The Robert Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity at Baruch College hosted a special event on April 21 featuring Carla Harris, a senior client adviser and former vice chairman at Morgan Stanley. Harris has spent over three decades on Wall Street and spent the talk discussing how to make sure the right people know your name.

“Your prerequisite experience has nothing to do with your ability to get a job,” she said. “It’s about under- standing what the buyer is actually buying.”

She first talked about how she ended up on Wall Street. For Harris, growing up in the South meant adults gave their kids three career options: teacher, doctor or lawyer.

But a summer internship in 1982 changed everything and showed her that the excitement she was chasing actually lived in business.

Harris wanted students to walk away with the idea that working hard is not enough on its own. She spent years putting in 100-hour weeks and still felt like something was missing. Eventually, she figured out what it was.

“Every major decision about your career will be made in a room behind closed doors, and you are not present,” she said. “So, who speaks for you in that room?” That person, she explained, is called a sponsor.

Harris broke down three types of relationships everyone needs: an advisor for quick questions, a mentor for honest, long-term guidance and a sponsor who will advocate for you when it counts. A sponsor is someone within the organization and has seen your work firsthand.

“They are going into battle on your behalf,” Harris said.

She also pushed back on the idea that being the only woman or person of color in a room is a disadvantage.

“It is a definite asset, not a liability,” she said. “Everybody’s watching, everybody’s waiting to hear what you’re going to say. All you have to do is deliver your excellence.”

When it came to interviews, she told students to tailor how they tell their story based on the employer’s values and background.

Harris’ best career advice: “Master your craft. Invest in relationships.”