Pros
I interviewed for the Tax Intern position when the tax department was still relatively new. I had no corporate tax knowledge at the time of my internship but that was not expected by the interviewers. I went through two interviews, one where I got to meet the tax and accounting departments and another where I got to meet the Chief Executives. The C Suite was very laid back and approachable. The interview consisted mostly of behavioral questions.
My internship was very self-driven. I was given tasks to accomplish and guidelines of how to accomplish it, but overall, it was an exercise in stretching my problem solving muscles. For example, I organized a company tax calendars for several entities, researching deadlines for all state and federal taxes as well as learning about filing requirements and state establishment procedures. In addition to these large scale projects, I also worked on several reconciliations and followed up on previously raised issues. For a college student, it was a great opportunity to see the internal workings of a growing tax department.
The DriveTime building used to be an old grocery store, so it is very large and open inside. DriveTime follows the model of futuristic workplaces. Seating is very open and there are no offices for managers, etc. At times, this can be noisy, but overall it gave me the chance to interact with colleagues. The open door policy was great because I got to ask a lot of questions and learn about the work everyone was doing. DriveTime employees were very warm and friendly. The workforce is overall, quite young and energetic. People will often go out for lunch together during the week. Dress code was mostly casual; jeans were allowed.
Cons
Other internship positions like Finance, Accounting and HR had many different intern positions. It can be a bit isolating in the Tax Department due to its size, but I still got the opportunity to interact with the other interns during events.
