My mid-summer evaluation was on Friday and it went extremely well! Every intern’s performance is evaluated by their manager once in the middle of the summer and a second time at the end of the summer. These evaluations help an intern learn where they are excelling and what parts of their work ethic may need to change.

My manager started the evaluation by asking me what I would like to get out of the evaluation. Technically, the meetings are required so I had to sit through it whether I wanted to get something out of it or not. However, my manager’s question shed light on the fact that I’m at State Farm for a purpose and I should find meaning in all aspects of my work which includes mandatory evaluations. Subsequently, I asked for constructive criticism that will help me work on my skills that may not be up to par with State Farm standards. Thankfully, I’ve been working my butt off this summer and my manager recognized that, so this part of the evaluation was extremely easy to sit through. 🙂

After assessing my strengths and weaknesses my manager asked where I see myself with State Farm in the future. I wasn’t sure how to respond. Last summer I thought it was my destiny. This summer I’ve been wondering whether or not the grass is greener at other companies. I told my manager the truth, I have a lot of respect for State Farm and they are a great employer but I want to compare it to another company. I want to work somewhere else next summer.