Deciding on a career path can be daunting, especially for students early in their post-secondary education. BDO USA, PC offers a unique opportunity for students to participate in a one-on-one mentoring program and explore a variety of career options through its Pathway to Success Program. This program is designed to provide mentorship and personalized career guidance, while giving students a forum to ask questions related to their educational programming and future career goals.

The Importance of Mentorship

Bernie Pieters, BDO’s Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer and People & Culture Principal, reflects on the power of mentorships, “Mentorship contributes to an individual’s personal and professional development. When you willingly and joyfully mentor others, you create a legacy of leaders.”   

What sets BDO’s Pathway to Success apart is the exclusive mentor/mentee pairing. Students are matched with a dedicated BDO professional who volunteers their time to assist with career exploration. This relationship allows students to ask questions, bounce ideas, and seek advice on educational programming, major selection, and career exploration. The goal is to foster a relationship that continues long after the six-month commitment.

Sarah Turcotte, BDO’s National Campus Recruiting Leader, emphasizes that the program is open to both freshmen and sophomores, offering them insights into the profession and preparing them for future internships. She notes, “Really the primary purpose is educational and giving back, trying to help students find the best path for them as individuals and exposing them to new areas they may have an interest in.”

Open to All

The program is open to any freshman or sophomore, regardless of university affiliation, major, GPA, or extracurricular involvement. There are no barriers to entry, making it an authentic initiative to give back to the community and guide future professionals into majors and careers that best fit them.

Discover BDO and Yourself

Participants have the chance to learn about BDO, its roles, business lines, clients, and company culture. More importantly, they gain insights into themselves and what they should seek in their educational and professional careers. No prior experience is needed, and BDO provides resources and guidance on starting and maintaining successful mentorship relationships.

Sarah highlights the benefits, stating, “It’s personal growth and development. If they are looking to be engaged with BDO, there’s an added benefit to getting in our pipeline early. Even if they choose a different path, the experience they gain will serve them throughout their careers.”

A Two-Way Relationship

The program emphasizes the importance of relationships. BDO professionals dedicate their time to nurture and mentor early-career individuals, but it requires participants to engage actively as well. The more effort students put into the program, the more they will benefit.

Amritpal Gill, a former mentee, shares his experience: “I remember frantically applying for internships around my sophomore year. I wasn’t completely sure of what I was doing but when doing my research, BDO was the only firm that I knew of that had a mentorship program.”

Through BDO’s Pathway to Success Program, Gill was paired with Laura Anna Lisi.  Gill and Lisi had similar interests and through Lisi, Gill learned about the firm and developed a lasting relationship. Lisi was working on the same types of clients Gill had a curiosity in and they bonded over shared interests. “BDO paired me with a professional that I had commonalities with. Through Laura, I learned about the firm and when it came time to apply for an internship, I wasn’t just cold applying. I knew where I wanted to be…it was always interesting and exciting.”

Lisi, an Assurance Principal at BDO, reflects on her role as a mentor: “Pathway to Success is a wonderful program. Ultimately, real success is dependent upon the mentor and mentee forming a relationship. Amritpal and I formed a relationship, and I enjoyed helping him define his path. A lot of my success was due to forming relationships with a lot of people and networking.”

Bridging the Gap Between Learning and Application

The Pathway to Success Program is not just about selecting a career or major; it’s a transformative experience that teaches students how their education translates into a professional career. Gill, for example, entered the program unsure about his future. Paired with Lisi, he discovered potential career paths and gained clarity on his professional journey.

Amritpal reflects on his relationship with Lisi: “Whenever I would reach out…knowing how busy she was…she always made time. That’s what allowed me to build a relationship.”

The Pathway to Success program’s structure and objectives are designed to attract top talent and prepare individuals for internships. The interviews highlighted the program’s emphasis on diversity and inclusion, ensuring a diverse pool of candidates and creating meaningful relationships.

BDO’s Pathway to Success Program offers a gateway to success, providing students with the tools and relationships needed to thrive in their careers. These skills will be beneficial throughout the duration of their career. 

Whether you’re looking to clarify your major or explore different professional opportunities, this program is your steppingstone to a successful future. To learn more about BDO and their Pathway to Success Program, visit their WayUp profile and their website here.

The post Beyond the Books: Mentorship and Guidance with BDO’s Pathway to Success Program appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.

BlackRock is a global asset manager and a leading provider of investment, advisory, and risk management solutions. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology with over 19,000 employees, BlackRock helps more and more people experience financial well-being.

