Questions to Ask Your Boss During a Performance Review
A performance review can pass with your boss reading a form aloud and you nodding. These are the questions to ask during a performance review to find out what the rating rests on, what would change it and what next year will be judged by, whether it is an annual review, a mid-year review or a first evaluation with a new supervisor. They run in the order the meeting usually does: how your boss sees your year, the feedback behind that view, how the rating was decided, pay and promotion, goals for the next period, and a close that puts what was agreed on record.
Want questions from the whole vault instead? Try the random question generator.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Your year
What stands out to you from my work this year?
Why ask it
A gentle opener that also tells you which of your projects registered. If your manager names work you consider minor, your visible contribution and your actual effort have come apart.
Is there anything in this review that is going to surprise me?
Why ask it
Ask early so you are not blindsided halfway through. It also invites your manager to lead with the difficult item rather than burying it after the compliments.
Which of the goals from my last review do you count as met, and which as missed?
Why ask it
Bring the goals as they were written, because otherwise both of you are working from memory. Where your count differs from your manager's, ask what they were looking at, and settle it goal by goal before the conversation moves on to the rating.
How does my work compare with what this level is expected to deliver?
Why ask it
Shifts the measure from your manager's impression to the written standard for the grade, if your employer has one. Ask to see it, because a promotion case is usually argued against that description and not against how hard you worked.
What do you see as my biggest strength in this job?
Why ask it
Compare the answer with the one you would have given. A strength you take for granted is one to use on purpose, and one you expected to hear and did not is worth asking about directly.
Which parts of my work do you not get to see much of?
Why ask it
A manager can only review what reached them. If the answer is a client, a second team or the work you do on another shift, offer the two or three dated items you brought and ask who else could speak to it.
How does the review account for the work I picked up after my goals were set?
Why ask it
Goals are written at the start of the period and the work moves after that. Name what you took on, roughly when, and what it pushed aside, so it is weighed as part of the year and not as time away from the goals on the form.
Halfway through the year, am I on track, and which goal worries you most?
Why ask it
The one to bring to a mid-year review, when there is still half a year to change the result. Ask for the single goal at risk, since a general 'on track' sends you back to your desk with nothing to do differently.
Feedback
Where do you think I have the most room to improve?
Why ask it
Asking for the single biggest area keeps the answer from turning into a list of small points. Take down the exact wording, because it is the phrase to check your progress against at the next review.
Can you give me a recent example of that?
Why ask it
The follow-up that makes vague feedback usable. Keep your tone curious, since the same words can sound like a challenge. An example with a date and people in it shows you what to change, where a word like 'communication' shows you nothing.
What feedback have you heard about me from other people?
Why ask it
If your employer collects comments from peers or other teams, they fed into this review whether or not they were read out. Ask for the substance and leave the names alone, which makes it easier for your manager to be candid.
What should I start doing, stop doing, and keep doing?
Why ask it
The stop part is the one to press on. Something to add is easy to name and something to drop is awkward, so the answer tends to skip it unless you ask a second time.
Which one skill should I work on first, and why that one?
Why ask it
A development plan with six items on it gives you nothing to start on Monday. The why matters as much as the skill, because it tells you whether this is for the job you have or the one above it.
How could I be easier to work with?
Why ask it
Blunter than asking about collaboration and it tends to get a real answer, since it gives your manager permission to describe friction without accusing you of anything.
Which of my strengths do I lean on too hard?
Why ask it
Much of the criticism in a review is a strength taken too far: thoroughness that turns slow, directness that turns blunt. Framing it as a matter of degree makes the hard thing easier for your manager to say.
What do I do now that someone at the next level would not?
Why ask it
The answer is a habit to drop, where most review feedback is a skill to add. Expect small, concrete things: checking in too often, waiting to be asked, bringing a problem with no recommendation attached.
Is this something you have raised with me before and I missed it?
Why ask it
It matters whether the problem is the behavior or the hearing. If it was said before and you missed it, ask how they would flag it so that you catch it next time. If it is new, you can say calmly that you would have wanted it earlier.
Is there a concern about my work that did not make it into the written review?
Why ask it
A concern that exists only in your manager's head can still come up when a promotion or a pay decision is discussed, and you cannot answer what you have not heard. Ask plainly, then ask what would settle it.
If I can only fix one of these before the next review, which should it be?
Why ask it
A review can list five criticisms as though they weigh the same. Making your boss rank them tells you which one pulled the result down and which are minor, so your effort goes to the right place.
Rating
How was my rating arrived at?
Why ask it
Listen for what was weighed: the goals on the form, comments from colleagues, a comparison with the rest of the team. Whichever counted most is where to put your effort if you want a different result next time.
Who else had a say in this rating besides you?
Why ask it
It could be your manager's boss, a calibration group or HR, depending on the employer. You are not collecting names to lobby. You are finding out whose picture of your work decided the result, and whether those people ever see what you do.
What examples of my work did you take into that discussion?
