The Path to Day 1

By Greg Cohen
Consulting Intern
Miami, FL

Before I start telling you about my internship at McGladrey, I want to share with you a little bit about myself. My name is Greg Cohen, and I am an Economics major going into my 4th year at the University of Florida. Some of my pastimes include watching Gator Football, reading about international development and posting something on Instagram or Facebook. I’m stationed out of the Miami, FL office as a Risk Advisory Services Consulting intern. Throughout my series of posts, I hope to share with you my experiences, insights and tips related to my time here at McGladrey. My goal is to answer the questions I had when I was looking for an internship and preparing to start mine here. 

My journey with McGladrey began at the UF career fair. My attention was immediately focused towards the group of people standing around the McGladrey area, so I decided to approach one of the full-time associates. This is where I got my initial exposure to the high-quality of people at the firm. We began talking about McGladrey and everything the company has to offer, but we also talked about each other. She was very interested in getting to know my personality and my interests, not just my professional and extracurricular background. It was just like meeting someone at a party. I felt comfortable and very little pressure as I spoke to the recruiters and associates. My piece of advice to anyone who is interested in talking to McGladrey at an on-campus event is very simple – be yourself! I knew from the moment I left the career fair that McGladrey was the company I wanted to intern for because I knew that the people I met that day were the kind of people I would be excited about spending 40 hours a week with.



View from Baltimore office

Fast forward through the interview process and I’m at the Southeast Intern Orientation in Baltimore, MD. McGladrey flew in about 60 of us from across the east coast to learn about the firm and meet the other interns. The first perk was the incredible hotel we stayed at. It was walking distance from the Baltimore office and it had everything you could imagine. McGladrey made sure that from the moment we got off the plane, we felt taken care of and well-accommodated. It wasn’t just them trying to impress us and make us think McGladrey is awesome (which it is!), but it reflects the culture and nature of the people you work with. You aren’t just a number, you’re a person. The people at McGladrey make an effort to get to know you; they want to build a relationship with you. The second perk was all the free McGladrey gear. I had everything I needed for my first day: pens, notebooks, staplers, t-shirts and much more. I ended up using most of it during orientation because I was learning so much and wanted to reflect on it later. We had the opportunity to listen and speak to former interns and even partners. At first, I have to admit I was intimidated about introducing myself to a partner. However, all the wonderful recruiters told us how they’re normal people just like us and to not be intimidated. Guess what? They were right! One of the best conversations I had during my time in Baltimore was with a partner. He gave me the rundown of all the different certifications I could get and career paths I could take with McGladrey. The third perk was a combination of the great meals and the view from the Baltimore office itself. 



McGladrey Gators, Greg on far right

The Baltimore office was the perfect place to bring all the interns together and get us acquainted with each other and the firm. Most of us were in a city we had never been to, and we all had the same desire to learn. I met some great people that I’ve continued to stay in touch with – interns and employees alike. Orientation was an incredible experience that taught me how to leverage and grow my network, as well as expose me to the plethora of resources I have as an intern at McGladrey.