Laughing While You Work

Meghan Houston
Talent Acquisition Specialist
McLean, VA

What makes your firm different? I hear this question every day when I am speaking with candidates about different job opportunities with McGladrey. Whether the individual is interested in Audit, Tax, or Consulting (our three Lines of Business) my answer is always the same: it’s the people.

In fact, when I had five offers on the table nearly three years ago, I chose McGladrey for this specific reason. I knew I wanted to do recruiting, and I knew what I did not want. I did not want a chaotic environment with toxic energy. Anyone that has been in that situation knows when you don’t like where you work, that energy will bleed into all facets of your life. After I hung up with the Recruiting Director (who is now one of my mentors) I knew I wanted to work with this person, and their team. When I started with the firm I was responsible for every line of business for the entire Southeast region. I sit in our DC Metro office and began covering every office from Baltimore to Miami.  As a result, there was tremendous exposure; I met a lot of different people in a lot of different places. The common denominator with everyone is that regardless of title, line of business or office everyone has a great attitude. In the middle of every conversation, I find myself laughing with the team or individual.  I have worked with Associates from Campus Recruiting efforts, Managers and Directors to help me understand a role on a deeper level with debrief calls, and Senior Associates with basic questions of “can you walk me through an Audit?”. I even sat in on an actual client engagement with a Consulting group as they presented their findings to a client; what could be more hands on than that?  This past December I attended an event with an Audit Partner and by the end of the night we were making jokes about middle children (we both come from large families of 7 or more children). There is always a connection to be had and what I’ve found is, everyone here is prone to a giggle here and there.

I’m not saying every day is rainbows and butterflies, of course during busy season it is a stressful time, and with any Consulting Practice there are ebbs and flows. However, even during the hectic times when one would say it is chaotic, I have found that everyone might laugh instead of explode in a fit a anger. Public Accounting  is a competitive industry, and it is how you deal with the stress that shows your true colors and character. For me, that is what makes McGladrey different, and the most successful middle-market firm (we are ranked #1 after all). Perhaps that is our secret to success: we all know when to have a good laugh.