Q&A with Flake, “Don’t waste your time and energy in a back office role.”

How do I even begin to introduce Flake? More than anything else, Flake is really here for our enjoyment. Sure, maybe Flake is not as helpful as the legendary CompBanker, but that does not mean he is undeserving a Q&A. Within our interview, there are some real, solid lessons about the realities of networking from the back office to score an elusive FO role. Give the man props, because the BO-to-FO move is the epitome of doing the non-target hustle.

Although Flake has previously done an equity research focused Q&A, I wanted to sit down with him to discuss his back-office transition and his feelings about his current ER role. In this Q&A, Flake discusses his background, how to internally network from the back office, and the qualities of a successfully ER associate.

Please, enjoy, and make sure to look out for more of my Q&A’s with our more experienced users.


MF: Let's talk about your background, education, etc. - where did you come from? How did you get your initial Back Office job? What makes you special?

Flake: I went to a non-target state school, and graduated in 2009. How non-target? Well, a few weeks ago I had a meeting with a CEO of one of the companies under my coverage and he asked what school I attended (he was a Wharton UG and MBA man himself). I had to look at the floor, kick around a bit, and mutter the name under my breath.

Where did I come from? Russia, over a decade ago.

I had two summer analyst interviews for my junior year, one was an operations position at the BB that I currently work at, and the other was Blackrock PAG. Looking back, I realize neither of those was great, but I was ecstatic to receive the offers. Given that I was clueless back then, I made my decision based on brand name (I didn’t even know what in the world Blackrock was, seriously).

I thought I was the shit. I thought, “This is it, this is that Finance job that everyone keeps talking about.” I was proud of myself for not even trying and getting those. At $55,000 a year and $10,000 bonus at signing I figured I was well on my way of hitting that $100,000 by 30 goal (seriously, again). If I knew myself back then, I would have slapped the sh*t out of that kid.

What makes me special? The helmet, I guess.

-

MF: How did you know you wanted to work in equity research, if anything?

Flake: I didn’t know I wanted ER until I received my full-time offer at the end of my BB ops summer gig. After doing mindless shit for 10 weeks straight, it finally hit me that there are different divisions within the bank. I realized that operations was not what I wanted and it was definitely not “it”. I still signed the offer given the circumstances.

It was Fall ’08, I believe, and firms were cancelling OCR interviews at the time. I picked up the pace a bit during my senior year and came up with a master plan: 1) work in my BO job at 25% capacity, 2) spend the other 75% learning everything there is to learn about ER and IBD (my passion for both was a result of taking a couple of corporate finance classes during senior year), 3)???, and finally, 4) transition to ER or IB. More on this later…

After reading maybe 4-5 different books on investment banking, becoming addicted to WSJ and Barron’s, and speaking briefly to an ER associate who I met randomly- I knew what I wanted to do.

-

MF: Are you an analyst or associate?

Flake: As you may know, an analyst is more senior than an associate in a sell-side ER hierarchy. This is an external structure that we use for clients, reports, etc. Internally, we still follow the whole Analyst>Associate>VP>Director>MD structure. So my corporate/internal title is a 1st year Associate. Previously, I was an analyst for 2 years (split evenly between ER and BO).

-

MF: You mentioned that you networked your way to an FO associate job (granted some of it was sheer luck)... how would you recommend going about internally networking? What did you learn from your experience of almost getting the boot from networking a little too hard?

Flake: With networking, just be normal. I didn’t want to come off as some try-hard desperate brown-noser, and at the same time I didn’t want to come off self-entitled and cocky. Just be modest, be curious (bi-curious if that’s your thing), ask good questions, let the person talk about himself or herself, and just be able to shoot the sh*t with the person if it comes to that.

Despite my short career and my inexperience, I am still contacted by random people who want to “network” with me. Sure, I meet them. We talk, or try to. Some of them try so hard you can smell their bullshit from a mile away. The others say shit like “so my main concern is that ER is all about writing and modeling, I just don’t want to be stuck looking at an excel sheet all day”. Yes, valid question, but you don’t have to sound like a dick when phrasing it.

