This isn't crap. This is an important part of managing your career. These are questions you, as a professional in the 21st century, should be asking yourself anyway. Know that your bosses are asking themselves the same questions about you and giving you the opportunity to toot your horn. They are constantly evaluating the question "Does this person provide adequate value to the company for what he's costing us?" Do not squander this opportunity.

Let's look at what they ask.

Using your objectives established for the prior year, summarize the results you achieved for each. Which objectives did you meet, exceed, or fall short on?

Translation: Did he do what he said he was going to do?

2. What additional accomplishments did you achieve during the past year?

Translation: If we forgot anything about how you provide value to the company, now is your chance to tell us what it is.

3. What do you feel are your major strengths in your role? How can your strengths be further leveraged?
4. In what areas do you feel you need to further develop? How can your manager help?

Translation: We want to get more value out of you. Help us do that.

A job is not a situation where you get the job, and you're set for life. You and the company have a relationship. You need to provide adequate value to the company. The company must provide value to you, in the terms of money, interesting work, a good place to work, etc. Either party is free to terminate the relationship, so it's in the best interest of both to get as much out of it as possible.

Just as you evaluate the company to decide "Do I want to work here or go somewhere else", the company asks "Do I want this guy, or should we get someone else." You need to ask yourself if you're providing as much as possible, because if not, it means less money, or a loss of a job, because someone else will come along who does it better.

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