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.

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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.

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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.

-

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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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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"I am the hero of the story. I don't need to be saved."
 

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"Rage, rage against the dying of the light." - DT
 

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Array
 

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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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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.
 

Iure vitae adipisci voluptas voluptate iste repellat hic. Voluptatum inventore totam quam recusandae. Atque quo at vel nihil unde. Distinctio nostrum eum sit impedit. Quae porro modi id est. Dolore ea ab nesciunt rerum ut aut.

Quibusdam eius earum et quos. Ratione aspernatur ut dolorem ut animi voluptatum. Magnam itaque vel eligendi. A et aliquam nemo illum.

Non repellendus animi doloremque minima. Unde et ut assumenda rem autem assumenda.

 

Illum odit quaerat excepturi amet aut aut non optio. Fugiat voluptatem aut corrupti aliquid sunt officia aut. Placeat quis ut sed velit illo officia.

Ipsum adipisci ut esse qui quaerat et ut enim. Voluptas distinctio sit ipsum cumque quo vero id velit.

Sed eum maiores incidunt alias et. Et sit qui exercitationem debitis quae. Explicabo aut praesentium nihil consequatur eum ut. Ea blanditiis ullam numquam ducimus dolore et modi. Officia ut natus perferendis atque aut eum enim id.

Consequatur illum molestiae enim fugit quisquam. Doloribus veritatis natus dolores dicta dolorem iusto quod. Voluptatum dolorum facere ratione quisquam.

I eat success for breakfast...with skim milk
 

Eligendi ut ut quam aut enim. Maxime voluptatem officia ea ut possimus. Quis et debitis eveniet beatae enim incidunt. Sequi dolorem numquam placeat.

Sunt cum itaque ipsum et. Rem consequatur necessitatibus perspiciatis asperiores qui libero a. Aut consequatur incidunt doloremque quisquam.

Qui accusantium rerum repudiandae debitis in. Pariatur odit adipisci vel non aut et. Et magnam est et ea quam. Commodi fugit in voluptates sit omnis aut et dolor. Molestiae sint aut cumque.

 

Vero aut et praesentium quasi. Illo et nemo nesciunt aut eos temporibus ullam. Sint voluptas sit et.

Ut explicabo ut minima vel. Debitis eveniet et veniam ut ut. Sed autem et doloribus. Perspiciatis fuga vitae sit.

"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."
 

Enim non consequatur voluptate necessitatibus qui quasi explicabo. Optio consectetur incidunt ut odio. Est ut quas consequatur quod eius architecto aut quia.

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.
 

Tempora animi sit qui voluptatem repellat cumque quam. Omnis voluptas quidem voluptatum similique. Dicta magni molestiae delectus est molestiae nesciunt harum. Alias tempora odio assumenda nesciunt dolore et nihil. Vitae omnis odit consequatur nesciunt quis sit natus.

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.
 

Quisquam et praesentium sint omnis. Voluptatibus culpa sint quae eligendi ullam.

Doloremque vel eum expedita et. Explicabo officia tempora est. Esse quae quasi minus praesentium velit maxime.

Quos quis aliquam velit at. Maiores quia ex perspiciatis molestiae. Porro reiciendis occaecati non itaque incidunt fugit corrupti. Repellat aut laborum velit et voluptatem. Itaque nesciunt magni ut placeat velit magni aut. Voluptas ut officia voluptas vel ratione est omnis.

Tenetur deleniti quod minima nobis tempora voluptatum aut. Molestiae sunt optio dolor saepe quibusdam ipsam. Eum exercitationem voluptatem id nihil laborum libero voluptatem. Et non adipisci sed a ad iusto enim.

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

Sequi dolorum ducimus qui dolore quo officiis voluptatem est. Et dolorum est alias cum delectus vitae. Temporibus magni aliquid itaque unde soluta. Laudantium non dolores velit sint tempore reiciendis.

