Podcast: New Associates Finish Their First Busy Season

Last November and this April, you had the opportunity to hear from three of our new associates regarding their experiences so far at McGladrey. Kelly, Nathan and Zach finished up their first busy season a couple months ago, and they are back again to share with you what their busy experience season was like and what was ahead of them for this summer.

Thanks again to Kelly, Nathan and Zach for enlightening us their experiences as they have launched their career here at McGladrey!

Kelly G. - Tax Associate from Boston, MA

Nathan B. - Audit Associate from Elkhart, IN

Zach W. - Consulting Associate from Des Moines, IA

Happy 2nd Blogaversary!!!

Two years ago, a new concept was launched - a blog about what it was like to work at McGladrey. Well, not a completely new concept, other companies like Microsoft and Sodexo had similar blogs in place already, but certainly novel for our industry. The goal from the beginning was to peel back the 'top layer' and provide a deeper view into our company, proving you, the reader, with more detailed information than you could get from any other source about our jobs, our culture, our perks, and our people.

Since we launched the blog on July 24, 2008, we've had just under 24,000 visitors from all 50 states and many countries around the world. Our Facebook page, which carries a feed of our blog posts, averages 3000-4000 visitors a month, providing even greater exposure to the content of Success starts here. There have been over 180 posts on topics including our community service initiatives, our internship program, our locations, our jobs and the the numerous awards that we have received. We've had contributions from our interns, our managers and our recruiters. We've offered you content via video, podcast and even screenplay. It's been a great couple years at Success starts here, and we look forward to an even more exciting year ahead with even more contributors and more exciting content to come.

We thank all of you for taking the time to visit our site to learn more about McGladrey and what it's like to work here. We have alot of great stories here at McGladrey, and it's our pleasure to bring them to you as often as we can. To celebrate our 2nd anniversary, here's some of my favorite posts/topics from the last year (in no particular order):

• Capstone Recaps - For the first time at this year's Summer Intern Capstone Conference, three McGladrey Interns provided their perspectives of their experiences at this great event: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3


• Intern Orientations - I was fortunate to attend our fun and informative new intern orientations in New York and Vienna, VA this summer.


• A New Day at McGladrey - The firm celebrated a new brand with local celebrations and a giant cake!


• New Associate Podcast Series - 3 McGladrey Associates described for us their first days at the firm and what their first busy season was like.


• C.E. speaks at VT - McGladrey's President, C.E. Andrews, spoke at his alma mater about the importance of business ethics.


• The right expectations about work-life flexibility - McGladrey's work-life expert Teresa Hopke provides her perspective on McGladrey's culture of flexibility.


• A Holiday Party Alternative - The Mid-Atlantic McGladrey offices celebrate the holidays by giving back.


• My Shawshank Redemption - Former McGladrey Intern and soon to be McGladrey Associate, Rachel, shares her experiences balancing a Masters program, studying for the CPA exam, and life in general (in screenplay format!)


• Polls!!! - We need to get these going again, but for a few months last year we had some great participation in several monthly polls that we ran.


• Interns raise money for the MDA - McGladrey interns take a unique approach for raising funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Great News and Views in Boston and Baltimore

It's been a big week here at McGladrey, complete with a major acquisition and two new offices. On Wednesday, it was announced that McGladrey had completed it's acquisition of Boston's Caturano & Company. The new combined Boston operation will be the fifth largest accounting, tax and business consulting firm in New England with approximately 500 employees. The local offices will consolidate to be based out of the Caturano building in Charlestown, complete with beautiful views of Boston Harbor and the USS Constitution. This office will now also be the third largest in the firm. A new, larger operation like this will certainly offer numerous opportunities going forward. Please check back often (or create a Job Agent) to explore career opportunities in Boston.

Speaking of harbor views, the new McGladrey Baltimore office officially opened this week. And let me tell you, what a view it is! Located in the new Legg Mason building in the Inner Harbor, McGladrey resides on two floors of this high rise, offering amazing views, close proximity to shopping, the National Aquarium, and hundreds of restaurants in Harborplace, Fells Point, and Little Italy. As a frequent visitor to Baltimore myself, I can't wait to get down to the new office to check it out. We'll include pictures of the new office in our Facebook Office Views Photo Album for sure.

In the meantime, the Baltimore has several openings in it's Tax operation. To learn more and submit your resume, click on the job titles below.


