Word for someone who always seeks appreciation for his deeds or work

Solution 1:

The closest I can come up with is a compliment seeker or a compliment whore, though I can't find a definition that applies to your case. The main difference being that the compliment seekers seem to go about it in a roundabout way, not 'point blank', as you put it.

You could also simply say that the person is fishing for compliments, though even that doesn't necessarily imply directness.

Solution 2:

An insecure person:

• Insecure people have little confidence and are uncertain about their own abilities or if other people really like them:
  • I wonder what it was about her upbringing that made her so insecure. He still feels insecure about his ability to do the job.

(Cambridge Dictionary)

A narcissist:

• The Narcissistic Personality occurs where a person has an inflated sense of their own importance and seeks to gain recognition of this from others.

like in:

• Seeking constant admiration, praise and approval.

(changingminds.org)