With nearly 205,000 Latinas employed by this year’s LATINA Style Top 50 Companies alone, the success of Hispanic women in corporate America is clearly on the rise. Hispanic women are carrying prestigious titles behind their names more than ever before. In fact, 23 of this year’s Top 50 and Honorable Mention companies have increased the number of executive-level Latinas since last year’s survey. Corporate America’s recognition of the contributions by Latinas is finally taking shape, and LATINA Style is proud to continue to offer resources to aid Latinas in finding the company that best fits their needs. In this issue, we will focus on the types of programs that might help you as you rise to the top!

One very successful program among the LATINA Style Top 50 companies is the fast track program. Fast track programs vary by company, but they all are designed to identify employees with high potential in various divisions of the company. Often they include a rotational program, offering promising employees the opportunity to shift from department to department within the company. Typically, fast track programs are offered to new employees entering the work force directly from their undergraduate or graduate studies.

One LATINA Style 50 Company that stands out for its exceptional fast track programs is the New York Life Insurance Company. Among its multiple fast track programs, New York Life offers the College Graduate Fast Track Program, which focuses heavily on recruiting talented college graduates and exposing them to various aspects of the company over a four-year period. During that time, the employees are offered a challenging curriculum and are assigned to various departments. Another New York Life program, the MBA Program, focuses on recent graduates from business schools across the country, providing them with rotational positions as well. And New York Life’s Job Rotation Program allows senior managers in each department to identify high-potential candidates and place those individuals in a job-rotation program designed to educate them about various aspects of the company while enhancing their leadership skills.

Some companies go the extra mile and design fast track programs specifically for women and minorities. The MBA Program offered by New York Life boasts a minority-employee enrollment of 50 percent.

While a fast track program is an option for many, corporate mentoring is also a good avenue to the top. By interacting with senior level executives, mentees learn first-hand from the successes and mistakes of their mentors, thus becoming better-positioned to succeed in high-level positions. In gaining familiarity with the demands of executives, mentees benefit by learning valuable lessons in time and employee management, project development, and ways to communicate with other senior management.

So how can you translate these opportunities into personal success? We recommend that you become as involved as possible. By asking your supervisors about these opportunities or researching the opportunities your company offers, you can begin to take advantage of them. Look into the fast track and mentoring programs available to you, and continue on your path to the top!