Diversity Opportunities
This Blog was written by Peer Career Ambassador Alex Rabell ‘21
Are you a diverse student looking to break into the corporate world? It can be challenging and daunting to enter the workforce, which is why I have written this blog with some of the resources and opportunities at your disposal. Many companies are currently working to include diverse candidates as part of their workforce. They are doing this by providing different opportunities to diverse students for them to gain exposure to different industries from an early age. As a diverse student, it is important to be aware of the different opportunities that exist. In this blog, I mention different diversity opportunities offered by banks, accounting firms, and non-profit organizations.
Finance Opportunities
Many of the large financial institutions in the United States offer 1-3 day programs for diverse undergraduate students to learn about the industry, their firm and their different internship programs. Even if you are not interested in the company hosting the event you never know what you might learn, whom you might meet or the opportunities that might arise from these events.
Barclays Diversity Program (LINK) Barclays seeks to identify and attract high achieving underrepresented students (women, Blacks, Hispanic/Latinos, LGBT, Native Americans, students with disabilities, and veterans).
Goldman Sachs Programs (LINK) If you click on the link above and under what am I looking for select “exploratory programs”, you will see all the different opportunities Goldman Sachs offers. If it says the applications are currently closed make sure to look back in a couple of months as most of these events are done twice a year. These are great events to learn more about the firm and their different divisions, to network and to get your foot in the door for internships.
J.P. Morgan Programs (LINK) Launching Leaders: Gives Black, Hispanic and Native American students across the U.S. the chance to carve out an outstanding career with one of the world’s leading financial services firms. Proud to Be: A first-hand look at the business and working environment for members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. Winning Women: Meet J.P. Morgan female employees who have built impressive careers, hold leadership positions, and have inspirational stories.
These are some of the programs and opportunities offered by some banks but there are many other companies out there that offer these types of programs including Morgan Stanley (LINK), Blackstone (LINK), Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, etc.
Accounting Opportunities
KPMG, EY, and PwC all offer a variety of programs and internship opportunities for first and second-year students, some of them targeting diverse students. Since most of these firms recruit on the Babson Campus, it will be easier to connect with these firms and obtain information from them. If you are interested, make sure you get to know the campus recruiters, alumni and any representatives from the firm. It is never too early to start building a relationship.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) LINK Explore: Explore is a one-day program focused on helping participants identify and analyze their strengths to better understand who they are and potential career opportunities Start Internship: To be eligible for the Start Internship, students must self-identify as a member of either traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups within the professional services industry, a Protected Veteran, and/or an individual with a disability. Students must be in their sophomore or junior year of college, pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree.
Ernst & Young (EY) LINK Emerging Leaders Program: This multi-day program, held at an EY member firm or a nearby location, is designed for students at least two years from graduation who are studying accounting and/or business and have an interest in professional services. Launch Internship: Eligible applicants are from underrepresented groups in the profession (African-American, Hispanic, Native American) and are Accounting, technology-related (Computer Information Systems, Management Information Systems, Engineering, Analytics, Computer Science, etc.) Finance, Economics, Math or Statistics majors who are two or more years from graduation.
KPMG LINK Future Diversity Leaders (FDL): FDL begins with a three-day, annual summer leadership conference in Hollywood, California, focused on preparing high-achieving diverse students to be the business leaders of tomorrow. The FDL program is vitally important to KPMG’s professional pipeline — helping the firm connect with the very best of diverse college freshmen and sophomores.
Diversity Conferences and Programs
Multiple different organizations focus on providing diverse students with equal opportunities in the workforce. Most of them are free and have the sole purpose of developing your professional career and helping you find top-notch internships. I have listed a few of them below, feel free to look through them and figure out which one best fits your needs. (Make sure to check out the impressive list of partners some of these organizations have).
SEO: “SEO is committed to building a more diverse workforce by connecting Latinx, Black, and Native American students in the USA with corporate internships and opportunities. They encourage individuals from all backgrounds to join in their work.” LINK: SEO Career
MLT: “MLT Career Prep is a rigorous, 18-month career development program for emerging leaders. Through the program, Fellows explore their strengths, passions, and interests in order to prepare and plan for successful careers in business and tech.” LINK: MLT Career Prep
ModernGuild: “ModernGuild partners with leading companies to curate year-round training and interviewing opportunities designed to equip college students with the core competencies and the self-confidence they need to land their dream jobs.” LINK: ModernGuild
Girls Who Invest: “In 2015, Seema Hingorani founded Girls Who Invest (“GWI”), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in portfolio management and executive leadership in the asset management industry.” LINK: Girls Who Invest
Out for Undergrad: “Our mission is to help high-achieving LGBTQ+ undergraduates reach their full potential.” LINK: Out for Undergrad
One last tip I have is to network! Go on Linkedin filter by company and university to figure out if there are any Babson Alumni at the company you are targeting. If there are, reach out to schedule a call or coffee chat; most alumni love talking to Babson students.
If you are willing to work hard, there are many opportunities for you to get involved even if you are early in your career. Good luck with the process and make sure to stay active!