I had to write my yearly performance appraisal document this week. It seemed like I’d just done this. To say the year flew by doesn’t come close to capturing the how nearly Time came to breaking the sound barrier this year. And I hate writing these things. It’s like writing a cover letter all over again. Still, when it’s all over it’s kind of nice to look it over and realize that you’ve had a productive second year of being a librarian.
Should you ever have this experience, be sure to read this. Your hat will fit less snugly again, and all will be right with the world.
The most wonderful time of the year… it’s coming up for me in about a month. It really did sneak up fast. I always worry, though, about having not done enough, despite not having a great number of professional expectations imposed on me due to not yet being a librarian — increasing personal productivity, serving on enough committees at work and in library associations, pursuing more education and professional development, even submitting articles for publication, presenting at conferences, or contributing something revolutionary to librarianship. It really is like writing a cover letter, except instead of explaining why I would be a good fit with my employer, I have to explain how what I have done justifies my ability to continue being a good fit.
This year it felt a lot less like an exercise in justification because we were told that everyone was basically pleased, and no one had time to read long documents, so could we please just hand in a one-page “highlights” document. I like that a lot better. :)