A guide to help you pick your raters

Nature of the Goal: Look at the goal itself; who would have the best insight on your progress?

Relationship Tenure: How long has the rater known you? Ideally it should be for a minimum of 4 to 6 months.

Relationship Strength: It is important that you trust the person who you invite to rate you. From there you can determine how strong a relationship is. While you want raters with whom you have strong relationships, it is also encouraged that you select raters with whom you want to enhance your working alliance.

Objectivity: Be sure to invite people who can provide objective perspective. You need people who are capable of providing constructive criticism and who will also take the time to provide you praise for what you are doing well so you know what to keep doing.

Discussion: Talk thoughtfully with each rater to be clear about the purpose of your goal, outline how often you hope they will rate you, explain the help you think you need, and if possible provide some recent examples (positive and negative) so the rater knows what he/she is looking for.