Princeton University Library Human Resources

The main purpose of documenting your job performance is to help your memory at the end of the year and have a more productive performance appraisal dialog with your supervisor. There are many ways to keep a record of your job performance. Try experimenting with the ones that you feel most comfortable with and decide which works best for you. The following suggestions have been mentioned by both supervisors and staff at various workshops. If you need any technical assistance, contact Luisa Paster.

Portfolio - Keep a folder with samples of your best work. For example: printouts of your most complex cataloging, a description of your most difficult reference questions, messages of thanks that have been sent to you, statistics of how much you have accomplished on a monthly basis, etc.

Email - Send yourself email describing samples of your best work. You can save them in a special email folder labeled "performance". You can describe problems that you have solved, difficult patrons that you have dealt with, extra work that you have undertaken, committee work that you have done, etc.

Documents in MS Word - Keep a document on your hard drive called "performance". List samples of your best work. Every time you accomplish something out of the ordinary on your job, add it to the list with a date. Remember to save the document each time you add an item.

Calendars - Use your calendar to jot down information that might be useful for your performance appraisal. Keep a record of particularly difficult assignments, committee work, special projects, weekly or monthly statistics, etc. At the end of the appraisal period, go through your calendar to jog your memory.

Audiotape - If you don't like to write, you can borrow a tape recorder from the Staff Development Office to record your accomplishments. When you do something excellent at work, explain it on tape. Keep using the cassette to add to the list. Don't forget to state the date of each recording. At the end of the performance appraisal period, you will have to listen to the tape and transcribe the recording for your appraisal form.