One of the most powerful women in finance gives her career advice to young Wall Streeters

Business Insider recently caught up with Rebecca Patterson, the chief investment officer of Bessemer Trust, to hear about her outlook for the global economy in 2017.

Patterson was the former c

In the interview, Patterson gives her advice for women building a career on Wall Street.

This is part two of a series. Part one was a discussion on protectionism, China, and Dow 20k.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Tina Wadhwa

Rebecca Patterson:

Wadhwa:

Patterson:

To me that’s the biggest one, just making sure that you raise your hand and you’re heard. I do think, still today, men are more comfortable speaking up, making a point, and throwing out a proactive suggestion, and women, broadly speaking, tend to try to build consensus or phrase things as a question. You have to take a stand, and you have to stick your neck out.

Wadhwa:

Patterson:

One thing that I’ve been active in at all of the financial firms where I’ve been fortunate enough to work is finding sponsors, not just mentors but sponsors, and helping women network. Basically identifying a young person who has drive and talent and then helping them find things that they can do that they can succeed in and helping them build the networks and the profiles they need to for whatever their job is. I think proactive attention to young people with a lot of potential makes a big difference. So that’s something I try to drive wherever I’m working.

Another key thing is building networks. Making sure people know that it’s just not enough to come in and do a great job, but you also need to think about who do I want to know me and who do I want to get to know. You never know where the next opportunity is going to come from. Obviously with your career, you’ve lived this, and I think I have too.

One thing I’ve done during my career is reach out to successful people that I just thought would be interesting to know. My rule of thumb is never come empty handed. So I would ask them if I could buy them a coffee or a quick lunch. With that gesture, ask if they can give you 45 min or an hour and talk about what they do and you can learn more and see where you might want to go with your career. If you ask good questions, if you’ve done your homework and you show passion, sometimes you can make a good impression that might open the door for you in the future. I still do that today.

I also got one great piece of advice from an incredibly successful person both in the private and public sector and he said "Rebecca anytime you get the opportunity to be involved with a group, if it looks interesting, do it." That group is going to introduce you to more people and that might open you up to more opportunities and other directions. I definitely try to do that and make sure that I’m opening myself up to meeting with different people and learning about other opportunities because everyone you meet, you gain new perspectives about the market, about the economy, about politics, and frankly, just makes you smarter.

Wadhwa:

Patterson:

Wadhwa:

Peterson: