On Tue, 12 Nov 2013 19:21:29 +0000, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:

>>> At this point, I have to wonder - why am I filling this form out
>>> again? What "goals" or "achievements" can I invent to put in these
>>> boxes? How can I pretend these are related to the company mission?
>>
>> In IT, pretty much everything you do relates to the company mission. 
>> IT enables companies to achieve their mission in an efficient manner
>> (ideally).  So every system you manage, implement, update, or fix
>> directly affects the bottom line.
> 
> At my last place, I was pretty much a necessary but useless overhead -
> like paying for water and electricity. Doesn't add any value to the
> business, but you can't operate without it.

If you are necessary for operation, you're not useless overhead.

>>> My new employer - heh, "new". I've been there over a year! Oh yes,
>>> which is why I apparently need to fill out an appraisal form. Any
>>> ideas for creative ways to say "last year I wrote code, this year I
>>> will write code"? ;-)
>>
>> Write more than "I wrote code."  Write about what the code does, what
>> it's used for, and what it's a part of.
> 
> Code is basically the company's product. We have a room full of people
> who write code all day. If I hadn't been there... they would have one
> fewer staff, so it would have taken a few percent longer to write the
> code that got written this year.

The important thing is that you actually /did/ something, not that they'd 
have continued to function/exist if you weren't there.

Give yourself some credit, man! ;)

>> For goals, look forward at what the company's doing, where it's headed,
>> and how the code you've already written is helping them meet their
>> goals, and then extrapolate how your existing code might evolve -
>> things you want to implement that you didn't get to, that sort of
>> thing.  Goals and objectives are set in concert with your manager, so
>> if you have a goal, objective, or desire that doesn't fit, your manager
>> should help you align your goals to the organizational goals.
> 
> *mumble something about the company not actually having any defined
> direction*

Certainly someone must have an idea what the company does.  You're very 
secretive about even where you work, so it's kinda difficult to provide 
specific information.

What market does the company serve?  Who are its competitors?

> Interesting suggestions...

That's how it's actually done.  Someone else suggested you read up on 
SMART goals - and that's definitely a place to start.

> Thing is, if I say "I wrote some code", that's too short. And if I
> describe everything I implemented - even just the noteworthy stuff -
> that's *way* too long.

There's a middle ground.  "I wrote code that does 'x'" - as a summary, 
not a detailed description.

Jim

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