In June 2005, I started my internship at UBS, while I was part of the SEO program. As part of our SEO training, we were each paired with a mentor. Mine was Juan, from Puerto Rico, who was a senior banker at UBS Investment Bank. I was so excited to meet another Hispanic guy on Wall Street. When he opened the door to his office, I grinned and said, “Hey, man—what’s up?"

His eyebrows raised, and he hesitated a moment before standing to shake my hand. “You know what?” he said. "Let's go for coffee later.” 

We met at a café, where he kindly let me ramble for a moment. Then he said, “Do you mind if I give you some feedback?”It may seem harsh, but please understand that it comes from a supportive place.”

“Shoot,” I said.

His advice was this: You won’t get a second chance at a first impression—so make sure that first impression is impressive. I sure as hell didn’t look or sound like anyone else at the firm, he said, so I was starting off at a disadvantage. 

“So when you came to my office to meet me, and you said, ‘Hey, man—what's up?’ My initial thought was, He is not ready. If you walked into my managing director’s office like that, he’d peg you as a "diversity hire.’ He'd think, This guy’s out of here at the end of the summer—and that is the last thing you want.”

He went on to point out that my socks didn’t match my pants, and then he critiqued my choice of cuff links and tie. At that point, I barely knew how to put on a tie, let alone pick one out for a first impression. But I’d have to learn fast, according to Juan. At this level, he said, it’s important not to stand out, either negatively or positively. I needed to look and sound the part. 

Finally, he reminded me to always arrive early, look engaged, and have a confidently posed question—the exact tips I’d heard from SEO training, which he’d attended himself years ago.

That’s when it really clicked for me: Why is SEO successful? It’s not just these great tools and lessons, but also because they have people like Juan on the ground—people who've gone through the program and forged amazing careers. 

Here was this Puerto Rican guy at UBS, making a fantastic living, plus coaching and mentoring people like me. This network of alumni promotes a virtuous cycle, a positive feedback loop that perpetuates opportunities for those otherwise overlooked. After the initial SEO prep, most of the work happened inside the firms by volunteer mentors like Juan, who kept on lifting even as they climbed.

Say what you want about Wall Street. There may be greedy, nefarious forces at play, but compared to a lot of elite environments (ahem, Silicon Valley), Wall Street has embraced diversity in an applied, practical way. They engage with and support training and mentorship opportunities for minorities, and I will always be grateful for that chance to level up—to prove that I am worth the risk.

Overall, I learned it's healthy to listen to feedback you may not want to hear, and for professionals of color, your first impression needs to be really impressive.