Help!! End of year performance review, what should I do?

Hello everyone,

I am a recent grad who got a job at a large insurance company in Canada. I am in a rotational program where I rotate every 8 months with different sectors of the business.

During end of year performance reviews at my company you are rated on a 5/5 scale from my understanding entering the company. 5 is really hard to get and is often reserved for VP’s who have more specific KPIs.

When I started I asked my supervisor how feasible it was for me to get a 3 or 4 since I started in September and the review was in December she said it was very feasible. I wrote my goals and proceeded to keep working so I can get a 3 at the minimum which is that (I am meeting expectations so I get 100% of my bonus).

In November during a 1:1 with my manager she mentioned that there’s another rating which is a 2 which means developing, that I might get because I am new. I was extremely confused because according to all our meetings she praised me and said I was doing good and all my outputs were good etc. During this meeting she reassured me that the reason I might get a 2 is because I am new to the role and that I haven’t done everything or experienced everything my role entails. She reassured me that it wasn’t a performance issue.

My problem with this is that since I am in a rotational program I don’t have an actual role title or description. So to get ahead of this I asked for her to provide me with one if she is going to evaluate me using this imaginary role description. Which she has not still provided.

My performance assessment was 2 days ago and I was given a 2/5 (developing) and she just reiterated the same thing she said before about me being new. To make me feel better she said she would probably also get a 2/5 from her manager because she has also been in the role for only 6 months. I tried to ask her why that’s fair if I am meeting expectations like she said and I am doing everything right. She couldn’t give me a clear answer asides that’s how it is 🤷🏽‍♀️.

I would take it as that’s how it is if every other person in my cohort in the rotational program was also given a 2 but their leaders seem to have given them 3s. So I am so confused on why I got a 2. I would accept this if she actually gave me a reason or gave me feedback on areas to work on that affected my scores but the only reason she gave me was the fact that I am new to my role.

This rating has really affected my mental health in the last few days. And I just need someone to weigh in on this. I already asked her to provide me with the ‘role description’ and what ever expectations she wants from me so I could work towards that (it seems like she’s struggling to provide one honestly). She also seemed so shocked when I said in my next assessment I am aiming to get at least a 4 (which made me think that she doesn’t believe in me or that she has already boxed me or has bias because I am a new grad). I don’t know what to do or how to approach this from here. Is this corporate culture? What do I do? Help!!