Examples of self-assessments in employee appraisals

Requiring employees to complete a so-called self-assessment is a normal part of the performance appraisal process. This involves employees analyzing their performance and contribution to the company within a certain period of time and recording it in writing.

To ensure that we receive accurate, complete, and honest self-evaluations, we recommend viewing relevant examples of employee self-evaluations or using pre-made templates. Similarly, the HR team can also provide a script or questionnaire to make it easier for employees to answer the professional self-assessment.

Let’s look at some examples of self-assessments in employee reviews to clear doubts.

Professional self-assessment example

Harvey Mudd College proposes a questionnaire to which users can customize their self-assessment and select questions they wish to answer. For ease of understanding, the questionnaire is divided into categories. For example, the following questions are suggested on the job description, performance vs. achievements, and goal settings:

Job description

• How would you describe your main responsibilities?
• Have these responsibilities changed over time?
• Do you take on any other responsibilities, and if so, what are they?
• Is there anything about your job that you would like to change, and if so, how?
• What could your supervisor do to help you be more successful in your work?
• How do you think your department could improve?

Performance vs. successes

• What actions have you taken to fulfill your responsibilities?
• Do you feel you have been successful during this time?
• What could you have done better?
• How do you feel you contributed to our department during this time?
• What are your main strengths?
• In which areas is there still potential for improvement?

Objectives

• Which goals have you achieved during this time?
• Which ones did you not achieve and why?
• What goals do you propose for the next period?
• Do you need help or additional resources to achieve these goals?

Professional development

• What further training have you taken part in?
• Are there any areas in which you would like to further your education?
• Do you need additional resources or training for your work?
• What could your supervisors do to help you achieve your professional goals?

Self-assessment sample answers

Proper preparation of professional self-assessment answers is as important as an appropriate script, as they will be part of the final performance evaluation for employees. Some suggestions for possible answers:

Cooperation and teamwork

Positive example:
“I believe that my skills and competencies and ability to work in a team were of great benefit during this time. I took an active role in my department, working independently and expressing my ideas and opinions.”

Negative example:
“I realize that I can be too controlling in a project, and I don’t give other team members enough space to contribute or develop their ideas. I need to learn to give others more space and let them take the initiative, too.”

Motivation

Positive example:
“I have always shown commitment and motivation since joining the company. I meet set deadlines and goals on time.”

Negative example:
“Being a perfectionist, I think I sometimes spend too much time on a task. I need to learn to use resources more efficiently.”

Leadership

Positive example:
“I think I lead by example. My actions define my work. Therefore, I deal with challenges and problem-solving.”

Negative example:
“Perhaps I should work harder to promote company culture and values within my team. Although I hold regular meetings with this in mind, I should focus on fostering team spirit and collaboration.”

Problem-solving

Positive example:
“I have demonstrated my problem-solving skills many times during my time with the company. I manage to resolve difficult situations efficiently, always with consideration for the rest of the team.”

Negative example:
“I sometimes feel overwhelmed when I have to make an important decision, so I ask others for advice. I need to work on my competence to solve complex problems.”

Decision making

Positive example:
“When faced with a difficult decision, I rationally weigh the positives, negatives, and possible outcomes. I research and seek expert advice to make an informed decision.”

Negative example:
“When it comes to making decisions, I tend to fall back on past experiences instead of looking for new solutions. I should spend more time thinking and avoiding the same mistakes.

Need more ideas? We’ve made an employee performance evaluation form template here on heyform.net. Use it for free to create your evaluation forms easily. And if you want to build something afresh, use our free online form builder.