Last week I talked about how to prepare for your annual review to make more money. This week, let's talk about what else to do with all that work.
I was on a call with a client on Friday. They're six months into a new role and prepping their first self-reflection for their manager. We spent most of the session talking about how to pull apart what they'd accomplished so far—not just listing it, but actually turning it into stories.
Then came the aha moment:
This is the exact work you'd do to prep for interviews.
It was kind of serendipitous because just a few months ago she and I talked about habit stacking.
This is impact stacking.
Your performance review isn't just about your current job. It's also your story library for the next one.
Here’s how to gain some more value from those pesky performance reviews.
Why performance reviews are perfect interview prep
When you're employed, you're living the work.
The wins are fresh.
The trade-offs are clear.
The impact is real.
But when you're job hunting six months later?
You're trying to remember what you did, why it mattered, and how you influenced the outcome.
Most of it's fuzzy.
Performance reviews force you to document it while it's still sharp.
You should already be thinking about:
- What you accomplished
- How you grew
- Where you drove impact
- What you'd do differently
That's literally the raw material for every behavioral interview you'll ever do.
Turn review inputs into interview stories
Here's what I walked my client through, and what you should do right now:
Step 1: Write your self-reflection like you mean it
Don't phone it in.
Treat it like you're building a story bank.
Your next promotion, pay raise, or new job depends on it.
For every accomplishment:
- What was the situation or problem?
- What actions did you take?
- What was the result or impact?
Sound familiar? That's the STAR format.
Step 2: Save it somewhere you'll actually use later
Don't let it disappear into your company's HR system.
Save a copy in your own Story Library.
If you're a client, you've already got the template.
If not, just create a simple doc where you track:
- Project or initiative name
- Your role and what you did
- Who you worked with
- Skills you demonstrated
- The outcome and impact
Step 3: Use AI to help structure it
My client plans to use my STAR Story Developer GPT to get the details out faster. Instead of writing it all out, she can have a guided conversation and get clean, structured stories as an output.
Any AI assistant can help you shape your raw inputs into a format that'll be useful later.
The key is doing it now, while the details are fresh.
Make it a habit
Performance reviews happen once or twice a year. But you should be documenting stories as you go.
After a big launch, a tough decision, or a cross-functional win—take 10 minutes and write it down.
Your future self (the one applying for jobs) will thank you.
Because when the next opportunity comes up, you won't be scrambling to remember what you did. You'll have a library of sharp, ready-to-go stories that prove exactly why you're the right person for the role.
So if you're in review season right now: Don't just fill out the form.
Add to your story library.
You're doing the work anyway—make it count twice.
P.S. If you're a client and haven't touched your Story Library in a while, now's the time. Performance review season is the perfect excuse to update it.
P.P.S. My next workshop will be to help you write interview stories. I’ll share my frameworks and tools to help you.
Interested? Just let me know.