SFNet WISF Career Corner

Question:  What is one skill or habit that you’ve developed later in your career that you wished you would have known/implemented earlier? Describe why that skill or habit is important for you personally and/or professionally.

I wish that I had fully embraced my own style and built upon my own strengths early on in my career.  I am fortunate to have been mentored by some of the best in the industry, but when I was a young associate, I naively thought that emulating a mentor’s approach was the formula for professional growth and success. By doing so, I was neglecting my own strengths and unique contributions.  I came to realize that personalities, style and approaches may differ, but my personal success came from deriving, learning and creating from each interaction and adapting it to a style that was unique to me and my skill set.  Doing so proved to be one of the key contributing factors in my growth, both professionally and personally. -  Julia Gavrilov, Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP

Asking more questions and confirming my understanding is something I developed later in my career, which I should have implemented earlier.  Since I started in the finance world right out of college, I felt I had to prove my knowledge – and decided that asking questions or too many questions would reflect on my youth and inexperience.  As I have gained experience and confidence, I came to realize that asking the right questions and being sure there is no misunderstanding is good communication and can save time later.  Especially when it comes to finance jargon, there are different definitions from company to company – and from prospect to prospect. 

In fact, my favorite question when speaking to a prospect who calls interested in factoring is “What is factoring?”  While on the surface this seems silly coming from someone in the industry, I have come to realize that not everybody has the same understanding of what factoring is – and different factors provide different products/services.  And that is ok – it’s just extremely unproductive if we don’t have a common understanding to begin the discussion.   -  Sydnee Breuer, Rosenthal & Rosenthal of California  

Consistently devote time and effort to cultivate your network. It will always pay off in the long run! Your network can help you sharpen industry knowledge, find career opportunities, provide guidance during difficult career choices or situations. -  Runi Mehta, Santander Bank