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For many companies, this is performance review and bonus time. After writing your own self-review, analyzing your successes and failures, here you are, sitting across your manager, getting hammered with negative comments about your performance the past year. And it’s a tough pill to swallow, however much you love (or absolutely hate) your job. So how do you handle a negative performance evaluation, without crumbling to pieces or taking it too personally?

My $0.05: A bad performance review takes a toll on you, period. No one likes to get told their work is not up to par, or get chewed by their boss on any and all mistakes they made (or didn’t).

1. Acknowledge it’s a hard experience, and give yourself permission to feel the frustration, anger and/or pain that is often a result of it.

2. Understand what it means and what the implications are. Is the negative feedback cause for job security concerns? Are you being put on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) and does this spell doom for the rest of your tenure at this job? Ask the hard questions to get the answers you need.

3. If you’re going to contest it, do it the smart way! You don’t want to come across as defensive and not receptive to constructive criticism. Take a deep breath, receive the feedback first, then present your arguments in a neutral way and with supporting evidence to back it up. Expose your point of view in a smart, not argumentative way.

4. Be proactive and follow up! Make sure to check in with your manager as to any action plans to implement and follow. If you choose to start looking for another job, be proactive about it too, after hours!

Anything you’d like to add to the discussion?

The Corporate Sis.