Posted by By Michael Rojas and Kunal Mulki, Wasserman Career Ambassadors
Insights from Michael Rojas, CAS ‘ 23, Economics Major with a minor in Math and Data Science
A few weeks ago, I attended the Real Talk Finance & Consulting Panel consisting of representatives from Goldman Sachs, Stout, and UBS. The general session consisted of panelist introductions and then into discussion questions relating their journey and advice. This was followed by breakout rooms led by panelists where they answered general and individual questions. The breakout room I was in was with panelist Gloria Dios, a Financial Advisor at UBS.
Gloria highlighted some of the challenges within the industry specifically for females. She explained the hardships of working in an industry that is male dominated, and her experiences dealing with gender based biases. Gloria shared this with the group as she believes that acknowledging and talking about these trends and barriers many people face in the workplace helps bring the issue to light.
Another topic of discussion was regarding how new interns adapt to their role if they are in an area they are not specialized in. Gloria highlighted that having a good work ethic and always asking how I can help and learn more goes a very long way. Gloria is a NYU 2012 Tisch Film Major and worked in reality tv casting for 6 years and was an editor. In order to get the job at UBS, she was able to locate transferable skills within her job in production such as problem solving, thinking on your feet, and dealing with different people.
Gloria’s advice to her younger self is it does not matter what you study in college. She has had friends around the age of 27 switch careers. An outlook she recommended us take is that our 20s will be about building life capital. This was derived from a recent book she read called, The Defining Decade, which she describes as a great book for people in their 20s.
Insights from Kunal Mulki, Stern ’23, Business Major
I was able to join Sanjana’s room, where she discussed her specific experience at Goldman Sachs in the investment banking division. Sanjana focused on the importance of maintaining flexibility in your career path as well as the power of networking, which she says was able to land her some of the internships she’s had in the past!
She also briefly touched on what she enjoys about the finance industry as a whole. She stated that it’s given her the chance to meet and interact with so many different people that she normally would not have interacted with. And specifically in her position, she has had the opportunity to gain a lot of transferable skills she can take with her to her next position. And finally, she stated that at any job, you should really like the people you work with, and she was luckily able to find that at Goldman Sachs! Overall, before settling on investment banking, Sanjana explored many different facets of finance, and she’s found her fit!
Overall, the event provided a great overview and perspective of different paths taken in the finance industry. The industry is notoriously hard to break into, rise up, and succeed in, but the panelists showed that even from very diverse backgrounds, the journey can be very rewarding!
*It is important as a job searcher to do your due diligence around typical cultures/work environments for the roles and industries that you are looking to work in. The Wasserman Center encourages you to seek advice from mentors and alumni who work in your prospective fields to gain insights on their experiences and how they have navigated any challenges in the workplace.
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