So you’re doing your best but no matter how hard you work you still feel you may be slipping up; it’s a normal state of mind to be in and asking for career feedback from managers can be intimidating. However it doesn’t need to be as scary as you may think since existing in between being nervous about your performance and being too intimidated to ask questions for career feedback put you in a perpetual state of anxiety which will take its toll sooner or later. Let’s review some key ways to get an idea of the health of your career without putting yourself in a position of fear.
Managing Up
One effectively way to get career feedback requires ventures into the social realm which may in itself be difficult for some. It’s a process called ‘managing up’ and it involves you becoming closer in a human way to your immediate supervisor; in other words if you can befriend you supervisor you can suss out your situation better. However it’s important to be genuine about this and not make it a means to an end or you could end up looking conniving. Check in with your supervisor, take an interest in their interests and make small talk; eventually you’ll be comfortable enough with your supervisor to ask for a quick second where you can gauge your career feedback.
The Rypple Application
If this seems like too much effort for a very important payoff, then consider introducing your supervisor to an automated system that essentially acts as a weekend career feedback form without the need to ask. One such application available online is Rypple and it acts as a tracking device for your performance as well as teams within your company. It functions similarly to a social media platform for you and your colleagues allowing you to give and receive ‘kudos’ from your colleagues and supervisors. Other functions of the program include actively being able to ask for feedback from specific members of your company and a syncing system that allows you to organise weekly one on one meetings. This makes a review of the development of your career way easier and because of the nature of the program, a little more fun.
Old-Fashioned E-mails
If either of these doesn’t appeal to you, then you’ll just have to get over being tentative about asking for career feedback and go old fashioned. A weekly e-mail detailing your progress with the purpose of updating your supervisor on your news is perhaps the most widely adopted way to receive feedback. It’s not fancy and there’s very little strategy but the results are positive, especially if you’re a genuinely hard worker; a career review is a good idea either way.
Eugene Calvini is a writer and office specialist operating in many areas, including Brisbane office space; his experience has given him insight that he enjoys offering the internet.