Should I quit my back office job?
Currently at a boutique doing back office. Job duties includes office mgmt, IT, corporate accounting, account recon/banking, and several other back office functions. Started full-time at $35k no bonus last spring. Got a bump up to $40k at the start of this year, no bonus. In a high COL area so I commute 75-90 minutes each way. This was all after interning full-time for 3-4 months.
Starting to wonder if at this point its worth it to stay? I want to spend more time looking/networking to get into front office. Went to a "semi-target" with a mediocre GPA but a good network where I'm at.
Trying to get into Development or Acquisitions, a position where i can get deal experience. Movement to front office seems impossible at my firm, or comes up very rarely. I can elaborate more on that if needed.
If a front office offer becomes live, should I just act on it? Would there be any time I'd be better off to keep looking?
I don't know if I would quit. I would try and get out of there asap. Nothing is worse than being under appreciated. The only reason I would stay is if the place were about to blow up.
.
I am a big, big fan of not leaving until something is lined up. Be sure to leverage your roles as much as possible.
I'm glad I'm seeking out perspective on this, and someone agrees i've been undervalued. It definitely hasn't been a great time at this firm at all. Plan A is pretty much to keep looking till something else comes. Plan B is quitting to allow more time for the search or before being pigeonholed, but would it look bad having a gap on my resume. I live at home with family so I have a safety net at the moment to not worry about needing a pay check.
It's way easier to get a job when you have a job. I would be looking aggressively but don't just quit
yes you should leave asap, but have another job first lined up. If you interned for 4 months, why did you sign the offer letter. Back and middle office jobs are a pretty big waste of time. Some people are ok with it, but if you want FO, it's always better to go out and get it than stay.
I signed because i didn't have any other offer and plus it was the only industry experience I could get at the time. i was planning on staying till something else came up but right now...still looking
Don't quit and begin networking aggresively
I can agree with the above comments. Was in a similar situation as you eager to break into the industry. Please stay at your current role until you have something in writing. Like other have said, it's much more difficult to get a job when you don't have a job. Typically when you network, the first thing a person asks is "what are you currently doing" or "who do you currently work for." If you have nothing to answer those questions it's very difficult for someone to trust that you and that you are a dedicated/hard worker.
Additionally, it may take a while to break in. Depending on your location and how aggressively you network, it could be up to a year if not longer.
If a front office offer becomes live, should I just act on it? Would there be any time I'd be better off to keep looking?
If it is in your wheel house I would take it. If there is a strong chance of another one coming down the pipeline then consider waiting.
How long have you been in BO?
Have you expressed your feelings to your boss, that you want a FO role? Have you showed you're FO material?
You seem to be relatively stronger commercially, use that to your advantage. Have you started to learn modeling? How strong are you on your financial concepts?
Used to work at a BO. Eventually I left. If you're in the BO long enough, people will see you as BO - the longer you stay, the harder it becomes to go to the FO.
I've been back office for almost a year now. I started out with a FO internship for the same firm, but the partner I worked with gave some BS reason to not hire me as his analyst. My current boss saw this all happen but didn't get a final say on that FO role, so he offered BO position.
What do you mean commercially? I have exposure to some skills set in this job that can help me for FO, but its not a lot. I've hit a ceiling with all that I've tried to learn while looking. I'm definitely studying finance concepts more to ace the technical questions and practicing modeling. Its a huge challenge because of the time spent working and commuting.
Trying to make the move quick even if it means taking more days off to search and network.
$40k in a high COL area sounds miserable, especially with a 3 hour daily commute. I know that there are government jobs that pay $70k-$75k as a starting salary in high COL areas with 40 hour work weeks. With that being said, what you want to do is FO and I don't have any experience with that, but I'd recommend hanging onto your current job while actively looking for a better one every chance you get. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.
Have you considered taking the GMAT and going to do an MBA?
It's very difficult to break from BO to FO at the best of times, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that. There are very good MBA courses outwith the top ones that could really help you e.g Wisconsin. Not too expensive and not ridiculously competitive.
MBA is a possibility, but is it too early for that? This is the only work experience I have and its not a well-known company.
a few things that i would suggest:
my situation: went to shitty undergraduate school. 2 years doing back office jobs at several BBs. did not do MBA. moved to investment banking. did private equity and now back in investment banking. my contact list is now 5,000+. it started with 10 people. recently interviewed for MBA at INSEAD; they said i am overqualified. i think i rather go to Wharton or Columbia. lol.
Would you mind go into how you went from BO to FO? I followed a similar path.
Also would it be ok to explain the reason for going back to IB after PE?
BO and FO was mainly taking unpaid internship, doing freelance work (i.e. analyst exchange program now call New York School of Finance) , working a corporate finance consultant at a consumer retail startup. Pitch was 1) i already did the internship, 2) i already took your basic modeling course and here is work that i produced, 3) i know i can be a better analyst cuz i actually know how the real company work (i was pitching for IBD/ER for consumer retail sector).
