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In the article ¡°Take charge to ensure that you ace your appraisal¡± (News, 18 May), Robert MacIntosh and Kevin O¡¯Gorman counsel academics about how to negotiate their annual performance and development review. I would like to submit rejoinders to suggestions they provide:

• Do the paperwork:?Bear in mind that the performance criteria, the appraisal process and the self-assessment form will bear no resemblance to last year¡¯s. Check through your deleted emails from the past three weeks to find what it is they¡¯re demanding this year
• Seek advice from colleagues:?But be aware that everybody gets treated differently. It¡¯s probably a good idea to adopt a stance of concealed menace towards your assessor if you want to get through this unscathed
• Curate some evidence:?Are you kidding me? This is academia ¨C nobody gives a rat¡¯s ass about your evidence. And anyway, see the first point above
• Do some self-evaluation:?¡°If you submitted an outlandish promissory note in last year¡¯s review¡±, then you¡¯re an idiot. Never include anything in your action plan for next year that you haven¡¯t already completed
• Use the time wisely:?Look, your assessor has 20 other people to see and she¡¯s already missing the Wimbledon semi-finals to fit you in. Just keep it short
• Negotiate your score:?You can bet that your assessor bought all the bragging vomited up by the last unashamed self-promoter they interviewed. You don¡¯t want to seem like an under-performer, so this is no time for modesty. You have a mythology and a brand to create. How do you think your assessor got there?

Liz Morrish
Via timeshighereducation.com

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