There are a lot of things that I can pick up on a job. But my past performance is an indicator of what kind of productivity I can bring to a new team in the future. Here are some selections from my past performance reviews, with the kind permission of the writers:
From Mary Bertone, manager at Netflix:
“Meg’s time with us was impactful. She did a great job of building consensus across multiple teams who had never previously been part of a taxonomy development process. Deliverables at the end of the projects were of the highest quality. She left us with very thorough and well organized documentation for the folks that would be assuming long term responsibility of the governance of the taxonomies she developed.
“In addition to effectively tackling the projects she was assigned, Meg was very helpful in working with us to develop documentation best practices.”
From Christina Aguilera, manager at The Walt Disney Studios:
“Your first year as an employee has been very impressive…Throughout this time, you have continued to impress me with your ability to multitask. You always maintain professionalism and a sense of calm that aids the team members in their business objectives. You are consistently a voice of reason. This is a great scenario of leading by example. Your thoughtful approach is well received across all business units that we support. In addition, you have continued to prove yourself as the subject matter expert within the Asset Management team. I am looking forward to the opportunities you will have to spread that knowledge across the Studio and the Company.”
From Lisa Schell, manager at Allied Vaughn:
“Meg used these experiences as an opportunity to both explore archival best practices and professionally network. She is personable, professionally confident and flexible. She was at ease in a team environment, communicated clearly and succinctly, while adaptable when project priorities shifted. Meg always followed through on communication and projects, and was quickly able to adjust when projects demanded a new direction. Additionally, Meg possesses a high level of competency which informed decisive choices consistent with archival standards.”
From Kate Hutchens, Reader Services Coordinator at Special Collections, University of Michigan:
“Meg has an outstanding aptitude for customer service, which is appreciated by both our patrons and her colleagues in the Special Collections Library. She takes it upon herself to ensure that users have a positive experience and that they are supported and comfortable as they navigate our (sometimes arcane) protocols, so they are able to get to the business of their research.
“Meg also has a knack (and much appreciated impulse) for keeping work and spaces organized, and this past semester she has taken on the primary responsibility for maintaining order in our hold room, which is no tiny task. She has also helped to document this process, which had heretofore mostly grown organically, to facilitate its smooth continuation after she graduates.”
From Anne Elias, a Collection Services Specialist at Special Collections, University of Michigan:
“Meg is an excellent addition to the reading room. She is very hands-on with patron assistance, always goes the extra mile with general questions and is patient during stressful interactions with others. She does an outstanding job helping our patrons feel welcomed and informed.
“Meg is pretty determined when it comes to searching for items that are difficult to find. She uses her practical library skills as well as creative thinking to locate items. She is also very careful when returning items to the shelf.
“Meg displays strong attention to detail and is quick to learn new procedures while also using her own sense of how to both preserve our materials and make them accessible. Working with Children’s Literature presents challenges in that standard layout and text are often combined with large illustrations and decorative dust jackets. I think Meg has really learned how to place inscriptions and stamping in ways that are practical and also preserve the integrity of the material. In addition, Meg has taken on almost all of the post-cataloging responsibilities for Culinary JBLCA materials. This involves not only general inscription and stamping, but also reviewing individual MARC record fields to compare information on the print cataloging flag with information entered by catalogers. Once again, her attention to detail and ability to dig for further information were some of the reasons I specifically assigned her this project. She has also barcoded and updated item records for the entire oversize Cookery & periodicals collection.”