How to Write a Performance Self-Review: Examples, Tips, & Benefits

If you tuned in to our webinar on performance vs. recognition, you know recognition data can make performance reviews more productive and fair. Recognition data surfaces small wins and helps managers see employees' strengths.

However, this data also helps when we assess ourselves. That’s just one of the topics we’ll cover as we dive into completing a performance self-review, with examples, tips for getting started, and what to avoid.

What is a performance self-review?

A performance self-review is where an employee evaluates their own performance over a set period. They’ll be invited to share insights into their strengths, challenges, processes, and goals at work. 

Formatting and frequency will vary by organization. Some use a scale with numerical ratings, some ask a specific set of questions, and others include both. They’re typically distributed annually, semi-annually, or quarterly.

What are the benefits of a performance self-review?

Performance self-reviews stand out among manager-led reviews and surveys as a highly insightful feedback tool that helps everyone improve skills and awareness. 

• Professional growth. When employees have time to examine their progress and identify areas for improvement, they can see the steps needed to grow.
• Enhanced communication. Employees can share an inside look at their work experience, the challenges processes may pose, and the strengths companies may not be leveraging to their full potential.
• Engagement and motivation. These retrospectives can compel team members to push their skills to the next level. They also make employees feel valued, which is critical to engagement and employee retention. 
• Fairness and equity. Company-led performance reviews can feel biased, unbalanced, or based on incomplete information. Self-review gives employees a chance to clarify issues or highlight accomplishments they feel went underrecognized. 

Where to begin: Points of reflection for your self-review

Many people preparing to self-review have a few things they’d like to get across right away. These top-of-mind takeaways essentially become the crux of the document, with other requirements floating around it. 

This is wrong. Before you fire up ChatGPT to rephrase your grievances “in a nicer, more corporate tone,” or crack a thesaurus for the perfect word to fluff up your accomplishments, you must enter a period of objectivity. The review benefits the employee as much as anyone else.

1. Do some freewriting (and speaking).

Instead of focusing on forming words, summon feelings. How you privately assess and describe your performance on a page can be very revealing. Include aspects of your experience you don’t necessarily plan on including, or that need a heavy edit. You’re not sharing it, but consider this journal entry your real performance self-review.

Discuss some of the content with someone close to you. A loved one at home or a close friend can reflect back on things you’ve mentioned over the last quarter or year. 

2. Deep dive into personal KPIs.

This will be the first instance in the process where you rate yourself. Use your own goals or standards to look at how the following stack up during the review period:

• Development/skills. What skills did you gain or improve? Did you expand your network? Are you closer to any professional goals?
• Performance. What processes did you improve or streamline? How many projects did you complete? How many would you rate as successful? 
• Wellness and personal growth. Is there a link between your performance and personal well-being? What personal milestones and goals did you meet during this time?

These big-picture observations underpin the most important points of your self-review. You can also use them as supporting evidence, even if you don’t plan to mention a late project phase or the month you spent caring for an ailing family member.

3. Consider the most impactful feedback you’ve received.

During this step, we expand on what managers have shared during 1:1s or check-ins. You can also ask for current feedback, including follow-up questions concerning prior observations. Note praise and accomplishments and flesh them out with detail. This helps identify which strengths and qualities drive your performance and must be highlighted in the final version. 

Next, find sensible explanations or additional context for the constructive criticisms. We can’t completely skate past our failures, and sharing what you learned from them isn't finessing or unaccountability. 

4. Use HeyTaco data to unearth your most laudable qualities.

If your peers were reviewing you, what might they say? If you use HeyTaco, you already know. Download your taco history and see what gets you the most virtual tacos of appreciation from coworkers. 

One of our users, Steven Boutcher, did this to measure his performance and growth. Find out what his 5 Goldmines are for improving culture, advancing in any role, and just generally being a great teammate. 

If you don’t use HeyTaco or a recognition platform, reflect on interactions with and feedback from peers. It’s the most objective–and arguably most valuable–insight you can get from any third party.

Must-have components of your self-review

Ready to share your achievements? You’ll notice that’s not actually a category below. A performance self-review is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate care and comprehension by identifying the moving parts of an achievement.  

Standout qualities

Tenacity, quickness, unparalleled preparedness. You have a quality that cannot be easily replaced, so assert it with an example. 

Team role

Performance is inextricably linked to team connection. Share how you view your place on the team. Peer feedback can help credibly illustrate this. 

Results

Here’s where your strengths as an employee and a teammate solidify into cold, hard facts. 

Company values

Results prove that you help the company work toward its goals. Point out the values you share with the company that make this happen. 

Challenges

Share a learning experience or how you plan to transmute a weakness into a superpower. 

The future

Your long-term career goals count. Feel free to highlight how your role fits into this. 

Including all of the above shows you own and understand your role. It suggests why no one can fill your role quite the way you do.