Was in IB. Then, did Corporate Strategy at a big regional bank owned by a family. Lateral into that family's family office unit. Then going back in as a secondment officer into an investment bank that they invested in. Right now doing a bit of merchant banking - 1) i do coverage (capital market and M&A) and 2) principal investing for the same family office in the deals that they like from the deal flow that i see by being at that investment bank.
You are being underappreciated. 3 hour daily commute, making $40k in a high COL area, I'd be ready to quit too. However, like many other commenters have pointed out, it is significantly easier to get a job if you already have one. Networking is going to become your best friend if you truly want to get out. Start reaching out to people, former classmates, send cold emails to alumni that work in the industry/area you want to be in.
In the meantime, take modeling courses so when you're talking to people they know you have a genuine interest and are serious about moving to FO. Maybe you've been practicing your modeling, but people need to know that you've had some regimented training which is not going to come through with just your BO job.
If you get a FO job, take it. Don't wait around for something better unless you know that something better is actually coming down.
It may be worth it to contact headhunters as well. That will most likely be something you hear as you begin networking. If they mention it, that's when you can ask which ones they'd recommend.
This is the general outline I followed and I'm now working in Acquisitions. Best of luck to you.
yeah, i'm starting to think should it be any FO role its best to take it rather than take a risk and pigeon-hole myself as BO.
When you refer to headhunters are you talking about recruitment agencies? Any ones in particular that you could refer which are good?
Most headhunters do work at recruiting agencies, however there are a few independent headhunters. I've had better luck with the independent ones. Recruiting agencies are usually shit, don't know the difference between accounting and finance. Think a staff accountant role would be great for you and you've never done journal entries besides accounting 101 class in college type shit.
Anyways, the good ones (and independent ones) are usually going to be more specific to the area you're in. As you're networking it's a question you can ask as a few of them should be able to recommend or know of headhunters/recruiters that actually know what they're doing.
Another thing that was mentioned to me as I went through this process was "optimizing" your LinkedIn page. It sounds kitschy, but I did what I was told and the next month there was a significant uptick in recruiters/head hunters contacting me through LinkedIn. Again, most are shit, but there are a few decent ones. I looked at people who had the types of jobs I wanted and made mine sound like theirs (without making stuff up or lying of course). The "sound" was made up of the words that they were using and incorporating those where I could (if I could). I know it sounds duh simple, but it was something that I remembered from networking and it seemed to help.
And yes, if a FO role comes up, just take it. I was repeatedly told that if I didn't switch jobs after 3 or 4 years of experience at my previous job it would be exceedingly difficult to move into the role I wanted (Corporate Development). Any FO role can be stuck out for at least a year if not 2 to position yourself for a better role down the road. Just have to get your foot in the door any way possible.
How did you end up in a 35k a year BO job in a high COL area from a semi-target?
My firm has a lot of BO jobs where people last only 6-24 months because they only make $25-35k in a low COL area. It's a pretty crappy job and it's actually a lot of work that they have to do. There's much more "BO" culture here (eg. your aunt sally who works 9-4 at the same job for 30 years and not much else exciting going on)
You pretty much took the words out of my mouth on the last two sentences. It flat out SUCKS, as do the people I have to work with!
Was originally vying for a front office role but didn't pan out. Got stuck with this one couldn't land any other job out of school. As for the pay, i think its cause they don't care to invest in support staff. There were some red flags about this that i saw coming, but needed a job.
Dolor accusantium non cum et ducimus perferendis unde. Temporibus et tempora quibusdam beatae iste possimus repudiandae. Quisquam incidunt fugiat eos earum.
Laboriosam accusantium doloribus nemo architecto. Magnam et qui sit debitis. At expedita suscipit dolores saepe. Explicabo atque rerum esse praesentium rerum.
Dolorem alias eligendi quas doloribus voluptatem laborum earum. Corrupti quaerat a officiis qui fugiat autem ut. Qui sunt quibusdam quos sunt architecto.
Officiis porro doloribus non consectetur. Natus quaerat sed omnis excepturi omnis. Sit nobis perferendis porro velit tempora. In est et accusamus porro aliquam dignissimos nobis. Debitis illo nihil ad. Veritatis libero quos nesciunt sapiente dolorem voluptatem facilis mollitia. Distinctio aliquam mollitia eos eligendi voluptate nemo.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Provident aut ratione reiciendis eum. Qui iure accusantium impedit.
Ut repellendus adipisci consequuntur ab quis corporis voluptas nulla. Omnis nihil reprehenderit vel eos molestiae cupiditate error. Dignissimos earum ut ut sint ex dolor et.
Doloribus fuga repellendus velit et est. Quos est cumque ad sed vel et. Unde nihil hic quod quia at eligendi et voluptatem. Enim fuga pariatur voluptatem culpa. Repudiandae omnis eaque et et qui ipsam. Cum quidem in illum voluptatem molestiae vel voluptatem qui.
Sed repellat sequi atque sint eius repudiandae voluptatem. Aliquam asperiores possimus quis provident est sint et. Commodi vero dicta in delectus aperiam aliquam praesentium ea. Ipsa labore expedita qui animi minus quis. Omnis aut recusandae sed consequatur quos alias molestiae. Non nihil numquam suscipit dolorum praesentium.