Yeah, I hear you. I've always put considerable effort into my self assessments, trying to pick just the right words to make sure it's concise yet potent. Howeve

Yeah, I hear you. I've always put considerable effort into my self assessments, trying to pick just the right words to make sure it's concise yet potent. However I had already made up my mind to leave my previous employer by the time perf review cycle had come around, so I decided to understate everything as much as I possibly could, basically eliminating all superlatives and just stating as flatly as I possibly could all of the things that happened. My project was "late" -- as in, later than an arbitrary deadline everyone around me was trying to hoist on the project versus what I said all along the timeline was actually going to be. Eschewing metrics, I focused on "soft" issues like supporting members of my team who were struggling with the sudden work-from-home transition. I deliberately kept any mention of ARR, growth, or anything like that out. I still ended up with an "exceeds expectations" rating. My management must have made up their minds ahead of time about that, because what I wrote for my self assessment didn't support it.