Conduct your own review

How do you bring yourself to the attention of your superiors without taking on the “look at me” personality at work each day? That person isn’t you - in fact you find her really annoying. Yet, time and again, they seem to get the perks and are the favorite of many around the office. Meanwhile you are working your tail off, and probably doing more than Ms. “Look At ME!”If you want to advance your career you need to be noticed. “But, if I am a loyal hardworking person peple will notice. I’ll get my just rewards” you say? OK…you may be right. I like to think you are - but are you wiling to wait as long as it takes for people to put two and two together?

Is there a better way? Absolutely! If you don’t work in one of those tightly run corporate entities - perhaps even if you do, but I have never been there before - take control of your own personnel review. Once a year I polish off my resume and present it to my boss. In my case he’s on top of things and it is really just a gentle reminder of how I have helped him in the past year. In other cases people who do this are actually bringing to the attention of a busy executive what they’ve been up to.

Now, don’t just take a plain old resume template from MS-Word and throw it together like you’re looking for a job. Like any job search you need to tailor your resume. What is your goal? Are you ready for a move up the ladder? Do you have a target position? Structure your resume as if you are ready for the role that you want. For a supervisory role, make it clear what projects you have had similar responsibility in and how you have succeeded. If you are happy in your current role and are looking simply for recognition then make it clear what you have accomplished for your firm. What sales have been generated by you directly or the team you lead? What new things are happening that would not be there without you. Are you looking for a raise or a bonus? Make it clear how much money you have brought in, or how much money your work has saved the firm. Want him to see you as key to his own success? Well, how much time have you saved him? What situation might you have handled that would normally go to him?

Whatever you do, remember this might be a rare occasion where you have his undivided attention - whether it is face to face or just by him looking over the resume you left. Swing for the fences! Make it top notch and professional. Keep it simple and short! At the very lest include a one page “executive summary” because there is little chance he will read any more.