Preparing for your performance review throughout the year can turn one of the most dreaded meetings in an employee’s work life into a career-enhancing event, Ohio Young e-CPA reports.

Some steps to take before the review include:

Keep Track of Your Progress Throughout the Year
Keep a file documenting courses you’ve attended or training you’ve completed, as well as special projects you and your boss might not remember at year end.

If you haven’t kept documents to prove your activities, check e-mails and archive folders. Compare your accomplishments with goals set in the last review to show progress.

Show How You’ve Exceeded Expectations
An employee really shines where he or she has taken the initiative and taken on projects that benefit the team. Highlighting a new idea that streamlined business operations helps when you are looking for a raise.

Use Your Review to Your Advantage
Use a discussion of areas where improvements are needed to identify ways your boss can support continuing education or new, more challenging assignments.

Create goals for the coming year and plans to implement them, says Dale Winston, chief executive of recruiting firm Battalia Winston International, in careerjournal.com, but remember to focus on the boss’s priorities. Volunteer for projects or assignments that will benefit the boss and the firm; it will show that you are a team player.

It’s important to prepare yourself for criticisms during the review meeting, but do not lose your composure if some of these are hard to accept, MarketWatch says. Ask questions that show you understand your reviewer’s concerns.

What to Do With a Bad Review
When you feel that the review has been unfair, Dawn Rosenberg McKay suggests that you “set up an appointment to meet again with your reviewer, according to Ohio Young e-CPA. “If there are any points that were correct, acknowledge those. Use clear examples that counteract the criticisms made.”