BlackRock is best known for its expertise in asset management, but that would not have been possible without the influence of technology behind the scenes. The main operating system that powers BlackRock is called Aladdin.

Aladdin (which stands for Asset, Liability, and Debt and Derivative Investment Network) allows investment managers to connect with people and technology while managing their money in real-time. All BlackRock employees touch the products or outputs of the Aladdin platform every day.

The Power of Aladdin, BlackRock’s Tech Data Platform

Aladdin is a tech platform that unifies the investment management process to enable scale, provide insights, and support true business transformation. Built by and for market practitioners, the platform helps BlackRock and organizations keep up with the pace of the industry. Clients of the Aladdin platform include asset managers, banks, insurers, pensions, corporations, ecosystem partners, and institutions. Aladdin’s risk analytics are relied upon by over 200 institutions, such as KPMG, Microsoft, and MetLife, as well as BlackRock itself.

Aladdin has been embedded into the fabric of BlackRock since the early inception of the firm, which differentiates the firm as an investment and risk manager. The firm began to deliver Aladdin to external clients in 1999. As a multi-asset class platform, Aladdin supports risk analytics and the full investment process across equity, fixed income, FX, bank loans, derivatives, and alternatives such as real estate, commodities, and private equity.

WayUp spoke with Renee Muco, Director and founding member of the firm’s Strategic Initiatives Office (SIO) within Aladdin Product Management (APM), about her experience working with the technology at BlackRock.

Renee described how Aladdin provides an end-to-end solution for businesses. In terms of the SIO, the team works on building out internal functionality and leads some of the large transformational initiatives for Aladdin.

Another component that makes the Aladdin platform unique in the industry is how it’s used both internally by BlackRock and sold externally to clients. When looking for career development opportunities, working on a product like Aladdin provides countless benefits for gaining hands-on experience and participating in large-scale projects across the company.

Building a Career at BlackRock While Powering a New Era of Investment Management Tech

WayUp also spoke with Desu Imudia, Software Engineer, within Aladdin Product Management (APM), who works in the tech track. She started at BlackRock as an Intern in the BlackRock summer internship program.

After completing BlackRock’s summer internship program, Desu decided to apply to their Full-Time Analyst Program for software engineers. Over two years, engineers in the program rotate across four different teams and gain new skills. BlackRock is a great place for students and recent grads to start their early careers because of the opportunities and potential for relationship building, all while simultaneously working with state-of-the-art technology that impacts the world every day.

During her internship, Desu quickly discovered how meaningful it was to work on providing solutions that benefited the real world. Desu also worked with artificial intelligence (AI) in Aladdin in one of the portfolio management tools used to help clients visualize their investment portfolio. She shared how she enjoyed working on the interface with Aladdin projects and using her coding skills to contribute to meaningful projects.

Desu was excited by the idea of working on a well-known platform like Aladdin and felt empowered working at a company creating an impact in the world. Beyond that, the culture clearly fostered a space to engage with ideas, products, and solutions.

Expand Your Horizons with BlackRock’s Career Opportunities

Starting your career at BlackRock may seem most common for finance majors, but there are also countless opportunities across other disciplines within the company, including the variety of technology positions – from design and product development to AI and cloud, and more.

Prior to joining BlackRock, Renee previously worked in the investment banking and technology space but was interested in finding a new opportunity that leaned into her project management skills. She started out as an engineer, and then she did a mid-year career pivot into project management and business analysis.

Renee encourages candidates not to limit themselves right away but encourages them to explore different career opportunities across different industries. She also suggests attending recruiting and networking events where they can meet and learn from employees at the firm.

What to Expect When Applying to Early Career Opportunities at BlackRock

BlackRock’s summer internship program is a gateway to build connections and start your journey at BlackRock. So, what does the recruiting process look like? Candidates start with the application and a pre-interview assessment. Based on the type of internship, BlackRock wants to provide candidates various opportunities to explore different teams

The team at BlackRock aims to help intern candidates through this process and ensure they feel equipped for their interviews. In preparation for the application process, we review the programs, highlight business areas available, offer tips for how to strengthen applications and share insights for how to ace the virtual cover letter and/or code test.

If you are interested in applying for an internship with BlackRock, visit their website for more information. If you’re looking at other career opportunities or want to learn more in general, explore WayUp’s page here.

The post Building Your Career at BlackRock While Powering a New Era of Investment Management Tech appeared first on Job and Internship Advice, Companies to Work for and More | WayUp Blog.