Why ask it
Your manager spoke for you in a room you were not in, and this tells you what they had to work with. If the list is short or out of date, hand them better material, earlier, next cycle.
What would I have needed to do to land in the band above?
Why ask it
More useful than arguing about this year's number. It produces a concrete description of the gap, which you can hold up next review.
Is there a limit on how many people on the team can get the top rating?
Why ask it
Some employers set a spread of ratings across a team and some do not, so ask how it works at yours. Where there is one, a middle rating can say as much about the spread as about your year.
Where does your view differ from what I wrote in my self-assessment?
Why ask it
For reviews where you filled in your own form first. The gap between the two accounts is where the meeting earns its time, and it is the part most likely to be skipped to keep things pleasant.
Is this rating final, or is there a step where it can still change?
Why ask it
Some employers settle everything before the meeting, some allow a written response, and some have an appeal. Find out which applies before you spend the hour disputing a number that nobody in the room can move.
Does this rating affect anything besides this year's pay?
Why ask it
At some employers a rating also counts toward promotion eligibility, internal transfers or later bonuses, and at others it stops mattering once the cycle closes. It differs from one company to the next, so ask what yours does with it.
Is this review a formal warning, or is it short of that?
Why ask it
Worth asking only after a poor review, and worth asking in plain words. What a formal performance process involves, and what you are entitled to during one, depends on the employer and the country, so ask HR how it works where you are.
Pay and promotion
Where does my pay sit within the range for this role?
Why ask it
Not every employer has pay ranges or shares them, so the first answer may be whether one exists. If it does, being near the bottom of it and being near the top call for different conversations.
What would move me up within that range?
Why ask it
A move within the range and a promotion into the next one may be decided by different people on different grounds. Ask which of the two this would be, and what your manager would need to show to get it approved.
How is my raise or bonus tied to this rating?
Why ask it
Some employers run a formula, some give the manager a pot to divide, and some decide pay on a separate track altogether. Knowing which one you are in tells you whether next year's effort should go into the rating or into the pay conversation.
When are raises and bonuses decided, and has this cycle already closed?
Why ask it
A good case made after the budget is signed off waits a full cycle. If this one has closed, ask when the next window opens and what your manager needs from you before then.
When does the increase take effect, and will I get it in writing?
Why ask it
Easy to forget in the relief of hearing a good number. The effective date, any back pay and how a bonus is paid out differ by employer, so ask how it works there and wait for the letter before you plan around the figure.
What role could you see me in two or three years from now?
Why ask it
The answer shows whether your manager pictures you moving up, moving sideways or staying put. If their picture is not yours, this is the moment to say what you want instead, before next year's goals are written around theirs.
Is a promotion realistic in the next year, and what stands between me and it?
Why ask it
Naming an obstacle is harder to do with encouragement alone. Budget, headcount or the lack of an open role are all honest answers, and each one changes what you should do next.
If you put me forward for promotion, what would the case need to show?
Why ask it
In many companies a promotion is a written case read by people who have never worked with you. Ask what goes into it and who reads it, then start collecting that evidence now instead of in the month it is due.
If a raise is not possible this cycle, what else could you offer?
Why ask it
Budget can be a real limit and not an excuse. A title change, a one-off bonus, training, extra leave or an earlier pay review may sit in a different pot, though what exists depends on the employer. Ask which of them your manager can approve without going higher.
Can we set a separate time to talk about pay?
Why ask it
If the numbers were fixed before you sat down, a meeting of its own gives you time to prepare a case and your manager time to find out what is possible. Five rushed minutes at the end of a review give neither.
Goals ahead
What are the priorities for my role over the next six months?
Why ask it
If the priorities named do not match what you spend your week on, you have found a problem worth solving in this meeting. Six months is short enough that the answer has to be specific.
What would a good review look like next time?
Why ask it
You are asking for the target now instead of finding out in a year what it was. Write the answer down in your manager's words and bring it back next time.
How will each of these goals be measured?
Why ask it
A goal with no measure gets judged on impression a year later. Ask for the number, the date or the named outcome, and have it written into the goal itself.
Which goal matters most if I cannot get to all of them?
Why ask it
Lists of goals are written as if every item will be finished. The ranking you get here is what to protect when a deadline moves or a colleague leaves, and it is hard to obtain in the middle of a crisis.
What can come off my plate to make room for these goals?
Why ask it
New goals are added every cycle and old duties are seldom taken away. If the answer is 'nothing', ask which gives way when two of them collide in the same week.
Where would you like me to take a bigger role?
Why ask it
Gives your manager an opening to name work they wish someone would pick up. Agree what bigger means before you leave: leading it, owning the result, or being the person other teams come to.
Is there a project coming up where I could put this feedback into practice?
Why ask it
Feedback like 'needs to lead more' cannot be acted on without something to lead. Tying the criticism to a named piece of work turns it into a plan, and gives you both a date to look back from.
What is the team being asked to deliver next year, and where does my work fit?