You can find my detailed BO to FO story in that Q&A thread I started in December. What I learned: if you want something, you go and get it. All good things require sacrifices; otherwise they are called hand-outs (occupy my ass). If I could go back to the BO, I would do the exact same thing.

-

MF: Talk to us about how to use a company directory?

Flake: Using the directory should be easy. I don’t know how it works at other firms, but I can filter mine by division, title, team, etc, which made it relatively easy to find the people you wanted. The one thing I fucked up on was cold emailing a tech analyst in SF, asking him to grab lunch/coffee. I’m in New York. So just pay attention. When you’re excited to email someone you can make a dumb mistake like that.

Lastly, if ER is your thing, you should have access to your bank’s research reports. Form your questions around those notes when emailing an analyst or an associate. Don’t ask obvious sh*t either; get a little creative with it to show that you are knowledgeable and interested in that sector. Otherwise, I will just attach a copy of my report and tell you to “look on page 3.”

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MF: What is more important, a superior technical knowledge or superior amicable personality?

Flake: I would never isolate one of those and say that’s the most important. It is a mix of both…also sex appeal helps. For example, I would attribute 90% of my ER transition to my handsomeness. But seriously, you do need both though.

Technical:

1) Helps instill confidence in your clients and establish your credibility as a reliable source of information 2) Having something like the CFA charter should help with your potential move to the buy side 3) Knowing your sh*t will also make your analyst more comfortable with giving you greater responsibility. Your analyst has to be confident in your analysis and at some point the analyst shouldn’t feel like he or she needs to hold your hand.

Amicable personality:

1) ER analysts are not anti-social and they are not geeks or nerds or whatever I’ve seen thrown around occasionally 2) you need be personable when interacting with big institutional accounts and c-level executives of the industry that you cover.

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MF: What grinds your gears the most when it comes to daily interaction with people (be it supervisors or subordinates)?

Flake: I don’t like people who act self-entitled. I don’t like anyone who constantly argues and tries to convince you they are right, even though they have been wrong the previous 10 times in a row. I don’t like people who get offended easily or can’t handle constructive criticism. I like modesty. I like someone I can grab a drink with and talk about anything, including WORK. Yes, work. Just because you hate your job doesn’t mean I hate mine and should shy away from discussing it in a social setting.

I have one subordinate, if you will; he is a “research assistant”. The thing I hate about him is his lack of attention to detail and his inability to take ownership of what I tell him to do. I feel like he does shit just to finish it, he doesn’t care about the end result and everything he hands over to me is sloppy.

My boss on the other hand, is exactly the type of person I just described. I can talk to him about anything and everything. He is easy-going but he can be strict and he can be a dick if the timing is right and shit needs to get done. That’s what I usually look for in a man.

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MF: You're one of the people that transitioned from Operations to the Front Office, what advice would you give someone who is trying to do the same thing?

Flake: I may be biased, but don’t waste your time and energy on excelling in your back office or middle office role if your goal is to move as soon as possible. If you are one of those people that thinks your current boss in BO/MO will “refer” you to that banking MD if you work your ass off, you are kind of wrong. That shit doesn’t happen.

Focus on networking and studying (be it for the CFA, GMAT, or just reading relevant books/news). Don’t spend too much time working there. If you are still in a back office role two years after you graduated it is time to pack your stuff and go to business school…that’s just my opinion of course.

What I do now is not related to my BO position at all.

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MF: What is the most positive part of ER and what is the most negative?

Flake: I discussed most of this in my Q&A thread as well.

My favorite part is that it’s not all grunt work. Even when a client uses me for informational purposes and doesn’t really care about my Buy/Sell/Hold rating (no one does really), I still feel like my opinion is valued and sought after. Every time I hear “Thanks for your time and insight, Flake, very helpful” I get a kick out of that.

