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I am in the midst of completing my first ever 'annual performance self-evaluation' here at the U. This one's almost as bad as the two I filled previously in the Small-Pharma-Pit-of-Hell (more on that later, if anyone's interested). No offense to those of you out there in HR, but touchy-feely self-evaluation forms don't cut it for me.
A) I am a mature, self-aware and responsible adult. I can write negative commentary about my own job performance without having to couch it in terms of how I 'thought' I did. I can also accept the same from my boss. See B, below.
B) I am a professional scientist. I deal in absolute, yes-no, and tangible things: experimental data. The hard texture of reality does not frighten me. It may occasionally upset me, especially if something could have been done earlier. See D, below.
C) My personal life is maintained as separate and distinct from my professional life, as best I can manage it. My boss is highly unlikely to be interested in how my learning something for fun (i.e. a new language, or gaining a new hobby) is relevant to my professional behavior. My personal goals are not going on the form.
D) I much rather prefer an active co-evaluation process between me and my boss. If there is a problem Now, I want to know about it Now. If I can make an improvement Tomorrow, tell me about it Today. Once a year? I refuse to let anything go that long without rectification, and I presume my boss feels the same.
Of course, the wryly amusing thing about this job, this whole process, is that in my 10-year work history (mixed corporate/academic/student), I pretty much don't give a damn about it. Oh, certainly I ride the usual emotional rollercoaster of daily successes and mistakes. But, at the end of the day, I don't take this job home, I don't think the specific material over, I have no involvement in this employment outside of the hours of 8-4, weekdays. Don't love it, don't hate it, it's just there. Which is really unlike my previous behavior in the field.
The punch-line to this last paragraph? For as much as the job doesn't really 'do it' for me, I am more effective and competent at doing this job, than I have likely ever been for any other time before this. It seems that I have hit 'the groove'. An odd contrast.
A) I am a mature, self-aware and responsible adult. I can write negative commentary about my own job performance without having to couch it in terms of how I 'thought' I did. I can also accept the same from my boss. See B, below.
B) I am a professional scientist. I deal in absolute, yes-no, and tangible things: experimental data. The hard texture of reality does not frighten me. It may occasionally upset me, especially if something could have been done earlier. See D, below.
C) My personal life is maintained as separate and distinct from my professional life, as best I can manage it. My boss is highly unlikely to be interested in how my learning something for fun (i.e. a new language, or gaining a new hobby) is relevant to my professional behavior. My personal goals are not going on the form.
D) I much rather prefer an active co-evaluation process between me and my boss. If there is a problem Now, I want to know about it Now. If I can make an improvement Tomorrow, tell me about it Today. Once a year? I refuse to let anything go that long without rectification, and I presume my boss feels the same.
Of course, the wryly amusing thing about this job, this whole process, is that in my 10-year work history (mixed corporate/academic/student), I pretty much don't give a damn about it. Oh, certainly I ride the usual emotional rollercoaster of daily successes and mistakes. But, at the end of the day, I don't take this job home, I don't think the specific material over, I have no involvement in this employment outside of the hours of 8-4, weekdays. Don't love it, don't hate it, it's just there. Which is really unlike my previous behavior in the field.
The punch-line to this last paragraph? For as much as the job doesn't really 'do it' for me, I am more effective and competent at doing this job, than I have likely ever been for any other time before this. It seems that I have hit 'the groove'. An odd contrast.
