ask for feedback

Out of all the suggestions for working smart, this one is probably my favourite and most closely tied to my personal work style.

If you’re just stopping in now, I’ve been looking at 4 work smart rules I found at the JustJobs Academy!

1. Don’t suck at your job.
2. Don’t suck at email.
3. Take notes.
4. Ask for feedback

I’ve always been more of an introvert by nature, so those weeks leading up to our yearly performance evaluations were TORTURE as I imagined all of the things they might say.  Once the meetings were over I was always walking on a cloud because feedback (good and suggestions for improvement) not only made me feel better about the job I was doing, but also gave me structure for how I could continue my job the next year.

One problem was that my boss wasn’t really one to tell you if you were doing a really good (or bad) job and we were given a lot of free reign with our programs so feedback was hard to come by.  Knowing my own work style, it would have been important to go in early on and ask for more standards that I could compare myself to, and therefore create more room for feedback. 

I don’t think asking for feedback just improves your current job; it also seems to show your employer that you’re serious about meeting the standards they set and will probably suggest to them that you could handle more.

How important is feedback to you?

 

This week I’ve been looking at some work smart rules in an effort to better prepare myself for going back to work part time this fall.  I hope you’ve enjoyed them!