Everything You Need to Feel Ready for Performance Review Season
A curated selection of my most-read pieces on getting promoted, negotiating, and staying visible.
Welcome to Reframed! Work is complex, career advice shouldn’t be.
I’m Ashley Rudolph and I write this newsletter for people who are ready for the next level in their careers. Reframed readers describe the experience best: “There’s a depth here that I lack in many a Fast Co click bait article. You push beyond the superficial answers.”
People forget that performance reviews are equal parts reflection and reputation management. It’s on you to remind them exactly what you bring to the table.
If you’ve ever agonized over your performance review, talked yourself out of asking for more, advocated successfully for yourself, or tried to get promoted and were told a version of “maybe next year” — this post is for you.
End-of-year reviews are coming up. I felt the most anxious about the reviews where I was angling for a promotion, negotiating my comp, or processing tough (or sometimes vague) feedback. I know how nerve wracking it can be. So, I created a comprehensive resource for you. I curated all of my best posts related to preparing for reviews, negotiating, and increasing your visibility at work.
If you have a review soon, read through each section - it’s organized by four specific areas of focus: getting noticed, strategizing for the conversation, negotiating, and processing feedback. Read the sections that are most relevant to you, take notes, and create your own detailed action plan.
I’ve gotten so much positive feedback about these newsletters over the past year that I promise you you’ll walk into your review confident and ready to ask for what you need (and deserve!!). Enjoy!
→ Start here if you want to focus on getting noticed
A great performance review strategy starts before the conversation and it involves a bit of personal PR.
In an ideal world, you’d start your “campaign” a few months before your review. That’s what most traditional career advice says (and they’re not wrong). But if your review is soon, all is not lost. Recency bias can absolutely work in your favor.
How you show up in the weeks leading up to your review can shape the tone of the entire conversation. Spend a few weeks visibly supporting key initiatives, sharing your work, presenting to larger groups, and speaking up in meetings with senior leaders and you can build the type of positive momentum that makes your impact harder to miss.
These two newsletters break down how to do that with scripts, examples, and practical steps to make your work more visible.
19 SELF-PROMOTION STRATEGIES THAT YOU CAN IMPLEMENT RIGHT AWAY
→ Start here if you’re planning for your performance review conversation
If you’re in prep mode, these two pieces will help you make your case clear and compelling.
In the first, I share how two equally hardworking people had very different review outcomes: one made her promotion case undeniable, the other didn’t. Use it to understand how to build an iron clad case and avoid the pitfalls of putting one together that doesn’t.
The second is for high achievers who are used to advocating for effort, not impact. At a certain level, how you frame your contribution matters just as much as what you deliver. Try shifting your ask from what you do (“I lead X projects”) to the impact you create (“I’m already operating as a [next-level title] and here’s the proof”). Those inherently feel different, right?
REAL CASE STUDIES TO HELP YOU LEARN HOW TO BETTER ARTICULATE WHY YOU SHOULD BE PROMOTED
→ When it’s time to negotiate like a pro
If you’re planning to ask for more, make sure your case is airtight.
The first post shares my best negotiation advice, drawn from the nine times I’ve successfully asked for more over my career. The second includes real insights from women in my network about what worked for them when they negotiated.
TWO NEWSLETTERS WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SUCCESSFULLY ASK FOR MORE (AND GET IT!)
→ If you’re processing feedback and figuring out what’s next
If your review didn’t go the way you hoped (or the feedback feels unclear and you’re left feeling like “I don’t know what do with this feedback”) these two pieces will help you unpack it, separate what’s useful from what’s not, and move forward with the right strategy. Lukewarm feedback is a setback that you can come back from, it just requires the right action plan.
10 ACTIONABLE STRATEGIES FOR UNPACKING FEEDBACK THAT DOESN’T FEEL CLEAR
That’s it for me this week. Bookmark this for later, pull out relevant insights/frameworks, or forward it to someone getting ready for their own review.
Good luck!
Ashley
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