Summer Leadership Program

What is an SLP?

An SLP, or Summer Leadership Program, is an experiential program that gives you a glimpse into what working in a public accounting firm is like, and the various opportunities you might have if you chose this career path. These programs are geared towards undeclared students leaning towards accounting, or newly declared accounting students. In most cases, students are at the sophomore level.

What opportunities can come out of attending an SLP?

Attending an SLP is a great way to get to know a firm better so that when you go through campus recruiting as an intern candidate (usually the fall before your junior year), you have a better idea of the recruiting landscape. It’s also a great idea to network with firm professionals and leadership, and in some cases depending on the firm, lead to an internship offer. In fact, some larger firms have re-branded their SLP to be called Early Internship Recruiting.

Does Geffen Mesher make internship offers to SLP candidates?

Unlike Big 4 and National firms, Geffen Mesher does not use our SLP as our main internship pipeline. We believe that doing so excludes many candidates who either aren’t aware of SLP’s at all, or simply missed out on attending SLP opportunities. We believe strongly that the SLP should be geared towards making connections and providing an experience for candidates to understand our firm and industry. To that end, following our SLP day, we invite select candidates who attended the program interview early for an internship. From those interviews, we may extend early internship offers.

How many people attend an SLP?

That depends on the firm. Some firms have hundreds in their programs. Geffen Mesher typically has about 20 participants in our program.

When will the SLP take place and how long is it?

The SLP is usually 1 or 2 days and usually takes place on a weekday in the summer. It is unpaid, but we provide meals and in some cases travel reimbursement.

What if I don’t get accepted to an SLP, or don’t attend one?

Not a problem. Though recruiting in accounting is very pipelined, there are many opportunities to get in touch with firms. Attending an SLP will not limit you from having other opportunities.