When you open a blank performance review form, the hardest part is knowing what to actually write in each section. This guide walks through every common section — accomplishments, strengths, areas for growth, and goals — with guidance and example phrasing for each.
Before you write anything
Gather your evidence first. Go back through the full review period — projects, outcomes, wins — not just the last month, because recency bias will otherwise erase most of your year. The quality of what you write depends entirely on the specifics you bring to it.
What to write: Accomplishments / Key contributions
This is the most important section. Write your strongest work, each item stated as impact, not activity.
- Lead with the outcome: "Led the billing migration that cut checkout errors 40%," not "Worked on the billing system."
- Quantify wherever possible.
- Group by theme if there are several (impact, leadership, ownership).
Example:
"My biggest contribution this period was leading the billing migration, which reduced checkout errors 40% and recovered lost orders. I also took ownership of the quarterly reporting process and mentored two new hires to independence."
What to write: Strengths
Don't just name traits — evidence them.
- Weak: "I'm a strong collaborator."
- Strong: "Collaboration: I aligned three teams to ship the migration on a compressed timeline."
Example:
"My key strengths this period were cross-team coordination — demonstrated in the migration — and taking ownership of ambiguous problems without being asked."
What to write: Areas for growth / development
Name something genuine and show you're already acting on it. This builds credibility; dodging the question or naming a weakness with no plan does not.
Example:
"An area I'm developing is broader strategic influence. I've started by leading the cross-team working group and am seeking larger initiatives to drive."
What to write: Goals for next period
Make them specific and forward-looking.
Example:
"Next period, I want to move from executing strategy to setting it — owning a cross-functional initiative from definition through delivery."
What to write: Manager / peer feedback sections (if applicable)
If your review includes space to comment on feedback or your team, be specific and constructive. Reference real examples, keep it professional, and focus on outcomes rather than personalities.
A note on tone
A performance review is not the place for excessive modesty or for inflation. Claim your real contribution clearly and back it with evidence — that balance reads as confident and credible. Underselling leaves impact unrecognized; overselling invites pushback.
Common mistakes
- Writing activity instead of impact.
- Naming strengths with no evidence.
- Skipping or fluffing the growth section.
- Vague, non-specific goals.
- Relying on memory and missing most of the period.
The bottom line
Knowing what to write is easy once you have the raw material; the hard part is having a complete, specific record of your work to draw from. The reason these sections feel daunting is usually a blank page plus a faded memory. Capturing your wins as they happen means every section starts from real evidence — which is what [CareerRise](/) is built for.
---
Advance on evidence, not memory.
Start logging your wins free →