With the results only a few weeks away, I thought I’d seek some advice. I’m currently stuck in a back office role wanting to progress into the front office (Junior PM/trading). I only applied to ops a few years back as I didn’t think I would get accepted in a front office role (I have a masters of engineering). I’m just looking for some advice on how to make the move and anyone who has any tips? I’ve exhausted all options at my current firm (global IB) and looking to move. Problem is, all my applications get ignored/rejected. I became a candidate in the program to gain knowledge etc. but I keep falling at the first hurdle on the job hunt. It’s Pretty annoying and frustrating; if anyone knows of a junior role going in London im interested!! Worth a shot!!
this post should not be in the L2 thread, rather the “Careers” thread. you will get more responses that way.
I graduated college in 2012 and spent the first two years post grad as a “back office monkey” as they are so afffectionately termed by many. I cannot emphasize the following enough: GET OUT OF THE BACK OFFICE IMMEDIATELY, even if it means a slight temporary decrease in pay.
Maybe its different in the UK where you are, but in the US, the longer you are in the back office, the more back office stink you have all over you, and the tougher it is to get out. the LONGER YOU ARE THERE… the more recruiters and HR managers see you as a “back office guy” aka a “worker bee” aka an “Ops Dave” (this one was the term at Goldman). Get out.
I worked in the back office my first two years out of school, both large BBs and while the pay was decent for a 23 year old kid (around 55K with benefits et cetera) I knew that i had to get out. I have since moved into research sales and have not looked back. OBVIOUSLY sales are not for everyone, but now at least I know that if I ever want to get back into the capital markets side of things, whether it be IB (unlikely to happen at 28), ECM or Port Mgmt…at least i now have 3 plus years of DIRECT client facing experience to point to, in order to show them that im not an Ops Dave with coffee stains on his $12 tie.
its cruel, its unfair, but thats how it is. and if you go to the Careers thread of this site, (or worse) Wall Street Oasis…you wil find they are even MEANER to back office careers.
Thanks for your advice - I noticed that but I don’t know how to move the post to that section.
It’s definitely something I’ve encountered and I’m trying my hardest to move but it just doesn’t seem to be happening. How did you jump from back office into your current research/sales role?
I jumped from the back office role to a research sales role for a startup. evn though i was in the back office…the name on the resume was still good (large well known BB) so the hiring manager at the startup was impressed.
the hiring manager also was not the most savvy w/regards to finance, so she didnt really understand EXACTLY how menial my work was at the BB. so i was able to embelish in the interview process my role and what it meant. she was mostly impressed with the name.
the startup sales role in and of itself was not that good a job. the pay was bad and the product was bad. BUT i used that role to jump to my CURRENT role which is MUCH more legit. and i have been here for a couple years.
overall the startup sales role was just a stepping stone, but i NEEDED it in order to get my current role. why did i need it? because doing 15 months of sales RE-BRANDED my resume in the eyes of recruiters. since i was able to hold down a sales job for over a year in a high turtnover industry they saw that i was no longer an “Ops Dave”
Again, Research sales isnt for everyone, but if I were you i would attend networking conferences (SLA, ALA). theyre always looking for young hungry people.
really depends on what you wanna get into. I will say THIS: the one client facing role(s) that i think are relatively easy to move into from the back office with the CFA is anything regarding portfolio management or wealth advisory. like…if you are a back office guy and you think the CFA will get you an IB job or S&T job…keep dreaming. but for port mgmt the CFA is worth its weight in gold. so depends on what you want.
Network. Go on LinkedIn and search for people who work in jobs you have interest in. Guess their emails and set up a time to meet for coffee. Then when you find an opening on a job board etc. see if your network knows someone on that team. Forward your resume and get it in front of that team.
Also take up independent projects outside of work that demonstrate your interest (write reports on market developments, do case studies, etc.)