🤩 Be a STAR. You can break down a big achievement using the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Having one ready for your self-review serves as a concise case study that sticks with the reader.

Performance self-review examples to help demonstrate your impact at work

Here’s how each of the above categories may read within a self-review. Remember that these are only examples. To sound authentic and believable, use your voice and be specific.

Self-performance review examples that speak to your standout qualities

“Throughout this review, you’ll see how my creative approach and commitment to continuous learning have helped cut out older, less efficient processes and overcome longstanding challenges.”

“My performance is the result of my attention to detail. The number one quality I require of all my output is accuracy.”

“I feel confident in meeting goals and performing in my role because I value strong, clear communication. Asking the right follow-up questions and checking in with others is how I stay on the correct path.”

Examples that describe your identity and place on the team

“My teammates feel comfortable coming to me for quick assistance on these matters.”

“I’ve especially enjoyed helping newer teammates acclimate to our process, taking on an informal mentorship role.”

“My teammates are passionate collaborators who know they can count on me to hear everyone out when conflict arises.”

“My time management skills are instrumental in helping the team meet deadlines.”

Performance self-review examples that describe results

“This campaign boosted web traffic by 40%, increasing online sales by nearly 30%.”

“By amending this one stage of the process, I was able to help reduce project completion time by 20% without any reductions in teamwide productivity.”

“Over the review period, my customer satisfaction rate rose by 20%, with a similar increase in five-star reviews.”

“We saw a 25% increase in team productivity during my time leading this project.”

Value-sharing examples

“The company’s commitment to innovation empowered me to share this idea and see it come to fruition.”

“I take the company’s integrity seriously, so I knew notifying stakeholders and customers right away was the correct course of action.”

“Our culture of accountability helped me address this issue and grow exponentially from it.”

Self-performance review examples for acknowledging a weakness or challenge

“I’m currently enrolled in an online course to improve my technical proficiency in this area.”

“I’ve implemented a new scheduling system and calendar to sharpen my time management skills.”

“My colleagues are currently helping me build on my public speaking skills, and I look forward to contributing more during meetings.”

“The team has taught me a lot about flexibility, and I’m adapting to change much better now.”

What to say about moving forward

“My future plans include developing my expertise in this specific area. I’m attending some industry events in the next quarter to do so.”

“I look forward to leading a project in the future and taking the team to the next level.”

“This organization is the perfect environment for seeking a mentor who can guide and support me as I develop these skills further.”

“I’ve been reviewing data and troubleshooting specific areas to increase my customer satisfaction score by another 10% in the coming quarter.”

Common problems with self-evaluation and performance review (Examples of what NOT to say)

Overthinking, resentment, and defensiveness- we all experience these at work at some point. There’s no excuse to let it seep into a self-review, because you’re both the author and the editor. Take a minute to ensure there’s none of this:

Persistent negativity

“I’m not sure what I’m doing right, but here’s what’s going wrong.”

Blame game

“No one on the team felt communication was important, so the project fell below expectations.”

Lack of self-awareness

“There isn’t much to report; everything went fine. I believe I’m doing a great job.”

Self-deprecation

“That achievement was pure luck because my skills are seriously lacking in this area.”

Lack of accountability

“Circumstances beyond my control made me miss the deadline.”

Generic statements

“I am a team player who works well under pressure.”

⚠️ Using generative AI? Proceed with caution! Some self-review mistakes, like generic language (and a suspicious lack of authenticity), happen when you use AI to draft your review. You can use it to brainstorm or generate an outline, but the bulk should come from you. Only you know the specific details that make a review effective.

Add value to every performance review with recognition data

You feel awkward talking yourself up, but ashamed of admitting mistakes. At least when you’re put on the spot. When data proves you’re a helpful teammate or getting better at time management, who are you (or anyone else) to argue? 

Features like taco history help write accurate self-reviews. What qualities our peers appreciate most, or what our managers found most worthy of recognition, helps us understand our strengths and where our value at work lies. If you haven’t already, give HeyTaco a try and see what teams learn about themselves. 

Employee performance self-review FAQ

How do you describe yourself in a performance review?

With accuracy and specificity. Use as much evidence as possible to demonstrate results. Never include challenges or mistakes without a solution attached. 

What are examples of self-assessment questions?

Common self-review questions ask you to describe your role and responsibilities. You may be asked to define your objectives, share your achievements, and describe challenges you’ve overcome.

How should you rate yourself in a performance review?

Strive to be as balanced and honest as possible. Giving yourself the highest rating across the board can convey a lack of self-awareness. Lowballing yourself can come across as too negative and defeated. 

Use the insights you collected during the objective reflection phase, as well as info from any long-form answers, to come up with your rating. Taken together, the rating should make sense. 

How do I make my performance self-review stand out?

Data-driven results and company-specific references that the reader will recognize add interest and credibility to your review. Also emphasize goal-setting, solutions, and growth over by-the-book recitations of role responsibilities.