Position Yourself for Success with a Strong Year-End Review

As the year comes to a close, it's the perfect time to reflect on your accomplishments and prepare for your year-end review. This annual activity is more than just a formality; it's an opportunity to showcase your strengths, set new targets, and map out your path for personal and professional growth.

Here are three things to prepare (and practice discussing) before your review. Use this as a checklist!

1. Accomplishments and Achievements

• How did you drive impact this year? Highlight major accomplishments and successes. Be specific about projects you completed, goals you achieved, and how your contributions benefited the team or organization. Pro tip: Include statistics and numbers.
• Showcase the activities you like to do best and where your skill set shines. What aspect of your day is most exciting and interesting to you? Be sure to share it.
• Discuss the goals and objectives you set at the beginning of the year. Explain your progress, whether you met, exceeded, or fell short of these goals, and the reasons behind the outcomes.

2. Areas for Growth and Improvement

• Be open about areas where you may have faced challenges or could have performed better. Discuss any obstacles you encountered and how you plan to address them in the future.
• Frame this part of your conversation through the lens of opportunity rather than obstacle.

3. Career Development

• Do you know what's next on your career path? Or what's possible?
• Share your aspirations and goals for career advancement. Discuss how you envision your role evolving or advancing and any specific skills or experiences you'd like to gain to add value.
• Identify training, courses, or resources that would help you perform better in your role or prepare you for future responsibilities. Ask what it would take to get approval.

Now that you've considered what to include in a high-value review, it's important to prepare thoroughly. Write down key points. Practice what you'll say out loud. Take notes with you.

Close out 2024 on a strong note and position yourself for success in 2025.