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During your performance reviews, what
criticism do you hear the most?
"During
your performance reviews, what criticism do you hear the most?"
This question is primarily for people with work experience. If you are fresh
out of college, then you will not be asked this question. The answer to this
question should not disclose any real faults. Instead, try to think of
something that doesn't sound too bad. Here is what I hear at my reviews and
this is how I would answer this question.
Short Answers
"I
heard that I need to be proactive. I always perform at an exceptional level,
but I didn't volunteer for additional work. I wasn't accustomed to it so I'm
glad that I received this criticism. I now practice keeping an eye out for
additional projects I can take on."
"During
my review, my manager told me to voice my opinions more frequently. He always
liked my suggestions when I told him, but in group meetings, I usually let my
manager speak. Now, I feel more confident that I can suggest my ideas in
groups."
"My
manager told me that I should send more updates. He told me I did my projects
well, and that I was never late, but he would like more updates so he can
report to his manager."
Long Answer
"I
actually like to receive criticism because it gives me information on how to
improve. But the most common criticism I hear is hard to correct because I
disagree with the comment. I'm told that I should be more visible. I'm told
that I do great work and I do a lot of extra work, but in a large organization,
it's important to visibly stand out. I'm not a person who likes to be secluded
in the office. I like to go out and collaborate, I like to work with people,
and I email my co-workers with valuable information that will help with their job,
so I can't say I agree, but I always try to be more visible."
This criticism is actually a common comment used by managers if they can't give
you a good review score but have nothing bad to say about you. In large
organizations, you are measured against your peers. That means if you do well,
you might get a bad review score because everyone did better. Likewise, if you
are just mediocre and everyone else is terrible, you will get a good review
score. Because of this system, I'm regularly told to be more visible. So when I
answer this question, I make sure to back up my disagreement with examples of
being visible. |