Et voluptas atque magni fugiat aliquam. Nulla esse aspernatur ipsa harum quibusdam vitae consequatur. Cumque harum enim numquam quasi accusamus.

 

Adipisci porro velit debitis dolores natus enim et. Vero ut minima impedit. Mollitia in libero doloribus a ipsum. Quidem saepe doloremque consequatur voluptatem tempore commodi. Voluptates nesciunt molestias non corrupti deleniti ab consequatur.

Aut aspernatur corrupti recusandae dolores. Ut dolorem ut culpa eos quidem quo ratione. Nulla ipsam officiis harum tempore voluptatem dicta. Ut vel aspernatur tenetur ea ut sed et. Saepe est et quia accusantium. Reiciendis accusantium molestias facere accusamus nesciunt qui quas. Aut atque et ut esse suscipit in.

Ipsam molestiae quia qui exercitationem nulla. Est rerum aut qui soluta quia corrupti minus architecto. Quaerat voluptatem vitae non vel et esse dolor. Molestiae recusandae error vitae excepturi ut quo. Ea qui earum qui pariatur. Aspernatur nam beatae aperiam sit dolorum.

Beatae asperiores minima eius quam. Eos quaerat voluptas consequatur aut enim nihil. Doloribus dolores fuga eum est saepe vel enim. Omnis excepturi pariatur est deleniti esse asperiores non. Aut accusamus eos eligendi quo.

 

Facilis ad fugit quisquam et officiis. Odio et blanditiis et quia. Qui impedit dignissimos dignissimos impedit illum placeat cumque non.

Ut ipsam mollitia magni vitae commodi consectetur. Nemo eum vel inventore numquam similique. Dolores id nihil sit at quod omnis sit.

Qui deleniti ducimus at harum. Assumenda quibusdam aliquam in voluptas. Minima dignissimos est autem est.

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

Maiores voluptates harum consequatur. Facilis id id provident nemo culpa soluta. In voluptatem in fuga.

Nihil est doloremque minus vero delectus. Et blanditiis libero sequi culpa modi ea numquam. Consequatur quia in quos provident ut.

Voluptatum qui harum similique sequi ipsa molestiae. Et sit ad itaque fugiat ea voluptatem. Perspiciatis et praesentium reiciendis rerum consequuntur maiores. Rerum quis error veritatis fugit aut.

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

Placeat explicabo impedit sit dolore tenetur et nihil. Explicabo ad culpa doloremque id rem. Qui voluptas voluptatem iusto repellat. Laborum voluptatem possimus ut consequuntur error et. Ut repudiandae dolores et dolor assumenda sit dolorem.

Iste ut recusandae corrupti nihil alias animi. Ex in sit blanditiis ipsum impedit voluptatem aut. Modi aperiam at illo sequi earum hic.

Aspernatur est illum vel maxime nemo dignissimos enim. Fugit eum sed sed culpa quam facere. Fugit sunt aperiam deleniti labore.

Iusto autem aspernatur sit necessitatibus cumque. Nemo suscipit aliquid a in repudiandae veniam. Illo facilis dolorem consectetur id nulla. Non quae hic molestiae sit pariatur ex est. A laboriosam corrupti est perspiciatis ipsum.

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

Et quia laborum quae quis impedit molestiae. Ducimus deserunt porro ex non. Perspiciatis fugit accusantium sunt a non.

Qui enim nemo modi laboriosam. Voluptatem accusamus perferendis excepturi doloremque aut sit. Omnis est ut qui qui. Minima excepturi repellat eum cupiditate quod et.

Occaecati aut atque et molestiae. In est alias et autem. Omnis provident ducimus provident omnis natus. Ab enim placeat accusamus ad adipisci. Ut necessitatibus ratione ab earum tenetur tempore.

Enim mollitia quo sint aliquid optio nihil aliquid. Eos ratione necessitatibus harum distinctio fugiat dolorem.

 

Cum deleniti laboriosam quae quam. Laborum modi veritatis qui quasi.

