Finance Advisory Board Spotlight

Niki Armstrong

(BS Finance ’03) 

Director of Institutional Sales and Business Development, Artisan Partners, Atlanta, Ga.

About her career: A person who was extremely impactful in my life always told me that there are two things that can never be taken away from you – your experiences and your education. When making difficult decisions, that mantra has always been a guiding principle for me. Upon graduation, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in finance and moved to New York City -- jobless -- to chase that opportunity. I was not recruited out of college and did not have any meaningful industry connections to help position me for success. I believe the decision to move to New York gave me the best opportunity to excel from the start; if you want to work on Wall Street, the best move you can make is to go to New York. I immediately began networking in the FSU alumni groups in the city and quickly found my first job, on the alternative-investments desk of a large multi-national bank. I truly believe being patient and strategic in this first role significantly helped lay the foundation for my career opportunities. Being flexible and moving to New York after graduation allowed me to feel less daunted when an opportunity to move to London came about later in my career. I believe the small steps are preparation for the larger steps, and I feel grateful to have had opportunities to work and live in two global financial hubs. Finding a mentor was another important milestone that helped me navigate my early career decisions. I highly recommend that young professionals seek an advocate or a mentor early in their careers.

Advice for students: Internship experience, Excel (financial modeling) skills and campus involvement are three fundamental candidate attributes needed to get the best interview opportunities. My advice to new graduates: You are in control of your destiny, and your first job will be a huge factor in the trajectory of your career. Be tactical and discerning about where you go and what you do. Use your network and spend time ahead of graduation building your network. This requires a front-loaded effort to capitalize on the best opportunities to position yourself for success. There is no time in your life when you are more flexible than when you graduate from college, so seize that flexibility and aim high. Your junior and senior years should be the time when you are building your resume and skills to help secure the top interview opportunities and to help stand out in the interview process. Before graduating, you need to enhance your resume with activities and engagement – join the FMA, Women in Business and Willow Partners, known as Noles on Wall Street, for example. Get to know your professors, attend workshops, get resume and interview help from the FSU Career Center, build a LinkedIn page (with a professional photo), volunteer in the community, etc. Be judicious with your social media pages, personal websites, Twitter (now called X) posts, etc. I have seen strong candidates eliminated due to their online activity. When you interview, spend time researching each company in advance. Most employers know that you are not coming out of college with abundant experience. Therefore, your personality, likeability and communication skills are vital to securing the best position. Ask great questions, make eye contact, arrive prepared and send well-written thank-you notes. Bring printouts of your resume for in-person interviews, have a pen and pad and dress professionally. For any virtual or phone-based interviews, ensure in advance you have good connectivity and reception, control your environment, don’t allow external noises and have no distractions. It’s astonishing how many people overlook the importance of these details.