Annual review, performance review, appraisal, or some other name. Whatever they are called, they are typically a yearly meeting, usually between an employee and their line manager, to reflect on the employee’s progress within their job within the previous year and to set objectives for the following year. Many of our distance learning students are working full-time while studying so will probably encounter annual reviews.

In many organisations the annual review is performance-related and linked to salary so there’s some pressure to do well. But for everyone, the review is an opportunity to reflect on what’s gone well over the year, what hasn’t gone well and why, to consider where you want to go with your role in the future, and what training or development support would help you succeed in your role. The review can be used to support your long term career development goals if you prepare for it well and approach it properly.

• Set your work objectives for the year but ask for opportunities to gain experience in areas that interest you. Think about skills you want to develop or improve and what work opportunities may give you a chance to do this. Think about how this could help meet specific business objectives as well as your own interests as you will present a more persuasive argument.

• Is your current course of study related in any way to your job? If yes, make sure you talk about what you are learning and how it has influenced (positively I hope!) your work. Have you developed new knowledge or skills that you could share with your reviewer and suggest ways you could use them in your current role, to broaden your experience and benefit your employer at the same time.

• Be open to constructive feedback on your performance. Ask for suggestions about what you could do better, and what support may be available to help you do this. Discuss possible solutions to barriers you have faced in your role. Use this as an opportunity to get guidance rather than being defensive about any negative comments or work issues.

• What training could be useful to help you do your job and progress? It’s worth identifying suitable training opportunities before your review and discussing them with your reviewer, again thinking about how this training could help you contribute more effectively to set objectives.

If you prepare effectively for your review, and engage positively with the process you will hopefully have a productive, developmental conversation which will help you move forward in your career.

Studying for a postgraduate award through online learning allows a lot of flexibility but most students are balancing their studies with other commitments such as work or family.  As a result we find that students often report their studies as a very intensive time and welcome support that will enable them to engage with their studies more effectively (and in a time efficient way!).

The Careers Service and the Institute of Academic Development have developed a new resource, Supporting taught postgraduates, to help taught postgraduate students to engage quickly and effectively with their studies. The resources provide support during your programme to help you to achieve academically, and take opportunities for career enhancement, and to support you to make and realise successful career decisions.  It pulls together a lot of information that is scattered around other parts of the University website and ensures it is directly relevant for postgraduate students.  Covering topics such as academic writing, time management, critical thinking, and career planning, we hope it will be of use to you as you continue your studies at the University.

You can get an overview of the topics covered in the image below or go directly to the website.

Supporting taught postgraduates