Why ask it
Your goals carry more weight when they connect to what your manager is judged on. If the link is hard to draw, that is useful to know before the goals are signed off, not after.
What support or resources should I be asking for that I have not?
Why ask it
A request lands differently when your manager was the one to suggest it. If they name a tool, a hire or a course, ask what they need from you to make the case to whoever approves it.
What training or new experience would you back me for this year?
Why ask it
Phrased so the answer is something your manager will put their name to. Whether there is money or time for it depends on the employer, so ask what the approval route is and when requests have to be in.
What should I do differently in the second half of the year?
Why ask it
Suited to a mid-year review, where the look back only matters for what it changes. Ask for one change, then ask what you would both see by the end of the year if it had worked.
Closing
Can I say back the main points to check I have them right?
Why ask it
Summarize in two or three sentences what you heard: the result, the main criticism, the main goal. A misunderstanding caught here costs a minute, and one caught at the next review costs a rating.
Can I add my own comments to the written review before it is filed?
Why ask it
Many review forms have a space for the employee's response, though the rules differ by employer. Before you sign, ask what a signature means there: agreement, or only that you have read it.
What are we each taking away to do, and by what date?
Why ask it
Your manager made promises in this meeting too: the pay range they said they would look up, the introduction they offered. Put both lists in the follow-up email so neither depends on memory.
When can we check in on these goals before the next formal review?
Why ask it
A date in the calendar is worth more than an agreement to 'keep talking'. Three months is a reasonable gap for most goals, and a regular one-on-one can carry it if you mark that session for the purpose.
Would it help if I sent you a short list of what I have delivered each quarter?
Why ask it
Makes the next review easier for your supervisor to write and harder to get wrong. If they say yes, four short notes over the year will serve you better than one long document assembled the night before.
Would you like to hear how the year went from my side, including what I need from you?
Why ask it
A review mostly runs one way, so ask before offering feedback upward. Keep it to one point with an example, said as a request: 'I do better work when I get the brief a week ahead.'
Is there anything else you have been meaning to tell me?
Why ask it
Leave a silence after it. Something your manager was unsure about putting in a formal review sometimes comes out here, once the form is closed.
Getting the most out of your review
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Matching the questions to the review
Annual review
An annual review looks back over a full year and usually arrives with a rating and a pay decision already attached. Give most of your time to Rating and Goals ahead: how the result was reached, and what the next one will be measured against. Your employer may call it a performance review, an appraisal or a job evaluation, and the questions to ask in an annual review are the same under each name.
Mid-year review
At a mid-year review the questions to ask are the ones about direction, because nothing is final yet. Ask which goal is at risk, what has changed since the goals were written, and what the second half should look like. Leave most of Pay and promotion for the cycle in which pay is decided, apart from finding out when that is.
A first review, or a new supervisor
A supervisor who has managed you for two months is reviewing work they mostly did not see. Bring a one-page summary of what you delivered, ask who else was consulted, and give more of the time to Goals ahead than to the rating. In a first review after a probation period, ask what the standard is for someone a year into the job, so the next review has a fixed target.
After a poor review
Ask for the examples, ask which point matters most, and ask directly whether a formal process is being considered. Leave the argument about the rating for a written response. What happens next, and what you are entitled to, depends on your employer and on where you work, so ask HR how it works there and get the expectations in writing.
Preparing
- Write one page of what you delivered, dated, with numbers or named outcomes. A manager with a stack of reviews to write may not remember your February.
- Read the level description for your grade if your employer has one, so you can talk about the standard rather than about feelings.
- Look up the pay range for your role if it is published, or ask HR whether one exists, before you discuss money.
- Mark the three questions you will ask whatever happens, and one or two more from each group that fits your review. An hour seldom has room for more than eight or ten, and the ones that get dropped tend to be the awkward ones.
During the meeting
- Take notes, including quotes. What was said about your rating will matter more in six months than it does in the room.
- When criticism comes, ask for the example before you respond. Vague feedback often gets clearer, or smaller, once there is a specific incident to look at.
- Resist defending everything. A point-by-point rebuttal can come across as proof of the feedback you were just given.
- If you disagree with something substantive, say so once, plainly, and ask what evidence would change their view.
Money and timing
The numbers are usually already set
By the time a review is delivered, ratings and increases have often been through calibration and budget approval. Use the meeting to learn how the decision was made and what would change it, and open the pay conversation on a separate day.
Ask about the calendar
Find out when increases and promotions are decided and when the case has to be written. Making your case two weeks after the cycle closes is a common and avoidable mistake.
Afterwards
- 1Send a written summary within a day: the feedback as you understood it, what you committed to, and what your manager committed to.
- 2Ask for a mid-point check-in halfway to the next review, so nothing is a surprise then either.
- 3Start on one piece of feedback immediately and mention it at the next one-on-one, so the change is witnessed rather than merely made.
- 4If the review contained something you consider inaccurate and it stays on the record, put your response in writing, once, without heat.