A Unique “Pathway” to an Internship

By Jamie
Tax Intern
Cedar Rapids, IA

Jamie

This summer I had the unique opportunity to attend McGladrey’s Pathways Program in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For those of you who’ve never heard of Pathways, it is a leadership program that allows you to network with employees and learn what McGladrey is all about. I first heard about this program through a now current employee who had attended the summer before me. She strongly suggested I attend as the interviews were very laid back, the employees were extremely friendly and, of course, there was a lot of free food. 

So, I signed up the next time the Leadership program was offered at The University of Northern Iowa (UNI). I am sure some of you are wondering where the heck is UNI? Well, it is that itty bitty University whose men’s basketball team beat out #1 Kansas to advance to the Sweet 16 in 2010. Ahh, now you remember! Anyways, after I sent my resume to the HR department I was selected for a phone interview and was then chosen to attend Pathways.

The Pathways Program was a two day event with the first day containing a variety of activities and the second day including two 30 minute interviews. To be honest, I was preparing myself for two long days with speakers upon speakers and very little interaction time. I also thought there would be 50+ students attending, but I soon found out that my assumptions were far from right!

Day 1: 

When I arrived, I was shocked to see that there were only 13 students attending the program. After reading the agenda, I was also surprised that we would have breakout sessions where we would get to tour the office, ask questions to staff panels, and also go on a client visit. Now, I know you are thinking “yay, touring the office sounds like a blast,” but it actually was! The employees made the tour into a scavenger hunt which allowed us to interact with managers, directors, and even partners. They also had us using our creative side by taking a bunch of random objects and trying to relate them to McGladrey in some way. After the lack of creativity displayed in that activity, it was clear why we all chose to go to school for accounting! 

Mini-golf on scavenger hunt

After finishing out the day in the office, we had the option to attend a tailgating grill out at a local park. This was a great way to unwind the day and get to know employees in an informal setting. The highlight of tailgating at the park was when the ice cream truck came. Well, I guess it was more of an ice cream van but who cares, it sold ice cream! I’ve never ordered from an ice cream truck before so it was kind of a big deal. 

Day 2: 

On the second day we had two interviews, which seemed very scary at the time but looking back now they were probably the most laid back interviews I’ve ever had. It was more of getting to know one another and seeing what qualities you could bring to the firm. After the interviews were complete, we drove out to a golf course to enjoy one last fancy meal. 

Within the next week I received a phone call from a partner of the firm asking if I would be interested in accepting an internship position. I was shocked that a partner would take time out of their day to extend an offer for this position! I obviously accepted the offer right away as I knew McGladrey is a wonderful business to work for.

Attending the Pathway’s Program has opened up many doors for me and I believe interning with McGladrey will continue to lead me down new, exciting paths. I look forward to seeing where my internship takes me and how much more knowledge I can squeeze into my already full brain. :-)

Scavenger hunt Group 1

Scavenger hunt Group 2