The Two-Part Strategy To Appraisals (Part 1)

Traditionally, we go into a performance review session having "followed all the rules" - fill up the online form, submit your details and wait for your 1:1.

We're conditioned to believe and expect our managers to remember the work we have done over the year, and take the lead for the conversation.

But in actual fact, that is taking all your power away and letting someone else advocate on our behalf. 

Most managers are busy, and recency bias is real; they'll likely recall what you did last month, not what you've achieved all year.

Very few know and realise that there is a more proactive approach that the top 1% adopt.

In today's post I want to peel back the layers of the key strategy to how I landed 6 promotions in under a year and how my clients have landed multiple promotions.

This is a strategy that involves preparation to advocate for yourself, and secondly, involves execution, where you take control of the narrative, to steer the conversation towards your impact, growth, and the value you’ve created, rather than waiting to be told how you’ve performed.

We will cover prep this week! 

Prep: Winning Before You Walk In

This is all about gathering all evidence across projects, results and KPIs to remind your leaders of all the great work you've done!

Here are some simple ways to get started:

• Audit Your Calendar: You want to be auditing your calendar, picking out your wins, results, and achievements. 
• Update Your Win List: Create a simple document you can use to update your wins so they are top of mind.
• Build Your Own Feedback: Instead of waiting for the internal system, you can easily create a simple Google Form and send it out to your key stakeholders. This way, you're proactively building a business case before the conversation even begins.
• Use AI to Synthesize: Upload all of the above details into ChatGPT to gather insights and themes. Use a prompt like: "Take on the role of a talent management lead assessing top talent in the organization. How can I best present my insights in a one-deck slide?"
• Reflect and Plan: Do your own reflections on what went well, what opportunities you identified, and what next steps you are looking for in this role.
• Share Your Deck: Combine all of the above and create a simple one-pager deck to share with your manager at least 1-2 weeks before the review.

Next week, in Part 2, I’ll walk you through what to say in the actual review: the art of storytelling, alignment, and self-advocacy.

Final Thoughts

Last week I brought up the idea of hosting a Ace Your Performance Review masterclass and so many of you joined the waitlist. Here’s the update: I’m currently in talks with also inviting a Head of HR to the masterclass to share perspectives on how to navigate internal polices in these reviews too. So don’t miss out. Join the waitlist here.

Rooting for you,
 Angel Kilian
Founder | Career inFocus

What’s New At Career In Focus

• November 2025: Ace Your Appraisal Workshop 
• Career Accelerator: Inside Career Accelerator, you don’t just get access to my proven strategies. You get me and a powerhouse team of recruiters, coaches, and hiring experts who are here to help you get seen and valued like the top 1% do.