Try to steer discussions in direction that you want to go, by concentrating on improvements you have made and can continue to make with appropriate training or job experience.

Listen.

Listen to, and take note of, your manager’s comments. Weigh up what he has to say even if you don’t agree with it. There may still be an element of truth in what he has to say, and you may learn something useful about how others see you. If you do disagree, however, it is important to say so. Don’t just accept his comments passively. Make it clear that you have a different opinion, but back up your response with cogent arguments of your own to support your case.

Stay Calm

At all times keep your cool. It is almost inevitable that you will bear brunt of some criticism. You manager will feel almost obliged to search for something, however wonderfully you have performed during preceding months. Don’t get angry. Keep calm. Fight your corner. Stay polite.

You will come across as someone who can take criticism, but is prepared to defend himself and his views. That can only do you good.

Profit from experience

Use appraisal process to your advantage. Remember points 1 and 2. Go into meeting well prepared, so that after initial looking back you can steer meeting towards where you want to go when you start looking forward. Talk about your aims and goals. Show yourself to be a positive, forward looking person. Say what it is that you need to achieve both your own personal aims and goals set for you by your manager. Ask for training necessary. Ask for job experience you want. Ask for more responsibility and promotion. You cannot fail to impress your manager with your enthusiasm.

Your appraisal should be a positive and beneficial experience for both you and your manager. It is a time when you can both reach a common understanding of past and both explain what you are looking for in future. It is a time when grievences can be aired and misunderstandings cleared up. It is a time when you can reset course and secure resources needed. In short, it is something to look forward to rather than to dread.

Labor is easier to find. Hiring means asking around, getting referrals, collecting resumes, placing classifieds, posting job lists, works. Hiring out means calling a temp agency, placing a help-wanted on guru.com or one of other work @ home website, or one a dozen other super easy ways to find quick work. You have benefit of a high supply of workers, low demand for work on your side.

The Cons: The biggest negative reduced accountability. In a traditional employment scenario you've got boss looking over each person's shoulder reminding them what their job is. Out-sourcing is not like this at all. It's important to structure payment in such a way that project gets done. If you spend thousands up front, there's always risk that they could bail out. This also means that you should take a look at previous work. If they have a habit of being dedicated to their past projects... then they'll probably be dedicated to you too. Due diligence is must. Outsourcing is not for micro-manager.

Repetitive or long term projects are also difficult to efficiently outsource unless you can get a long-term, reliable, maintenance agreement. Easier said than done. It's much easier (and usually cheaper) to hire someone for $20 an hour to work full time ($40,000k a year) and finish 40 different projects than to outsource each project and manage risks and payment headache. Especially if you're on a deadline or counting on each project to be done according to tight specifications.

Conclusion: Depending upon your needs, it may be a good idea to look around at your outsourcing options. I would definitely recommend trying domestic outsourcing first. If you're worried about losing touch with your contractors then hire someone local, if you're willing to assume added risk for improved cost then try your hand in national markets.

It's a great way to find people with different skills for your organization. Stop wasting your time trying to be "jack of all trades" for your company and let experts handle work for you. That's what efficient distribution of work is all about. Give it a try!

----------------------------------------------------------- Aaron Colman, helping business make money online.

Web design, custom PHP scripts, MySQL databases and more.

Free e-Course: Mastering Internet Lead Generation http://www.ibasics.biz/leads -----------------------------------------------------------