Tax Senior Associate - Baltimore, MD

Tax Manager - Baltimore, MD

Tax Director - Baltimore, MD

Ask BJ - Making the most of Job Agents

A frequent question that we see from candidates while searching our career site for jobs is:

"What happens if I don't see a job that matches what I am looking for? how do I go about submitting a resume?"

I addressed this in a prior post, but not only is it worth mentioning again, but we also have recently made some enhancements to our process, so we wanted to make sure we relay the most up-to-date information on to you.

To help ensure that candidates do not get 'lost' in the resume database and that they are directed on to the most appropriate recruiter for a response, we need to have a resume submitted to a specific job. If you are not able to find a specific job to apply to, a 'job agent' can be created. With the job agent function, our Career Site will email you once a job match is found.


When creating your job agent, complete the fields shown below and then 'confirm' your entries.

• Job Agent Name (something you pick, a title to remember what you have created)Keyword (if desired)
• Frequency (NEW - you can now tell our career site how often you want to receive alerts)
• Expiration Date (NEW - you can tell our career site when to disable this alert)
• Job Category
• State
• City
• Position Level
  

Note - you can always modify or delete an existing job agent or create a new one. You can create and save up to 3 separate job agents on the Career Site.

Podcast: New Parent Coach Program

Among the many great work-life benefits that we offer to our employees are a number of benefits specifically geared towards new parents, including our child care resource and referral program, adoption benefits of $5,000 subsidy per adopted child, 6 weeks annual paid adoption leave, 3 weeks paid new father leave, 6-8 weeks maternity leave (through short-term disability), and a new parent coach program.

The new parent coach program helps McGladrey employees learn more about how to balance work and parenting, and the expectations that go along with being a new parent while being a productive worker. In the linked Podcast below, Lauren Brunell, a Campus Recruiter from our Chicago office shares her experience taking advantage of this incredibly useful resource.

Click here to listen to the podcast

McGladrey 2010 Summer Intern Capstone Conference- Day 3

Another Capstone Conference has come and gone, another 2/12 days of learning, networking, sharing and fun. Christina Rossetti, an intern from our Stamford, CT office and a student at Boston College, shares with us her experience of Day 3 of the conference (from 30,000 feet!):

Sitting in seat 5B and soaring 30,000 feet above Illinois, I can truly begin to reminisce about my final day in St. Charles. Sitting here on my flight surrounded by the interns from McGladrey’s Connecticut and New York offices, it is hard to believe that the Capstone Conference has come and gone so quickly. Today started with another great breakfast in the Q Tower, where waffles, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs got me energized for the day ahead. As I made my way to the St. Charles Amphitheatre with the rest of my Connecticut crew, I passed eager groups waiting to perform their skits. My own nerves were beginning to ignite as I took my seat in the large room, remembering that I too would be presenting later that morning. Wow, six more hilarious and creative presentations. Before my nerves could get to me again, I saw Ken Bansemer walk down to stage.

I remembered Ken from his shenanigans at the Blackjack table the night before and wondered what to expect from his speech, which was titled, “Success is Easy… It’s Failing That’s Hard.” Now, failure is a concept I usually prefer not to think about, but Ken explained the importance of both failing and embracing change in life. Ken lightened the mood when he shared videos of his piano recitals, where he struggled with some of his songs (an experience I can certainly relate to when I think back to my own piano recitals). We spent time talking about goal setting, and Ken had us write one goal on a sheet of paper and put it into a self-addressed envelope. He explained that he would mail us this letter about a year from now, just as a reminder that we should never give up on our dreams. My personal goal is to run the Boston Marathon, and I feel much more ready to accomplish this now that I know I must share, plan, commit, act, and learn in order to succeed.

Already feeling motivated, our next activity magnified the feeling of inspiration. We paired up and began putting together blankets for the Salvation Army by trimming and tying together fleece fabrics. I was glad that McGladrey gave the interns at the conference an opportunity to give back to the community, because helping others definitely seems to be one of McGladrey’s values. This activity soon wrapped up and before I knew it I was in front of the entire conference ready to act out the skit that my group and I had been practicing. Thankfully, with a crowd of smiling faces in front of me, the skit went by smoothly and I calmly sat back and watched the last six teams present, including the McGladrey Mythbusters and a great Steve Erwin impersonator.

