We have previously explored the art of writing a self-assessment review and how to structure it, providing some useful examples for various industries and areas of work. In this article, we provide sample answers for assessing soft skills that are essential for each and every role.
Remember that once you are writing your self-evaluation you should always be critical and reflective but shouldn’t put yourself and your achievements down. Provide facts and figures to illustrate your achievements and make your statements stronger. Be specific and descriptive of both positive and negative attributes of your work.
For each of the areas, you should always consider the positive and negative attributes of your performance. Determine where did you exceed the expectations, where did you meet them and where and how you can continue to improve. Additionally, you might want to connect your self-assessment to the core values of the company.
1. Collaboration and Teamwork
Think about how other team members see you, how effective are you at collaboration and what are your relationships at work like. You might also want to think about your ability to come up with creative solutions as a part of a team.
Positive Sample Answer
“I believe that during the past quarter I have demonstrated strong teamwork skills. I have effectively collaborated with my department and team as well as I have shown my ability to work with external parties. During projects, I have shown confidence to express my creative ideas and opinions that added value to the team discussion.“
Negative Sample Answer
“I am aware I can be overly controlling and take over a project, not allowing others for enough space to contribute and develop their skills. I need to work on my ability to work effectively as a team and give others space to express their opinions and ideas. I need to learn how to take a step back and follow others rather than attempt to take a lead in every project.”
2. Self-motivation
Do you have a positive attitude towards your job and the company you work for? Do you meet the expectations of your role and maintain sufficient levels of productivity? Are you working to improve your knowledge and skills?
Positive Sample Answer
“Throughout my time at XX I have demonstrated high levels of self-management and motivation. I continuously manage to meet deadlines and finish my responsibilities in a timely manner.“
Negative Sample Answer
“I feel sometimes I get too focused on a task and take much longer than is appropriate due to my perfectionism. I have to learn to effectively dedicate resources to not only get work done well but also efficiently”
3. Leadership
Are you able to effectively manage people and work with others? Can you provide direction to your reports and teammates?
Positive Sample Answer
“I reckon I effectively lead by example and take actions and adopt behaviors I expect from my team. I feel I am defined by the actions I take at work rather than by what I say. I dedicate time to spend with my reports to help them resolve their challenges and issues and encourage their personal and professional development.”
Negative Sample Answer
“I think I should focus more on promoting the company culture and values around my team. Despite the fact I am effectively developing individual relationships across the team and support them through regular check-ins and one-to-ones, I should focus more on promoting team-spirit and collaboration across the team.”
4. Problem Solving
Are you able to effectively solve problems? Do you come up with creative solutions when a challenge occurs? What methods to solve problems do you use?
Positive Sample Answer
“I strongly feel problem-solving skills are one of my strongest characteristics. I usually manage to solve complex problems effectively by taking into consideration different perspectives and breaking down the problem to analyze it. When solving problems as a team I apply active listening to understand the issue thoroughly through the experience and knowledge of others. I seek clarification if the problem is not well understood.”
Negative Sample Answer
“I tend to get overwhelmed if an important decision needs to be made, and seek the support of others rather than looking at the facts myself. I need to work on how to prioritize and evaluate complex problems.”
5. Decisiveness
Are you able to make effective and informed decisions that are beneficial for you, your team and the whole business?
Positive Sample Answer
“I effectively prioritize the most urgent tasks and decisions. When a difficult decision needs to be made, I evaluate the positives and negatives and possible outcomes to make an informed decision. When analyzing a problem, I research it and request evidence from those who are more familiar with the theme.”
Negative Sample Answer
“I tend to rely too much on my past experiences and assumptions rather than putting effort into doing my research before coming to difficult decisions. Additionally, I should dedicate more time to self-reflection when things go wrong to eliminate bad habits and prevent the issue from happening again.”
6. Ability to work under pressure and Time Management
Are you able to work under pressure and manage your tasks? Do you manage your workload and avoid having unfinished commitments?
Positive Sample Answer
“I always meet my deadlines and effectively manage my workload. I believe I have a strong ability to prioritize the most important tasks. I am also aware of my lack of experience and thus I leave enough time to review completed tasks before I submit them to my manager.“
Negative Sample Answer
“I tend to struggle with time management. I often leave tasks that I find too challenging or boring last minute and then I do not have enough time to finish them to a required quality. If I am under stress, my attention to detail worsens.”
7. Communication
When evaluating your communication skills you should consider your written communication as well as verbal communication skills. Effective communication is key to a happy teamwork.
Positive Sample Answer
“I try to cultivate a culture of openness and sharing among the team. I appreciate critical conversations and positive confrontation over ignoring problems and challenges. I actively listen to my team and promote shared decision making. In my communication with clients I engage in professional manner and successfully build a positive rapport.”
Negative Sample Answer
“I sometimes get involved in miscommunication. Hence, I often spend too much time clarifying problems and tasks. I need to work on my ability to manage my emotions and not let them affect my professional relationships.”
8. Flexibility
Being flexible and adaptable is a must-have in a modern workplace. You have to be able to respond to change quickly and be able to adjust.
Positive Sample Answer
“I handle change with ease and often make improvements to make the transition easier. I also appreciate comments and criticism when adjusting to change to make it smooth. If things go wrong I remain calm and positive and aim to find a solution in a proactive manner.”
Negative Sample Answer
“I have to work on my ability to support others through change and avoid micromanagement. I also struggle to adopt new work assignments and tasks that I feel are outside of my job responsibilities.”
9. Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Do you have a sufficient ability to negotiate deals for yourself and your business? Are you able to effectively resolve conflict?
Positive Sample Answer
“During my time at xx I have effectively negotiated xx deals and brought xx to the business. I believe that my analytical character and strong people skills allow me to be in control during the meetings and direct the manner to achieve results.”
Negative Sample Answer
“I think I have made great progress in my negotiation skills since I first stared at xx, yet I am aware of the areas of my improvement. I feel I approach the meetings in an appropriate manner and make the other part feel comfortable. However, I struggle to actively listen; I tend to interrupt the others, I also should, seek clarification when needed and thus I often jump into assumptions that are not 100% correct.”
10. Emotional intelligence
To get more examples on your performance read our article on 70 performance reviews phrases examples that will help you evaluate different areas of your job.
Positive Sample Answer
“I feel I am very aware of my strengths and weaknesses and thus I am able to manage my emotions and frustrations as well as to recognise the value of my colleagues ideas, opinions and challenges. I am an effective listener and always try to understand and listen to colleagues' objections.”
Negative Sample Answer
“I often get frustrated when other members of my team struggle to keep up. I get overly emotional and do not handle frustration, stress or anger well. I struggle to communicate and often engage in conversations that are off-putting to others and am too controlling. Therefore, I often get distracted and do not take others' points into account.”
Writing a self-evaluation can be tricky. To some, it can be difficult to recognize the areas of improvement while others struggle not to be overly critical. The most fundamental thing is be reflective, and to take a step back. Be objective. Highlight your achievements without bribing or giving yourself too little credit and also identify areas of improvement and how they can be reached.
