Return to Table of ContentsApril 1998
Alumnus Gives Scoop on Wall Street Career At least 70 UMass Boston students willingly accepted insider tips from a Wall Street executive. Legal tips, these were, from alumnus Eric Harris '87 on how to break into the financial services industry.
A vice president in the investment banking group of Merrill Lynch & Co., Harris flew to Boston for the Feb. 18 career discussion, held in the Student Lounge of the Wheatley Building. At Merrill Lynch, he focuses on strategic advising, financing, initial public offers, and restructuring for transportation, capital goods and aerospace/defense-related companies.
"Make yourself marketable," Harris repeated throughout his presentation. "I believe that's why you go to school, why you take a job, is so that you can develop a skill set to make yourself more marketable," he said.
Students should take advantage of every job, regardless of what it is, to create "the broadest platform that will allow you to do what you can do," he said. "Always position yourself to do the best you can do."
Opportunities in the financial services industry are abundant, especially for those willing to work long hours and travel extensively, Harris said.
Harris was candid in answering varied student questions. What gives him job satisfaction? The money's good, but Harris also enjoys closing deals, providing solutions for companies and spending hours in conversation with heads of companies. "It gives me tremendous exposure to Fortune 100 companies," he said.
How did he prepare for job interviews? Harris practiced in a mirror, repeatedly asking "why do I want to be in investment banking?" "Have a rap. Be prepared," he told students.
What were some of his failures? Rejections from three business schools, jobs, and failed business deals are a few. "If you don't fail, you can't succeed," he said. "You have to ask yourself, 'Am I happy being status quo, or am I willing to take a risk.'"
Born in Cambridge and raised in Revere, Harris earned his bachelor's from UMass Boston in 1987. He received his master's from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. His visit was sponsored by Career Services in the Advising Center.