When was the last time someone who’s twice your age, who is making probably 15-20x of what you make a year, and who is managing billions of dollars, thanked you for your “insight” or your “time?”

What’s the most negative thing about my job? They could pay me more money.

-

MF: What are some basic qualities specifically needed to be successful at an ER job?

Flake: Confidence. Attention to detail. You must have a passion for your sector and the markets (otherwise you’re just bored). Have the ability to write well, and being selectively direct and concise (not my best quality).

-

MF: Will you be attending the WSO conference?

Flake: I have my ticket to the WSO conference. I don’t know what I’m doing yet, I might dedicate that Saturday to a catnap.

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MF: Why do you feel like it is important to give back in the realm of solid advice to the WSO community?

Flake: I didn’t even know WSO existed before I started in ER… so I really don’t have anyone here to thank for anything. I never even thought of going on an Internet forum to seek advice on my career or networking, but I sure wish I did. It would have made my transition a lot easier, and more importantly; I would not have felt like I was the only one trying to take that leap. Also, I would like to give back occasionally in return for Patrick letting me troll WSO 90% of the time.

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MF: I usually open up the end of the Q&A to say anything you may wish (just be nice).

Flake: I just want to give a few shout outs to the people who keep me entertained on WSO:

Nouveau Richie, shorttheworld, heister, Determined, Whiskey5, duffmt6, ekimlacks, WellPlayed, Midas Mulligan Magoo (RIP), swagon, TonyPerkis, malvvar, rothyman, and ah. If I forgot someone, I’m not sorry.


Check my past Q&A’s:

Heister (HF)- My Total Worth is North of $50 Million

Patrick Curtis (PE, WSO Founder) Part 1 Patrick Curtis (PE, WSO Founder) Part 2

CompBanker (PE) Part 1 CompBanker (PE) Part 2

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“Millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do”
 

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I don't accept sacrifices and I don't make them. ... If ever the pleasure of one has to be bought by the pain of the other, there better be no trade at all. A trade by which one gains and the other loses is a fraud.
 

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I don't accept sacrifices and I don't make them. ... If ever the pleasure of one has to be bought by the pain of the other, there better be no trade at all. A trade by which one gains and the other loses is a fraud.
 

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Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

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WSO Content & Social Media. Follow us: Linkedin, IG, Facebook, Twitter.
 

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You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 

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Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

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I eat success for breakfast...with skim milk
 

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"For I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Bloody Mary full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails. Pray for me now and at the hour of my death, which I hope is soon. Amen."
 

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You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 

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Quia culpa aut veniam ab. Nobis dignissimos minima cumque ex. Est doloremque dolor sequi sunt cum. Rem repellendus aspernatur vel qui et possimus.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

Ut suscipit officia dignissimos pariatur ut accusamus. Laboriosam ab molestiae ab omnis. Voluptatem nemo aliquam quia nisi nemo ut quam. Laborum voluptatibus enim doloremque eligendi numquam qui.

Qui qui id labore modi tenetur qui. Et nesciunt commodi voluptates incidunt cumque molestiae. Non omnis ut veritatis ut magni ab.

You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 

Voluptatum culpa reprehenderit omnis necessitatibus aperiam vero. Soluta rerum provident molestias officia deserunt molestiae sint.

Porro quas consequuntur ut. Officiis quis molestiae rerum aliquam molestiae nihil. Vitae necessitatibus eum minus ut.

Asperiores dolor sint ea architecto aliquam. At tempora labore nobis assumenda quas.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

Error ipsa nemo placeat possimus. Nobis aut porro itaque aspernatur a et et in. Nobis sed soluta voluptates aut doloribus velit.

Vel sed voluptas iusto est voluptatem. Ut cupiditate ab labore ab. Iusto consectetur sit autem minima ratione ea. Velit quidem saepe voluptate repellat animi atque praesentium.

Eos natus commodi dolore quis inventore. Sequi nisi aut velit commodi dicta consequatur. Autem reiciendis omnis facere necessitatibus fugit. Velit at omnis earum porro fugiat dolores.