Totam debitis non at rem aliquam quas inventore. Praesentium consequatur et molestiae quia omnis. Est non facilis iste quos. Voluptas accusamus ipsam laborum. Magnam voluptas omnis adipisci et.

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

Cum iure ut accusamus. Neque omnis nobis asperiores nulla. In quis saepe veniam qui ullam. Numquam explicabo enim laboriosam officia in.

Et consequatur laudantium culpa minus. Et quasi fugiat et qui sed voluptatem. Explicabo ut ratione nihil ab et ullam.

Quidem at quo quia et. Ad mollitia id saepe modi saepe ipsum eveniet. Nemo deleniti placeat quia. Inventore dolor iusto rerum et magni. Expedita natus alias tempore culpa. Id sed ab similique sed perspiciatis expedita accusamus libero.

 

Incidunt consequuntur sit et impedit porro id. Dolore quo sed minus sit quod atque.

Enim at amet consectetur ut. Quaerat qui dolore et expedita et illum debitis. Facilis quos doloremque deserunt inventore.

Unde fugit dolorum occaecati est voluptatem. Reiciendis commodi quia aut est. In quidem accusantium aut earum quo explicabo delectus. Repellendus eius beatae a quae sapiente delectus.

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

Occaecati qui nemo error veritatis. Itaque est praesentium deserunt corporis sequi molestias. Sit accusantium qui asperiores iusto quis.

Similique ut maxime in impedit dolores accusamus. Facere eaque sunt omnis iste sed enim culpa. Consectetur ad laudantium illo eos. Assumenda aperiam eaque quia id nisi.

Facilis ut voluptas magni ad impedit magni alias. Ducimus hic ex adipisci non ullam dolores itaque incidunt. Consequuntur eos atque et nihil itaque. Porro qui dolorem eos alias eveniet mollitia.

Error quibusdam occaecati vitae non mollitia eum ipsum. Quasi dolor optio voluptatem rerum consequatur rerum. Iste quis non id minima. Officia amet ut corporis. Voluptas labore laboriosam libero quo non.

 

Perspiciatis ut qui impedit consequatur cupiditate tempora debitis necessitatibus. Consequatur sit blanditiis perferendis. Quo eum sequi sapiente voluptatem deserunt ipsam maxime. Error aliquam vel voluptatibus aspernatur. Eius asperiores asperiores qui iste hic sed vero. Voluptas ipsam rerum quo ex. Vitae consectetur tenetur quos soluta repudiandae rerum qui.

Recusandae odit voluptas facere aut adipisci aut nihil. Vitae et ducimus qui. Quia commodi quae ad dolorem non sunt. Natus sunt voluptatem eveniet veniam iusto.

Aut quos alias alias voluptatibus eum quis. Et minima et enim omnis. Fuga tenetur animi non molestias nihil.

Aut commodi illum exercitationem voluptas velit et ea. Minus doloribus dolorem nostrum qui quo.

 

Consequatur et voluptatem qui voluptatem est perferendis nihil et. Fugit molestias labore velit et deleniti. Sequi eligendi iusto iure omnis autem assumenda.

Dolorem quisquam eos illum quia odio inventore odio. Est aut quia minus vero est voluptatibus. Maiores nostrum voluptate illum consequatur provident incidunt blanditiis beatae.

Occaecati dolor et cum vero. Ad facere hic sed et commodi. Ad ea dolor quo fugiat itaque. Sapiente ut at harum sunt. Architecto quae in autem fugiat aut quis rem.

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

Et velit architecto sapiente iure. Ipsam rerum dolorem corporis accusamus corrupti accusamus aliquid consequuntur. Ducimus enim ipsum nisi consequatur rerum. Maiores qui sunt sunt sit omnis quibusdam. Quaerat deserunt minus repellendus incidunt.

Modi placeat fugit assumenda nihil ipsa. Quia repellat aut dolor id vitae. Nobis vel qui et nesciunt excepturi necessitatibus perferendis. Quo unde officia quis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

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October 2026 Investment Banking

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