|
My first performance review was at my third job. I was promoted to lead dev in my first six months at my first job and by the time my review came up we had been acquired. In my second job I was made redundant a few days before my review. My first review was a total waste of time, but I only learned this after my second review. In my first review I was given an "average" rating, because my technical knowledge was high, but some of my projects were late. Most of this was out of my control, and was down to the fact that I refused to work in my free time to make up for shoddy project management. I was also told that I could apply for a mid-level promotion, despite already being mid-level. I played ball regardless, and got my "promotion" and pay rise. My second review was "outstanding", and I learned that my job title, at least internally, was now senior-level. While I was a better developer after 12 months, the only thing that had changed was that the manager that did my last review had left and my new manager liked me. The only constant was the managing director, and when I questioned what made the company decide I had gone from junior to senior within the space of a year they couldn't give an answer. Despite being given a nicer job title, more responsibility, and more money, I was annoyed at how stupid the process was. A day earlier, one of our best developers was given a poor review. The manager didn't like him because his project was grossly behind schedule. This was no fault of his own, and he was being punished because he took on a very hard project and was ignored when he requested that we start from scratch due to the issues with the initial build. His review wasn't a reflection of his skill, because skill-wise he was way above everyone else there. His review was down to how liked he was, and whether he played "the game". I've been a developer for a decade now, and I can't name a single review that was worth my time, because ultimately the outcome has always been obvious. I always try to be positive and to show empathy where possible, and for around 6+ years that approach has always given me solid reviews. The technical side has always been largely irrelevant, even when working with languages/tools that are new to me. |