Make a list of specific things you’ve done. Use numbers. Have at least one “above and beyond” story. Don’t forget the things your manager doesn’t know about.

Like Use numbers is a good tip – be specific and measurable on your performance – manager love numbers and metrics. For some other tips:

Don’t forget about weaknesses. Increase your effort 2 months before you review.

I do not totally agree on those two. Henry suggests to use sentence like “One time, I was working so hard that I missed dinner. I need to look up at the clock once in a while or I’ll go hungry!” when talking about weakness. It isn’t going to work and it will attract the reviewer to probe for more answers on weakness. He also recommends to increase effort in short period before the review take place. I see some employees use this tactic before, and frankly it doesn’t work too well. Good managers will keep track of efforts that you have done. And even for average managers who use their memory to track your performance, they know it and relates your surge of productivity is all about performance review. If you remember there is a performance review coming up, so can your manager! How To Ace A Performance Review – [Binary Dollar]