Ask any young employee about their desire to do a performance review and most will baulk at the opportunity. Many have little or no experience with them. But if they better understood the consequences of not being prepared, today’s young professionals would change their attitude and course of action.

For most, not being prepared can result in an “average” which is costing them compensation, benefits, additional responsibility and growth within a company.  In I Am Not Average: How to succeed in your Performance Review, author and veteran business consultant Brian Poggi directly outlines a course of action for young professionals to capitalize on one of their best opportunities to shine and get on the right course for a long successful career.
 
“Young professionals who do not prepare are sleepwalking through an important event,” according to Poggi. “Bottom line: they aren’t taking charge and showing their value to their supervisors and their companies in the review process. If they are top performers, they’re leaving money and their career progress on the table- and those “average” reviews become a permanent record in their files.”
 
The effects in the long term can be measurable in terms of lost compensation. For example take two equally top-performing employees making $50,000 a year. Employee A does not prepare and gets a 2% raise every year for five years. Employee B prepares and demonstrates his value to the company and gets a 4% raise every year for five years. As a result employee A will lose 10% in pay and other benefits versus employee B in the first five years. Over time it gets worse. Over 35 years Employee A has lost more than $70,000 in compensation. 
 
What can young professionals do to prepare? Poggi suggests that the best place to start is by creating an self-appraisal. Begin by asking and answering the following questions:
 
1. What value do I bring to the company?
Identify specific, quantifiable, fact-based results of what you bring to your company and tie to your objectives. If you take the time to review you will find you do much more than you think. Clearly communicating your value is essential.
 
2.  What more can I do?
List areas where you can contribute more to the company beyond your current responsibilities. No one knows your job better than you and use this knowledge to identify better ways to drive results.  Ask to lead initiatives and projects.

3.  What am I looking for?
How do you see yourself growing with the company? What should you next position be?  Don’t be afraid to ask.  Outline your strategy and timetable.  Bosses are not mind readers so help them better understand what is most important to you.
 
These steps may sound simple- and in fact they are. The key to a good performance review lies in the ability of young professionals to look ahead and create a case for themselves with clearly outlined results and steps moving forward. 

Brian Poggi has spent many years as a senior level executive, having worked for an array of companies from some of America’s largest Fortune 500 companies, to some of the most innovative. To learn more visit http://www.PerformanceReviewPrep.com.