After our last lunch at the Q Center, we heard from our final speaker, Rory Vaden, who shared some great stories that really got me thinking about how I can be successful later in life. Rory explained that success is about doing the things other people do not want to do. Metaphorically, we must remember to take the stairs when everyone around us takes the escalator. The main thing I realized after listening to both speakers today was the importance of stepping out of my comfort zone and taking some risks. After Rory’s inspiring words, we concluded the conference with awards for the best presentations and a raffle… Man, I really wanted that I-Pod Touch. We also watched video footage from the entire conference, where we could all relive our experiences working in our teams, listening to speakers, and gambling at Casino night.

As the plane begins its descent into LaGuardia, I realize it is time for me to say goodbye to my new friends sitting around me. I know I’ll see my Stamford gang next week, but what about the rest of the interns I met at Capstone? What will we all bring with us as we return to our internships? I know that I am leaving with a much greater understanding of myself. Not only do I know my Kolbe score is a 7-7-3-3, I also feel ready to make short- and long-term goals for my future. More importantly, I have learned the importance of working as a team and embracing each other’s differences. The Capstone Conference was a great way to kickoff my internship and future career in public accounting…thank you McGladrey!


Thanks again Christina, and thanks again as well to Ryan Donaghy and Morgane Dion for sharing their Capstone experiences as well. You can view pictures from Day 3 below, and we'll have more to come in future posts. Capstone is one of the true highlights of the summer intern experience at McGladrey. If you are a student and are interested experiencing a future Capstone Conference yourself, be sure to see us on campus this Fall to explore Summer Internship opportunities with us.

McGladrey 2010 Summer Intern Capstone Conference- Day 3

McGladrey 2010 Summer Intern Capstone Conference- Day 2

Day 1 was long and fun, day 2 was sure to be even longer and even more fun. Morgane Dion, an intern from our Phoenix, AZ office and a student at Arizona State University, shares with us her experience at day 2 of McGladrey's Summer Intern Capstone Conference.

After a well needed hearty breakfast, myself and the rest of the interns gathered in the Amphitheatre where we were treated by Ben and an energetic guest speaker, Jacque Anderson. She started her presentation explaining that 70% of your career is built from experience, 20% is from people that surround you, and the remaining 10% is from self-development. Experience is a combination of great work, risk, and team. Capstone seemed to be organized in a way that brought all three components together. She did a great job of explaining each of these and giving examples. Good work simply blossoms from your education, while great work is not only meaningful to your company, but also to yourself. She shared with us her “exit card” or chance card and how it has pushed her to think and take risk whether in your personal relationship or your professional position. She played “Name that tune” with us, the song was her favorite “Like a Rolling Stone”, which was used to revive the energy in the room and illustrate someone taking a risk at Columbia Records. The most inspirational story she told us was about her coworker and friend Charlene, who always took the risk of taking the job that no one else wanted to take and ended her the position of CEO of GE as one of the most successful women in business. Her presentation was very entertaining with many anecdotes. She did very well at keeping everyone awake that early in the morning.

After Jacque Anderson handed us our own copy of her “exit card” and a coupon from her old employer Pillsbury, we broke out into our teams. Teams met up to work on their presentation, live or video. There are three different topics for the presentation. One is Seventeen Again, which involves going back and advising high school students into being the best possible candidate to enter into the public accounting industry. The second topic is how older generations view our generation. The last topic is giving tips to be the perfect intern. We met with our engagement leaders to ask question and tell them about what and how we were doing. Promptly at 11:45, the interns had lunch with the McGladrey Leadership Team. All the interns were divided onto 12 tables and each table included a member of the leadership team. The interns were given question topic to ask each of the leaders to spur conversations, but at our table, like at most, did not need them. After lunch we all gathered back together to have a Q&A session with McGladrey’s two leaders: David Scudder, the managing partner, and C.E. Andrews, the COO & President of McGladrey.

