time to shout how good you are, now is it. Look at it this way... if you don't give yourself excellent marks, then why should he?

If you have been given goals, then definitely track when and how you achieved them. This is important. Anything can happen in a year, and the proof that you've completed your goals could be gone with the wind.

So, to sum up:

1. Keep a list of projects you've rocked and what you specifically did that nobody else on the team could.
2. Save email compliments from customers, co-workers, and bosses.
3. Praise yourself in the review itself. I'm always 5-stars.
4. Don't be afraid to debate points you think are unfair or incorrect.
5. Record when you've met official goals.

The bottom line is that bosses have very short memories. They don't typically have details on what you've done and they can't remember all the projects you've been involved with anyway. So you need to remind them and make sure it makes it to the report. Often times when they give you low marks it's because they can't think of anything specific, and once confronted with the truth they'll change it.

With all of this in your pocket, there's no reason you shouldn't get the biggest raise available. If your boss has no major objections to your performance, then he's got no reason to not recommend the largest raise you can get. And after all this, if you still only get that 2%, then seriously start looking for another company. If you demonstrate that you're a valuable employee, and that you bring something to the table that nobody else does, and they still won't give you a decent raise, then you'd might as well look for someone who will. I mean, what does it take for them? It's not like you're just sitting at your desk picking your nose, or you couldn't come up with anything solid that you'd done... you had your wins fully documented. You deserve that raise.

Anyway, that's just my 2-cents, but if you never thought about it before, then maybe this'll help you get through your next review. I tend to look at reviews as an interview to keep my job. That goes both ways though. If they truly value you, then they'll prove it... then again, when's the last time a company really values their DBA?

Posted by Sean McCown on November 6, 2006 08:29 AM

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