I consider myself to be very privileged and lucky to go on this trip — I wasn’t totally sure what to expect, and admittedly I was nervous about a number of things, like leaving my family back home or not being able to adjust to the quick nature of the program. All of my fears were dispelled on day one — our group was incredibly supportive, smart, and engaging, and it made the transition from country to country all the more easy. Some major differences were definitely in the cultural realm rather than the business one — for many of us, this was our first time meeting with financial and policy professionals abroad, and we were uncertain if they would be more or less receptive compared to American businessmen/women. In my opinion, every visit we made proved to me that business that is conducted globally adheres to the same set of standards, and everybody we met was as welcoming and kind as we would’ve expected back home. Most of the “culture shock” came from the environment around us, with historical buildings supplementing skyscrapers, walking and taking public transportation rather than cars, and diverse food and meal options.
I learned so much about working in investment management, from the ambition and drive it takes to work to the global perspective one will develop in the field. The number one takeaway from all of our visits is the importance of being open-minded and proactive ? this was emphasized over and over again: be respectful and collaborative, and you will find success. Coming from a finance background, it can be hard to focus on building relationships. However, as we enter the professional world with an increasing demand for having global perspectives, this trip truly opened me up to the possibility of starting my career abroad. Investment management is much more people-oriented than I had initially imagined it to be, and going abroad to learn about IM helped me understand this. As finance is such a global discipline, it is important to be cooperative and appreciative of diversity in the professional sphere.