The two marched in to the Virginia Tech fight song— and that was when I knew this was going to be a session full of laughter and life lessons. Kimpa Moss, one of the Leadership Team members, directed the session with a few question and then gave the interns the floor. One of the lessons was “All of you get your CPA,” as it is one of the requirements of the profession. When CE Andrews said this I was glad I had at least read part of my first Becker book. David Scudder commented on something that I know a lot of interns and first years are nervous about: not knowing what we are doing and hoping we can get by with our small pose of knowledge until we actually learn it. He gave us confidence and assurance that it was expected of us to ask questions and to let others know that we needed help. During the session, one of the interns asked: what was the greatest piece of advice anyone has ever given you? Both answered with a response that reflects what McGladrey is all about. David Scudder told us to give our full attention to what we are doing at that moment, whether it is at home with your family or at work, this emphasizes the work-life balance that this firm pushes. CE Andrews let us know that we need to accept the unknown & pay attention to the details, and if you can’t balance the work-life equilibrium, get a dog, for it will always be happy to see you. This session really let the interns gain insight on how the two leaders of this firm feel about their professions, firm, and most importantly employees. After the Q&A session, we teamed up again for our project and put the final touch on our presentations before turning them in.

After dinner, all six Seventeen Again group performed their 5 minute presentations of how to stand out from the rest. Half of the presentations were live and the others were in video format. All of them were really funny and entertaining. It was fun to see how people interpret the same project differently. I personally look forward to seeing the rest of the interns performing tomorrow morning. The rest of the evening was a surprise planned by the faculty members it was VEGAS NIGHT. This included many of the famous Las Vegas games such as Blackjack, Poker, Roulette and Craps. I, along with many other interns, really enjoyed it because I learned a few of the tables without having to take to take too much risk. All in all it was a very busy, fun filled, and energy driven day!

Thanks to Morgane for sharing, be sure to check back tomorrow as another of our interns share their experience of the third and final day here at Capstone. To see some of the pictures from day 2, click on the photo album below!

McGladrey 2010 Summer Intern Capstone Conference- Day 2

McGladrey 2010 Summer Intern Capstone Conference- Day 1

It's Capstone time again! Time for Interns from across McGladrey and RSM Richter to descend upon The Q Center in St. Charles, IL for the annual Summer Intern Capstone Conference. This year, we have 94 interns representing 2 countries (US & Canada) and 54 universities. To help provide the prospective of the interns at this event this week, 3 of our interns will be sharing with you their experience at this event.

First up is Ryan Donaghy from our New York office and a student at Binghamton University. Read more below as Ryan shares with us her journey to the conference and some of what she saw the first day:

After traveling for 6 or 7 hours (more for some!) from New York, myself and the 7 co-interns I traveled with landed at the O’Hare International Airport. Those of us that checked our bags picked them up while waiting to make the hour trip to the Q Center in St. Charles, I.L. On the way, we discussed how much we wished we were staying in Chicago and how fun that would be. But 6 hours later, I changed my mind. Cramped in the Q Center Clubhouse, I met interns from so many other offices. I know for a fact that had we been in Chicago, the NY interns would have made plans to go out together, not caring what anyone else did. And it’s not that we’re antisocial or rude… it’s just that there are 23 of us total (more than any other McGladrey office), and we’re STILL getting to know each other, even going into our 4th week.

But back to the actual conference… throughout the internship, the McGladrey employees I work with have asked me, “Are you excited about Capstone??” I said yes, believing that was the appropriate answer, even though I was pretty unsure of what there was to be excited about. But at the end of the first day, I have not stopped laughing… and now I know what they were all talking about.

National Recruiting Director, Ben Gotkin, who the NY interns met during our 2-day orientation, gave a warm and encouraging welcome and a brief introduction to what would be happening over the next 2 days. He informed us that there were 94 interns total, coming from 2 countries (Canada and the U.S.), 28 McGladrey offices, and 54 colleges. Following Ben was John Blumberg, an inspirational and captivating speaker, who also has a great sense of humor. John presented the Kolbe index, an instinct-based test designed to help teams work more cohesively.

Before we started our internship, we were asked to take an online test consisting of 36 questions and 72 answers. You may be asking, “how can you have 72 answers to a 36 question test?” Well, there are 2 answers to every question—one choice for the most like you and one for the least like you. The test was hard at times, but as we learned today, that’s all part of the Kolbe master plan. You can’t measure instincts without making people think on their toes.

The best part of the day was watching John’s “Glop Shop.” This exercise involved 3 interns, picked solely based on their Kolbe scores. The participants were given a Ziploc bag filled with random items, such as Legos and silly putty. After John gave us their scores and explained what we should look for (i.e. Michael picking up shiny objects or Laura or Aaron utilizing the pad of paper and pen), we watched our fellow interns try and portray the McGladrey tagline of “The Power of Being Understood.” As expected, they didn’t come up with anything monumental, but they acted pretty much as John had predicted.

