What level of competency is required to land an Equity Research role?

Of course, the more knowledge the better, but just out of curiosity, and in an effort to have a better plan going into the experience, I understand it is analyst dependent, but how much do you need to know to get hired via networking with an analyst. Is it necessary to have a foundation and go in with the understanding that the learning curve will be steep, or are new hires typically already highly competent when it comes to understanding companies, financials, and models?