A year ago I moved to North America from a non-English Speaking country. I am a tech professional and have been working at a very large company for 10 months now, and we're entering the self performance review phase. Since it's my first job here, I could use help to advocate for myself as best as I can.
I have been doing well at my job, I met all the objectives set by my manager and they have said a few times they are happy with my performance. I participated in the most important projects in the team and had important individual contributions.
Where I'm from, I'd be comfortable rating myself as “meets expectations” given how I feel about my work and considering I'm a new employee. In my country this would not be seen as a negative review and I'd be entitled to a bonus and a small salary increase.
What is it like in North-America? How do ratings affect bonuses and raises? I don't want to hurt my review due to cultural differences so any help is appreciated