Last month, the GS Development and Alumni Relations team hosted a virtual panel discussion with GS alumni who work in the finance industry. Alumni in Conversation: Careers in Finance featured panelists Alán Bonilla ‘04GS, Director and Lead Analyst of Sustainable Finance, S&P Global Ratings; Orina Chang ‘01GS/'04BUS, Alternative Investments Director, Sr. Portfolio Manager, and International Client Advisor, Morgan Stanley; Matthew Daniel ‘07GS/'13BUS, Vice President at Citi; and Eleena Melamed ‘06GS, Former Director at KKR & Co. Inc.
Moderated by Aviva Zablocki, GS Director of Alumni Relations, the panelists shared their diverse journeys that brought them to Columbia, the ways in which they have leveraged their nontraditional paths to thrive in the finance industry, and offered three pieces of advice for current GS students and recent graduates.
Be Open-Minded
All four alumni credit their ability to be open-minded with being able to find avenues of success in the finance industry. Eleena Melamed ‘06 recounted how taking on nontraditional roles and being able to pivot opened up many doors for her. “That’s what’s so exciting, I think, about the finance industry is that there are so many different opportunities and they’re changing everyday. As the world changes, the opportunities change. And if you’re open-minded and flexible and willing to take risks, there’s a lot of fun and exciting things to do in the world of finance.”
Build Your Network
When asked what resources at Columbia they wish that had taken advantage of, the panelist overwhelmingly pointed to networking opportunities. Whether it be career counseling through the Columbia Center for Career Education (CCE) or connecting with alumni through the GS Alumni Relations team, there are vast amounts of resources available to current GS students and alumni that can help build those connections and create community. “This is very much an industry that is built on connections and built on interpersonal relations...That’s how all the best job offers come. They’re not posted on some message board or some job posting site. They’re going to come from who you know and the conversations you have,” said Matthew Daniel ‘07.
Highlight Your Skills and Experience
The panel emphasized the ways in which their nontraditional backgrounds worked to their advantage over the course of their careers. While some might consider career changes or unrelated undergraduate majors and professional experiences as impediments to a career in finance, the panelists discussed the ways in which their varied experiences and skills allowed them to stand out to potential employers. Orina Chang ‘01 recalls how niche her first position in finance was and how she leveraged her skill set to bridge the gap between Chinese and American interests in a telecommunications deal. Her advice to students who want to break into the field, “When you have the chance to present yourself, it’s really about matching the skill set they are looking for.”
Overall, the panel stressed the importance of taking advantage of each opportunity presented to you, even ones that aren’t the most exciting. In describing his first internship, which was mostly administrative work, Alán Bonilla ‘04 said, “Having the internship on my resume and making the absolute best of the first two months… that changed everything.”
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