Lost my way in December, trying to find it now....

[tazz]

Further to my December post (thanks for everyone's comments) I've got my first proper appraisal coming up and need some inspiration and help.

 

Despite being a generally pessimistic person, I’m trying to view this positively, and make the effort with it. I do want to treat this positively and hope to influence my career development.

 

The thing is I don’t know how I want my career to develop. I like the idea of supporting Primaries, but dare say my boss will think that’s for the technicians, not the NM.

 

I do have a keen interest in fitness, but don’t know if the Academy would support such a change.

They did let me deliver aerobics once a week last year.

 

Even identifying what I’m good at and not so good at is tricky, as what people perceive me to be good at I probably don’t even realize it!

 

Anyway, here’s what I’m struggling with:

 

-State the current aspirations in your work area and comment on progress.

-What do you consider to be your training needs for the next period?

-Do you have any skills or talents that are not being used to the full in your present job?

-How could you make more contribution in your current work area?

-Is there any particular career or type of job within the Academy you would like to pursue if given the opportunity?

 

If anyone can throw in some ideas that would be great!

[dalsoth]

Read your post from December and i can sympathise as i kind of feel like that now and am looking into working with a relative doing electrical work and packing in IT altogether.

 

A job is a job though and until something else comes along it is always best to make do and get on with things.

 

-State the current aspirations in your work area and comment on progress.

Are there any particular things you are working on at the moment? Any projects you would like to start or are doing at the min? A FOG server? NAGIOS, Open source Digital display? Surely something excites you to get stuck into?

 

Perhaps you would like to work with teachers and staff to develop resources? Perhaps you would like to get much more into training staff and students on how to best use ICT?

 

ITIL? FITS? Sorting policies?Is everything documented? Network labelling?

 

 

-What do you consider to be your training needs for the next period?

 

Do you want or have you got an MCSA/MCSE or similar? Cisco Certs? ITIL? Anything interest you like server 2008 training or maybe some virtualisation training? What is the academy technology being used and do you have the full knowledge of each product?

 

-Do you have any skills or talents that are not being used to the full in your present job?

 

Mention fitness training or classes you could run alongside your current job? Worth a try. Tell them you want to improve staff fitness and perception that IT is a lazy subject

 

-How could you make more contribution in your current work area?

Perhaps go on the offensive if you are still stuck in a small room and state you could make a much larger contribution if you were given a seperate office to work more effectively or even the whole team with a window as it has affected morale. Better morale means better productivity.

 

-Is there any particular career or type of job within the Academy you would like to pursue if given the opportunity?

Only you will know this one i guess but just think of what excites you and when you were last excited about work and you will have an idea. I saw in your other post you were excited that this position might have let you design the network etc.. Perhaps mention you would like to project manage such changes and save the academy money.

 

Hope i have made sense and not made a balls up:D

[SteveBentley]

I don't think I've ever hit the "targets for the next year" on my appraisal, almost always due to priorities being changed by those above, or a somebody else's project which is a prerequisite to mine happenning going pear shaped.

 

A year is a long time in IT!

[TechMonkey]

Can't really add to dalsoth. The only thing I was told to try and do is to link the training with an projects you mention in the aspirations section. One it shows you have thought about it and two if the project doesn't work and you weren't given the training you have some evidence & reasoning. Though I was petrified when I didn't meet (well hardly started) a goal on my second appriasal and my boss brushed it off as he knew we had been busy with other stuff given to us so it has been carried over.

 

I have the same problem, I have no idea where I want to go, be or do. Here has become comfortable but I'm not sure that is a good thing. But see the appraisal as an avenue to expand yourself more than a way of them tying you down.

[penfold]

If your boss is a teacher (or at least involved in the education side of things) a good way to approach your appraisal is to link your work to teaching and learning. How doing a good job enables the teachers to teach and the pupils to learn using the IT equipment, particulaly if a lot of your work is done behind the scenes where no-one sees what you do.

 

If your interested in fitness maybe you could promote yourself as a work place activator(i personally dont like the name) similar to what we have here. Basically it is someone who promotes a healthier lifestyle through food and fitness habbits of staff and maybe look at intorducing away days for mountain biking etc. OK this may be way out of line of your JD, but it shows that you are keen in the environment you work in and show people that your not just sitting in front of the computer all day.

 

Other than that, pretty much agree with what dalsoth has said.

 

One thing I would note is that you can ask for a lot more than you think during your appraisal IF you can justify it would improve your work. If you mention training needs or the use of a new/better office then ask but be prepared to backup your reasons why. If you have got something in mind that you would like to try then you might as well ask. The worst they can say is no, but then at least you know where you stand.

 

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[tazz]

Thanks everyone, your suggestions and thoughts are really helpful.

 

Will let you know how I get on.

[russdev]

If your boss is a teacher (or at least involved in the education side of things) a good way to approach your appraisal is to link your work to teaching and learning. How doing a good job enables the teachers to teach and the pupils to learn using the IT equipment, particulaly if a lot of your work is done behind the scenes where no-one sees what you do..

 

..

 

 

To be fair you should be doing that anyway not matter if the teacher is a line manager or not.

 

As for annual reviews the one big thing you can to help is start them now working on them all year around people make the mistake of working on them when they get the form to fill in. This should be schedule in your calendar to work on it once a month.

 

Good cast (in my view) over at Manager Tools

 

Preparing for YOUR Review (Part 1 of 2) | ManagerTools.com

Preparing For Your Review (Part 2 of 2) | ManagerTools.com

 

Russ

[tazz]

Hello All

 

Had my appraisal, mostly positive.

 

There was a lot of constructive feedback, recognising my weaknesses etc.

 

Boss was pleased that I felt my team were actually doing well. (He knows I can be pessimistic)

 

Disapointed with one or two things, mostly becuase people don't actually know what we do as IT support.

 

Got a couple of excellents in surprising areas.

 

I did feel though that some of the things I raised were'nt really addressed in details, but we'll see.

 

I think I'm gonna go down the ITIL route - I've seen a fair few jobs for technical team leaders needing this qual and I think its right for me.

 

Thanks for the pointers, I will hang on to them for next time and I will review my progress and development myself more frequently, thanks Russdev