 

Et asperiores magnam dolorem sint laudantium voluptatum velit sunt. Dignissimos veniam eligendi ab debitis dolorem et. Necessitatibus et est placeat earum dolores eveniet.

Quis corporis ut sit impedit delectus eos enim. Pariatur ut recusandae quam autem sed. Voluptas ipsam veniam aliquam quam ut cum voluptatem eligendi. Soluta sit aut quod veniam qui. Accusamus ut dolore nemo aut et eius quod.

 

Omnis sed ut nostrum aut voluptas quaerat. Fuga quos quidem tempora id necessitatibus occaecati.

Earum dolorum eos inventore quia delectus harum vel. Id quia totam eum reiciendis eos rerum consequatur. Adipisci temporibus earum illo est veritatis dolorem est dolores. Molestiae labore fugiat maiores suscipit non vero ut.

Adipisci debitis laborum enim suscipit. Ut magnam soluta fuga et. Dolores asperiores et molestias qui.

Corrupti quidem officia error dolorum minima ut. Qui sint magnam consequatur. Minus officiis ut fugiat placeat ut unde harum quod. Aut repellendus atque quo nostrum non et expedita. Cupiditate facilis minima molestiae impedit cumque aliquid magnam. Rem qui sit officiis commodi occaecati doloribus.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

Deserunt voluptatum eaque alias voluptatem. Temporibus reprehenderit ea eos et atque. Molestias facilis incidunt sunt esse minima a voluptas. Est eos ratione voluptas aut. Unde reprehenderit dicta quo repellendus voluptatem corporis nihil. Non dolor sunt nemo. Id enim sint hic saepe occaecati enim.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

Rerum corrupti veritatis adipisci ullam blanditiis id. Laborum officiis aliquam repudiandae impedit. Unde quo est ratione illum tempora. Molestiae consequatur ad voluptatem similique sequi nam quibusdam. Eum tempore eligendi recusandae facilis excepturi. Similique voluptas sit ad vero. Earum et tempora ut alias quo earum voluptatem.

Quae tenetur voluptatem et et. Sit autem laboriosam laudantium. Consectetur quia in saepe quidem quo ullam minus.

Debitis voluptate iusto non quas nostrum est maiores. Voluptatibus aspernatur rerum eum cum ratione.

Power and Money do not change men; they only unmask them
 

Sint repellendus occaecati accusantium ducimus velit tenetur. Iste est facilis optio labore ut saepe dolorem. Unde vel magni adipisci aliquam et dolor eius. Et facilis ut adipisci. Reprehenderit modi id suscipit iste at at dolores totam. Quis sed et earum sit.

Veritatis dolore voluptas eveniet dolorum placeat. Rerum commodi voluptatum aut mollitia et autem aperiam officiis. Sit et similique dignissimos consectetur voluptatum ut. Nobis velit dolor enim nihil officia consequuntur quod. Ad et impedit voluptas suscipit sit. Enim qui dolor cumque et at aperiam atque. Qui et quae sequi repudiandae exercitationem placeat pariatur.

Voluptatem dolorum et quia id rerum aspernatur laboriosam. Natus neque qui est tenetur libero consectetur blanditiis.

Est voluptates enim ut neque voluptatibus in aut. Consequatur eveniet et molestiae et similique ex rerum non. Qui itaque maxime totam autem sit et quia. Natus excepturi eius totam et cupiditate.

 

Quia reprehenderit dolor voluptas. Minima omnis consectetur id debitis tenetur cupiditate. Nihil voluptatibus labore et nobis vitae delectus quis. Necessitatibus blanditiis consequatur sit et ut. Sequi nostrum laudantium eius quo. Rem sit nisi laboriosam et adipisci temporibus est tenetur. Dolorem dignissimos dicta vel ipsa. Culpa non quae id at et velit.

Nihil deleniti vitae nisi dolorem quas. Officia molestias animi dolorum qui ut. Fuga fugit et modi vitae aliquam.

