Forté Foundation Financial Services FAST Track

It’s hard to believe that summer is almost here, and with summer comes one of Booth’s favorite events, the Forté Foundation MBA Women’s Conference. A founding sponsor of the Forté Foundation, Booth strongly believes in the organization’s mission of supporting women as they pursue leadership roles in business. In addition to the Conference, the Forté Foundation hosts the Financial Services FAST Track (FSFT), a two-day program for incoming MBA women interested in the financial services industry. This year’s program will be held June 4-5 at NYU’s Kimmel Center in New York City. If you were recently admitted to Booth and are considering a career in finance, you may be wondering if the program is right for you. Today on TBE, first-year Vivienne Ko recollects her experience at the 2011 Financial Services FAST Track and shares how it helped her with the recruiting process at Booth. ****

As a newly minted MBA admit last year, I was wondering what I should be doing the summer before the start of the MBA program. I had heard about the Forté Foundation’s Financial Services FAST Track Conference in New York City so I decided to apply. And I am so glad that I did!

The two-day conference provided a low-risk environment to explore the different career paths within financial services. The representatives from sales and trading, investment banking and asset management/private wealth companies were there to speak candidly about their positions more so than to recruit for their companies, so we really had an opportunity to learn about the industry. One of my favorite parts of the conference was the chance to hear about the challenges faced by women in the financial services industry and how the women overcame those challenges. Not only were the stories inspiring, they also provided practical advice for situations I may encounter in my career. Additionally, the Networking Reception and Career Expo that occurred outside the panels were great ways to network with recruiters who were coming to campus in the fall.

The conference helped fine-tune my career interest and gave me a head start in career exploration. I went into Chicago Booth with a better idea about the internship recruiting process and the positions I would like to target. Additionally, I got a chance to meet some of my future classmates for the first time at the conference and foster friendships with women from other MBA programs whom I have seen again during the internship recruiting process. The knowledge and connections gained through the conference have proven to be invaluable during my recent internship search, and I feel confident as I prepare to start my internship in a few weeks.

Are you interested in a career in financial services? Learn more about the Forté Foundation’s Financial Services FAST Track and how to apply here!

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When admitted to an MBA program, a door is opened to innumerable opportunities – both for the two years of your MBA program and beyond. As a new admit last spring, I found this to be incredibly exciting, but I also found myself a little nervous about what the coming two years would entail and how to best use that time to build my career and grow as a person. When the invitation to attend the Forté Foundation MBA Women’s Conference hit my e-mail inbox and I perused the agenda for the weekend, I thought that it sounded like a great way to help acclimate myself to business school and allow myself to feel better prepared for what the next two years might hold. The event definitely lived up to my expectations and then some.

During the course of the Forté MBA Women’s Conference, I was exposed to so much helpful information about potential future career paths and ways to help prepare myself for internship interview season. I found a workshop session I attended on perfecting your elevator pitch to be extremely helpful and put my mind at ease a bit about the recruiting process. The panels of women leaders were inspiring and motivating, and I had the opportunity to meet wonderful women from MBA programs around the country, as well as from Chicago Booth.

Looking at the agenda for this year’s Forté MBA Women’s Conference, it once again looks filled with many helpful workshops and panels, and will surely be an opportunity for new MBA women to become better prepared to hit the ground running in August and September when orientation starts. If I can make it work with my internship schedule this summer, you may see me there!

Thank you to Chicago Booth Student, Katie Blodgett, for sharing her experience from last year's conference!