To Improve Your Job, Talk to People Who Benefit From It.
If you want to get feedback on your work, it’s easy enough. Just ask your boss. However, if you want especially useful feedback, talk to people who benefit from your work.
The writer Belle Cooper offers this clue at Zapier. Cooper writes:
… try to find people to whom your work directly benefits. This is probably not your boss or your coworkers. They are your end customers or even their customers. They may not be the people you talk to every day, but trying to connect with these people can increase your motivation to work hard. Sometimes you can ask clients to complete a satisfaction survey or ask for feedback directly in an informal setting.
There is so much value in it. For example, when I was a tech writer, my boss always had great constructive feedback. It was helpful. But when I asked the techies who actually used my guides to build the tools, they had a lot more insight into what I could improve.
It’s worth noting, however, that this feedback can sometimes conflict with what the employer actually wants you to do. Just because a customer prefers the product to be delivered in a certain way does not mean your boss agrees. You also need to make sure that your boss doesn’t mind if you seek external feedback in the first place. If not, this is an easy way to get incredibly helpful advice to help you improve your work.
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