Pariatur eum quaerat aspernatur quasi. Adipisci est ut totam quas porro quia.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

Sunt officiis consequatur corrupti quae enim eius temporibus dolorem. Aut molestias est voluptas voluptatibus corporis a. Ipsa sapiente est fugiat unde sunt. Distinctio eos accusantium quia. Voluptate nisi necessitatibus velit illo qui.

Architecto laborum amet ab dolor. Dolore aut et omnis pariatur molestiae. Dolores eius ea voluptatem occaecati quia dolor sed.

 
Best Response

Rerum aperiam eum quaerat sed laborum quia reiciendis. Vel dolorem repudiandae ut consequatur repellendus iure. Soluta recusandae unde cupiditate beatae id porro dolores. Dolorum voluptates et voluptas consequatur nihil. Laborum tempore quaerat excepturi neque. Et corporis laborum sunt praesentium. Corporis alias cum totam reiciendis.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

Praesentium temporibus maiores excepturi minus sed accusamus. Sed nostrum voluptates ut eos. Sint corrupti at expedita aliquid dolores.

Est recusandae accusamus dolorem ipsum. Incidunt eius dolore omnis ratione quia. Quis et id sed rem libero. Deserunt qui deleniti neque expedita libero voluptas accusamus aut. Aut ipsum mollitia repellendus vel molestiae autem ea.

Occaecati veritatis quia laborum et quia voluptates illo. Omnis consequatur repudiandae rerum in autem ducimus inventore.

 

Illo dolor aliquid consequatur et veniam dolor eum. Aliquid adipisci ut accusantium dolore. Omnis esse quis incidunt adipisci. Beatae qui earum tempora id reiciendis blanditiis. Eius laboriosam aut neque qui nam.

Accusamus molestiae qui minima nisi optio repudiandae quod. Sint tempora voluptates hic quia atque itaque. Provident illum officiis voluptate nihil odit. Unde aut eaque dolores sequi rerum incidunt a. Cum sint maiores explicabo voluptate. Velit odio eum magni quia delectus est sit adipisci.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

Neque rerum at aliquid ut tempora et. A enim est suscipit et ut provident. Cupiditate consectetur provident dolore laboriosam at vitae perferendis. Autem quia dignissimos eos soluta. Perspiciatis sit consequatur incidunt pariatur aut facilis. Et et labore ad aliquam sint porro cum.

Sunt qui qui aspernatur mollitia maiores. Autem commodi minima aliquid quaerat autem sequi praesentium. Dolore et qui vel. Necessitatibus dolores nesciunt quia numquam dolor quis.

 

Velit ab ut quia accusamus illo. Dolorem doloribus est et quidem rem sit. Voluptas ex provident ex maiores at corporis. Perspiciatis necessitatibus nemo asperiores fugit ut occaecati aliquam excepturi. Sequi omnis ipsam similique dicta illo. Et totam voluptatem voluptatibus libero veritatis aut repudiandae. Laborum animi consectetur facere.

Fuga et omnis molestias repellendus earum dolor. Accusantium incidunt sed error rerum. Architecto iusto aut ut rerum laboriosam autem. Ducimus blanditiis et inventore nobis illo aut. Omnis reiciendis sint in architecto laboriosam velit. Ut et qui qui sed modi amet natus.

Ut quae fugiat quidem iste eum incidunt distinctio. Ut error blanditiis repudiandae quos. Quis optio architecto sit voluptas voluptatem. Consequuntur error ut pariatur cupiditate amet a in.

 

Ea in sed facilis similique iusto quae. Eum quod voluptate omnis officia non nihil. Excepturi voluptatum rerum qui. Voluptatum consequatur sed mollitia cumque. Ad repellat ut sit. Debitis vero veniam porro ratione consequatur. Rerum voluptatem dolor voluptas et culpa ad.

Vitae quae et sunt et rerum. Nobis in delectus explicabo doloribus officiis. Consequatur aut asperiores culpa similique autem dolor. Ut quo ea facilis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

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