Intern Orientation

by Stephanie Niemiec
Tax Intern
Chicago, IL 

I recently started interning at McGladrey’s Chicago office in the tax service line. However, I interviewed for the position in March of last year. I initially was nervous for both the on campus and the in office interview, however, after talking with the recruiters and meeting with all the associates and partners the nerves went away. Everyone I met with was welcoming and down to earth, embodying the overall culture of the company. The attitudes and perspectives of the people I met with made me realize that McGladrey was a perfect fit for me based on my background and interests.

My first days at McGladrey included a two day orientation followed by a week of training at the Q Center in St Charles, IL. We spent a majority of the orientation getting better acquainted with the firm and its background and culture. We also discussed what we can expect from our internship and received advice from other first year associates who had gone through the internship program. 

The technical training at the Q Center walked us through preparing a variety of returns so we would be acquainted with the software and the steps used in preparing a return. After that week, I felt more comfortable with the software and significantly improved my technical skills. There was a lot of information to be absorbed in such a short period of time but our instructors made it fun and engaged us the entire time we were in class. We would often take breaks and play games such as Scategories for which my team, the Wet Bandits, took first place when we summed the scores for the entire week. It was an excellent way to meet and get to know interns from the other offices. McGladrey also hosted a charity night on Wednesday where we built bikes for underserved children. This was one of my favorite events I participated in while at the Q center. McGladrey made it a competition testing our creativity and multitasking skills where we would have to answer puzzles and questions in order to get the parts to build the bike and at the end each team had to race the bike to the finish line. We also had to write a song about building bikes and then perform it for everyone. It was a great time and when we were all done we actually met the children who received the bikes which was a truly rewarding experience. 

Based on my experience at orientation and training, I’m really excited about the rest of my internship. I had a great time at orientation and the Q Center and I am eager to apply everything that I have learned in the past two weeks as well as meet and work with new people in the Chicago office. 

Learn more about interning at McGladrey: