Some internships include formal evaluations for your supervisor to fill out before you finish at the site. They may even play a part in the grade you will receive for the course. Few people like being assessed by others, so it is essential that during this process you remain flexible and open to the supervisor’s opinions. If the supervisor does not initiate a meeting to discuss the results, you may want to suggest one.

Whether you have a formal or informal performance evaluation, some disagreements at this point are common because no two people will see a situation in the same way. Understanding the reasoning behind the supervisor’s assessment of your performance will provide valuable information and probably a peace of mind as well. You should expect that criticisms are a part of the process, and knowing that possibility in advance can help.

Some individuals find it more difficult to deal with criticism than others. You might want to keep in mind that the site supervisor is trying to help you improve in the areas you are weak. Just remember that the evaluation is not the end of the world. Take a deep breath and listen to what the supervisor has to say. While being critiqued by others can be difficult, it is an effective way to gain insight about your strengths and weaknesses from the point of view of someone with significant field experience.

Seeing how others perceive you can be a valuable source of information, but it is important to remember that many outside factors can influence a supervisor’s evaluation, too. For example, supervisors may have a style that clashes with yours. Like you, they can have a busy or a bad day. Moreover, some students have “A-itis,” which is to say that they think they must always do exceptionally well or something is wrong with them.

9.3.1 Preparing for Your Final Evaluation

You will likely be participating in some type of formal evaluation as you prepare to end your internship. Even if your agency does not do formal evaluations, you will need to complete whatever process is required for your college or university. Whether this includes being graded on your specific learning outcomes, creating a portfolio, or another type of evaluation, there are certain activities that will help you prepare.

Using information from your self reflection, make a list of what you feel are your biggest accomplishments over your time at the agency. Give concrete examples to support your list. Also write down some of the challenges you faced along the way, and not only how you dealt with them, but what you learned from that situation. You might also want to review your learning objectives, and list examples of how you have accomplished each of them. If there were barriers to completing an objective, note what happened. Finally, include how you will take this experience with you into the future. How has your internship influenced your future plans?

By planning ahead, you should feel comfortable and confident going into your final evaluation. You won’t have to try to remember back over your time at the agency, since you will have reviewed this information ahead of time. If there are disagreements about your performance, you will be prepared to support your view with concrete examples and information.

9.3.2 Respectful Self-Advocacy: Being Honest Without Being Rude

Self-Advocacy involves the ability to identify your needs and ask for assistance in a confident and respectful manner. As mentioned elsewhere, every internship provides opportunities to learn, regardless of how successful you feel it has been. When internships don’t go as planned, we learn information about the agency, the work, and ourselves.

Supervisors will often ask interns for feedback on their experience during a final evaluation. This can make you feel “on the spot” if you haven’t thought ahead about this. If you have had a difficult time, it might be tempting to take the opportunity to air all of your grievances. It also may be tempting to smile and say everything was perfect because you don’t want to offend. Neither of these responses will be helpful in the long run, either for you, the agency, or future interns.

Being honest about your experience is a critical skill in human services (figure 9.2). Learning how to give feedback honestly and professionally is important in any profession. So, how best to go about this? The following tips can help you craft feedback that is both truthful and respectful.

• Include observations that you feel are strengths of the agency. This shows that you can acknowledge the agency’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Be specific about what you feel are issues. For example, instead of saying “I felt uncomfortable during team meetings” state “I felt uncomfortable when the case managers used words like “lazy” and “hopeless” to describe clients during meetings”.
• Offer suggestions or solutions if you can. It helps people absorb a critique if it comes with a solution or a path forward. It also shows that you have thought hard about the issue, and are not just complaining. Perhaps you feel like you were asked to work independently with clients without adequate training. You may suggest the agency create a training manual for interns to keep track of what they have learned and any gaps that need to be addressed.

Figure 9.2. Giving feedback can help you, the agency, and future interns

While it can be helpful to give feedback, it can also feel–and be–risky. You cannot guarantee how the information will be received, and you don’t want to create problems for yourself as you begin your career. Here are some cautions to accompany the previous tips:

• Listen to your own intuition about whether or not it is safe to give feedback. If you have already observed that the agency (or your supervisor) is not open to feedback, you are probably not in a position to change that. You may decide to share your observations with your instructor, and allow them to share it with the agency as they see fit.
• If your concern has to do with safety, make sure you alert your instructor and/or the office that coordinates internships for your school. It is important for them to know if students are being put in dangerous situations.
• As a new professional, you may have been trained in newer methods or use more current language to express your work. This can conflict with colleagues have a “This is how we’ve always done it” perspective. You may notice that the wording on their forms is dated and uses language that is not considered culturally appropriate (for example, only being able to choose “male” or “female” for gender). As human service professionals, advocating for social justice is core to our work. If you want to make suggestions, be neutral about your observations and refrain from passing judgment. The goal is to improve services for clients, not prove you are right.

You can also talk to your instructor about your concerns. They can help you put together your thoughts, and even role-play with you so you can practice giving your feedback.