While explaining the Kolbe index, John clarified that one of the main points of the exercise was to able to “respect the people that are different than you.” Although I can only speak for myself, this statement really helped me to understand why Kolbe can help with the effectiveness of teams. Diversity is essential to the success of organizations. Without it, there would be no innovation. A lack of innovation leads to stagnation and this can ultimately cause a company’s failure.

Thanks again to Ryan for sharing. Please also check out a few of the pictures from the first day below. We'll have many more pictures from Day 2 tomorrow, so be sure to check back again for another update from Capstone!

McGladrey 2010 Summer Intern Capstone Conference- Day 1

Great Speakers, Content, Food and Ball Game = A Great Start!

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to sit in on our New Intern Orientation in New York. This week I had the same opportunity at our office in Vienna, VA. Our new orientation program, while now generally standard across the country, still offers some unique features geared towards the needs of the local offices. This group of interns, a slightly smaller group than our New York group, will be working over the next 8 weeks in our offices in Maryland and Virginia, and represent universities such as the University of Maryland, Virginia Tech, Mount St. Mary's, Loyola University, Towson University, Salisbury University and Penn State.

Monday got off to a great start with the Eastern Region Assurance Line of Business Leader, Bill Gorman, who led the interns through an energetic introduction to the firm. Immediately following Bill's presentation, he was joined by local Tax and Consulting leaders for an enlightening Q&A session. After lunch, an introduction to our people programs by local Campus Recruiter Jen Poklemba (who had great knock-knock jokes) and an entertaining introduction to our brand our Client Promise by Business Development Director Ron Bertoia (who had great duck jokes), the Interns got their laptops and learned more about technology and compliance issues in the firm.

Monday evening closed with a dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants, Coastal Flats, located in Tysons Corner Center which is next door to the Vienna office (the Rock Shrimp and Blue Crab Fritters were fantastic!)

Tuesday morning started off with surprise for everyone. RSM McGladrey, Inc. President and COO, C.E. Andrews, who happens to work out of the Vienna office, came over and spent about 45 minutes speaking with the interns and taking their questions. The fact that C.E. took time out of his busy schedule for this (as well as with last year's and next week's Capstone Conference) makes his appreciation of and commitment to our internship program very clear. The interns took notice and truly appreciated the experience. The day continued with learning about our scheduling and time keeping procedures, and wrapped up with assurance and tax technical training. But the day wasn't over yet.

The interns and close to 20 other McGladrey staff, including several Partners met up at Nationals Park to take in the Nationals vs. Royals game. We started off with a hot dog/hamburger buffet in the picnic area, and migrated over to our seats at game time. The first few innings were fun, including a Josh 'The Hammer' Willingham home run that landed in our section, and cheers and chants from a traveling U-17 Rugby Club from England. The fun could of been spoiled by a passing torrential downpour, but this group reassembled and finished the evening playing Baggo at The Bullpen, a fun little place across the street from the ballpark.

Overall the two days were highly informative and fun. Not all of our interns get to hear from the President of the company on the 2nd day and get treated to a Major League Baseball game, but these interns certainly appreciated the experience and a ready now for a busy and enriching summer.

Next up for all of our interns is the Summer Intern Capstone Conference, which we will be covering for you next week with daily updates and pictures. In the meantime, check out the gallery below for some pictures from this week's intern orientation.

DC-Baltimore Summer Intern Orientation

Philly Interns Raise Money For Alex's Lemonade Stand

Did you know that 36 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every day? The interns in our Blue Bell, PA office, just outside of Philadelphia know this, and they are doing something to help raise money for the fight against childhood cancer.

In addition to their work responsibilities, the Blue Bell interns are hosting an Alex's Lemonade Stand to support this worthy cause. You don't need to visit Blue Bell however to quench your thirst and donate to the cause. Anyone can donate by texting 'Lemonade E66193' to 85944 or by visiting http://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/66193.

McGladrey interns across the country are participating in a number of different community service activities this summer. Help out our Blue Bell interns and a great cause today by making your donation. Check back often this summer as we'll have more stories of the ways our interns are supporting their communities.