6 senior women on Wall Street share their best career advice

Kriskey makes no bones about how hard she had to work when starting out as a young woman in finance. She said that she felt like she had to work twice as hard as the men around her in order to advance.

"I felt the need to be aggressive and take no prisoners and curse as much as the guys did — the real macho act," she said.

But, she continued, "You don't have to do that. To the young women coming in today, my advice is be yourself. Be your authentic self. But be your best self."

Kriskey said that she doesn't want to scare young women starting out on the Street.

"It is hard to have it all, but you can do it and I want to tell the young women entering the workforce now: Go for it! Live your dream! Do what you love!" she said.

She worked in commodities sales throughout her 20s and early 30s, before taking a seven-year hiatus from finance later in her 30s. When she returned to Wall Street, she brought with her a whole new outlook.

"Returning to the markets, I told myself, 'I don't have to pretend to be anyone. I am good at my job and I am not going to try to be one of the boys,'" she said. "We bring something different to the table, which is equally good, if not better. So no more apologizing and no more trying to play that card."

Kriskey also stressed the importance of setting goals. She said that it can be daunting to think about where you're going to be in 10 years' time, and much more effective to set smaller, short-term goals.

"My advice is to set real, tangible, near-term goals, such as finding ways to add value to your team and your firm each day," she said. "Make your goals specific and build in a consequence if you don't achieve them."

Not all of the women felt that they needed to go the extra mile simply because they're women, however.

Park, for example, said, "I've always worked hard and been fairly competitive. I never had the attitude that I was, or should feel, at a disadvantage because I was female."

For her, simply being singularly focused on her work and her career progression has been enough to get her where she is today.

"Yes, it's important to network, but focusing on your core career and making sure you pay the appropriate attention to your job is how you will advance," she said.

Her advice to all young people on Wall Street — not just women — is to always have a goal.

"You need to know what you want, because you're never going to get there otherwise," she said.

On finding mentors and sponsors, Park said, "It's hard to manufacture. Wherever you see opportunities to connect with someone you find interesting or inspiring, you should pursue and nurture those. And on the flip side, if you don't have a connection with somebody and you try to force that, it's more difficult to do so successfully."

Wu Silverman has one key piece of advice for young women starting out on Wall Street.

"You should be in charge of your own career," she said. "You should be the one managing your career."

And your job may not always take a conventional path. About three years ago, Wu Silverman, for example, asked for a promotion to managing director and told her manager that she was pregnant — in the same meeting.

She said that she was lucky to have had a manager who was 100% behind her and believed in her during that time. He set her goals to achieve for the promotion, and said that as long as she met them, she would get it — regardless of her personal situation.

That said, Wu Silverman also knew that it was her responsibility to make her priorities clear to her manager so that he could be invested in her.

"The onus is on you to manage where your path will go, and that is one element that takes people a while to figure out," she said. "It certainly took me time to step back and say, 'I want to get from A to B and no one is going to do that for me if I don't assert that this is something I want for myself.'"

Now Wu Silverman is a manager, too, and that advice still holds true, she said. So does the importance of putting your hand up and your name forward.

"I think for young women, you should ask yourself, 'Why not me? Why can't I be the person in charge of this or that?'" she said. "It's about telling yourself there is no reason why it can't be the case."

Zucker had an unconventional job when she started out as a lawyer on Wall Street in the 1990s. She chose to work exclusively on anti-money-laundering compliance, which at the time was not a typical full-time job.

That field ended up burgeoning after 9/11, when antiterrorism financing legislation was enacted, and she found herself one of the few experts in the field. How did she get there?

First, Zucker said, "You have to be your own advocate."

She is the one who spoke up when she found a field that she was passionate about, and convinced her firm to let her do it full-time. She also had a strong sponsor backing her, a former boss who helped her do what she loved and was good at when others questioned her career moves.

"Prepare to be self-reflective and willing to guide yourself instead of being guided by others, because you have to be true to yourself and your interests," Zucker said.

That said, she also wishes that she'd learned earlier on in her career to listen more to others around her.

"Even when you have already amassed a lot of knowledge, that doesn't mean you don't have more to learn," she said.

The early 2000s was also one of the hardest times in Zucker's life. Work was extremely stressful as resources hadn't yet grown to meet demand in the AML field, and she had three young children at home.

For her, the path to work-life balance meant taking on a third priority: She joined a nonprofit called Don't Hide It, Flaunt It and found that being busier helped her manage her stress better.

Druyan has worked at the intersection of finance and technology for most of her career.

So she's accustomed to working in male-dominated fields, and has lots of helpful insight for young women just starting out.

"Having the courage of your convictions is something I encourage young women to do," Druyan said.

On finding mentors and advocates, she said, "It's very much a two-way street — you will go the extra mile for that person, and they will do the same for you. It's alchemy more than chemistry. You need to have your antennae out for somebody you want as a sponsor and then work to drive a closer relationship with them."

And most importantly, she said, is to do something that you're truly passionate about.

"Work doesn't feel like work when you really like what you do," Druyan said. "That's the biggest piece of advice I can offer somebody: If you enjoy it, figure out how you can leverage it to the next project or position, because when work doesn't feel like work, you don't mind doing more of it, and you'll be better at it, and you'll excel faster."