Performance Reviews And Measuring Success 🏆

Hi Reader,

We’ve reached that time of the year when we receive performance review feedback. I’d like to say there is more to success than the metrics you see on an analytics dashboard or a performance review rating given by your company.

Remember the small wins

Success can be measured in so many ways. You just have to look further and deeper, and learn how many small successes make up those bigger wins. Celebrate the small wins. Appreciate the small milestones and goals that you achieve. It can be as simple as “I turned up to go for a run”; celebrate that. “I managed to add auto layout to my first component in Figma”; celebrate that!

Look at how far you’ve come and what you’ve achieved. It’s so easy to get caught up looking at the things we don’t have, yet we have already achieved so much. Focus on what you do have.

On your own terms

Just because one person said you didn’t have a good performance review, does it mean your entire year was a failure? You can measure success on your own terms. If you feel you’ve been successful, you don’t need another person to validate it, and one metric saying you haven’t done well doesn’t mean you haven’t been successful.

If you didn’t reach a vanity metric for social media followers, video views or subscribers, does it mean you’ve let yourself down? What purpose do these metrics serve for you?

Constructive feedback

When it comes to receiving feedback, be humble, open and grateful that you’re receiving it. It’s a chance to learn more about yourself from a different perspective. You always have a choice to take on board the feedback you feel is relevant and fair. Who do you need support from to make the changes you’re committed to?

Also remember not to be too harsh on yourself. How would you give this feedback to a friend or family member? Would you really be that harsh and critical to them? So why add that extra burden on yourself? Try to put some small, actionable changes in place and I’m sure you’ll be fine! Remember, it’s okay to ask for help and get the support you need.

Enjoy the week!
Furquan

Design Take-Home Assignments Made Easy

In this video I talk through key tips on how to tackle take-home assignments. We look at some examples and a solution to an assignment I successfully completed.

I also include a free Figma file with the presentation template I used for my take-home assignment.

Watch the video

Effective Ways Of Naming Your Layers In Figma

Here’s a really useful Figma Community file by Luis Ouriach, walking through best practices for naming your layers at different stages of the design process. It makes development handoff so much simpler.

Grab the free file

Design Whiteboard Challenge Guide

A common part of the design interview process is the whiteboard challenge. An interviewer gives you a prompt, and you lead and showcase how you would approach the problem.

Watch the video for advice on how to approach these challenges and smash through this part of your interview! I showcase a framework I’ve used in interviews that has worked really well for me. Hopefully it can help you out too!

Watch the video

That’s all folks!