Performance review crash course: 4 tips to get you prepared

By Mike Zarrelli

Yearly Performance Reviews. Just the mention can make your heart race, right?  For many young advisors, they’re a mix of anticipation and anxiety.

But a little proactivity can ease those nerves. By reviewing your accomplishments, researching compensation data, and mentally preparing, you can walk into your meeting with confidence, ready to map out the next steps in your career.

Here are four essential tips to help you rock your upcoming performance review!

1. Keep a Record of Your Wins. This is my number 1 tip, but it requires a little upkeep throughout the year. As you know, a lot of your job as a young financial advisor is building rapport with clients, improving your service to them, and increasing your effectiveness as a communicator. Without specific examples, it can be difficult to articulate how you’ve improved as a financial advisor to your boss. To be ready with anecdotes of your progress, create a Word or Google doc labeled “202X Work Accomplishments”. Throughout the year, write down any wins with clients, co-workers, and other personal accomplishments. This can be a compliment from a client after you presented a financial plan, a project you led with other coworkers to improve the firm, or a new designation you attained. By providing specific examples, you help your manager quantify your progress, which ultimately can impact your raises and bonuses.
2. Think of Goals to Set with Your Manager. Simply put, come prepared with goals for the following year. I like to be prepared with a couple of personal goals and a goal to improve the firm (this shows initiative and buy-in on the firm’s success). After reviewing your accomplishments from the previous year, reflect on how you want to build on your progress. This could be starting to learn business development skills, leading a certain number of client meetings, or improving the firm’s financial planning process. It can be hard to know what metrics you should use to determine the success or failure of meeting that goal, but by being prepared, you can collaborate with your manager to set the benchmarks.
3. Know Your Worth: Research Compensation. This is the beauty of the age of information. Compensation numbers for financial advisors are widely available, often broken down by title, region, and firm size. Ahead of your meeting, you can check reports like New Planner Recruiting’s Salary Report, CFP® Board’s 2024 Compensation Study & Salary Calculator, and Charles Schwab’s RIA Benchmarking Study. Understanding the compensation norms for your position will ensure you are ready if you need to negotiate.
4. Embrace and Offer Feedback. Let’s be honest—we all have areas where we can improve. Managers are there to celebrate wins, ensure we have the right tools to do our jobs well and identify growth opportunities. While constructive criticism can sting at times, lower your defenses and recognize this is just a learning opportunity. Ultimately it will make you better at what you do! As a bonus tip, most managers will appreciate receiving feedback on how they performed as a manager and can better support you. So, if you have some helpful feedback, don’t be afraid to share it with your manager.

Performance reviews are not a test; they’re an opportunity to celebrate your wins, plan the next steps in your career, and collaborate with your manager. By keeping a record of your accomplishments, understanding compensation norms, defining clear goals for the upcoming year, and embracing feedback, you turn a potentially nerve-wracking experience into a constructive conversation.

You are now ready to enter your performance review with confidence and show that you’re not just an employee—you’re an asset to your employer worth investing in!

Mike is a Certified Financial Planner with Financial Services Advisory in Rockville, Md. He studied financial planning and accounting at Salisbury University. During his time at Salisbury, he was an active member of the Financial Management Association and was treasurer of his fraternity, Pi Lambda Phi.