Thread by @Srasgon

I have been getting numerous requests for a “tips for associates” thread. Maybe it’s time.

#talesfromthesellside

I have hesitated for a while on this one, as it turns out to be a little challenging to write for a few reasons.

First, In some sense I am a bit disadvantaged here, as I was never a sell-side associate, I was fortunate enough to skip about 10 steps in this game and stumble ass-backwards into it right at the top.

So it is probably not going to be possible for you to follow the same path as I did to get where I am (which had an enormous component of wild randomness to it).

Secondly - there are as many ways to manage and run a team as there are senior analysts. with various business models, strengths, weaknesses, and expectations. So any advice I give here may or may not be applicable to the particular team you are on.

Hence I am not convinced that there is a general recipe for “success” as an associate on any given team; it will depend on your senior, the nature of your relationship to him/her/them, and where your own strengths complement, overlap, or reinforce your senior’s.

Thirdly - any a definition of “success” has to have some end goal in mind; i.e. an associate targeting an eventual move to the buy side may want to hone a different set of skills vs an associate who has set their mind on a long term sell-side career.

However, I thought I could at least lay out my perception of some of the more general success indicators (as I see them at least) as well as give a view of the success recipe specific to My TEAM, working for ME.

So here goes.

1) Don’t panic :-) Joining a new sell-side team will be like drinking from the proverbial fire hose. You will feel overwhelmed. You will struggle to breathe, especially at first. That’s OK. Building your knowledge base is of course going to be the most important thing from day 1.

2) If you’re new, get your licensing exams out of the way as quickly as possible. You are limited in your ability to contribute to the team, especially around client service, without your licenses. Get them done!

3) Learn your systems backwards and forwards early on. There's lots of minutiae in sell-side publishing – the raw details of how to make a chart and link it into a call, how to manage your CRM system and record client interactions, how to submit the call to compliance at 2am, etc

(I know many senior analysts who struggle with the basic system stuff on the job so they may or may not be able to help you, your best bet is to figure it out right away so it isn't a problem later)

4) It sounds trite, but learn how to use excel. Learn how to use pivot tables and sensitivity tables. Learn how to format a spreadsheet so it looks nice. And know that keyboard shortcuts are lifesavers.

5) Whatever data source you use (Bloomberg, CapIQ, Factset etc) learn how to use that too. Know its strengths and limitations. Learn how to do excel imports/formulas. It will save time down the road.

6) Read everything you can about your industry. Learn its history. Know who the key players are today, and how they are different from yesterday. This doesn’t have to be boring; semis in particular has some amazing history books that talk about some amazing characters.

7) Know at least a little about every company in your industry, covered or not; at a minimum if a client asks “Hey have you ever heard of XXX” you should at least be able to say “Yes I’ve heard of it.”

8) Be prepared to work. This is a tough, demanding job. I know this one sounds like a drag but it’s true. But at a minimum though try to work smart (automate repetitive tasks, etc), everyone on the team will thank you.

9) Try to learn how to write in your senior’s voice. Your senior will be less likely to ask for rewrites/rework if you can make your work sound like theirs.

10) Learn how to tell a story, and don’t lose sight of the “so what” in everything you do. Keep in mind you are not doing analysis for analysis’ sake; you are trying to come up with a narrative that will pique your clients' interest, and help them make investment decisions.

11) Learn to speak in front of an audience, which will help you with the salesforce and with clients. Look for opportunities to present in the morning meeting to sales as soon as you feel comfortable. Do industry tutorials or company update presentations clients, sales etc.

12) Sell side teams often refer to themselves as a “franchise.” This is not a bad description; running a sell side team is sort of running your own little business, with customers, product development, distribution, etc.

So while a good sell side analyst will take a “CEO mindset” to running their franchise; good associates will take a similar “COO mindset” to running it.

A “COO mindset” means doing anything and everything to keep things running smoothly, that your senior may not have the time and inclination for.

Taking ownership of projects. Keeping the team calendar straight. Managing workflow. Mentoring younger team members. Whatever you can do to help your senior use her time more efficiently.

13) Manage upward. Your senior is going to be busy, and (if they are like me) can be absent-minded. They may or not know what you are up to in any given moment, whether you are overloaded (or underloaded).

So you’ll need to find a way to manage your senior as much as they manage you, to keep your own sanity. To that end make sure expectations are set appropriately in both directions (from your senior to you, and vice versa).

At some point this also means being ready to push back on your senior if you think something won’t work, or if there is a better way to do it. You are closer to the work, you will be better equipped to know what is doable in the time allotted and what is not.

If you can’t clearly articulate that sort of thing to your senior you are going to be buried under a million “What if we tried XXX?” “requests” from the old guy/gal.

14) Be flexible. On any given day anything can happen. You’ll need to be prepared to roll with it. Don't get upset if the killer analysis you've spent 3 days on gets shoved aside to handle a sudden unexpected deal.

15) Get the salesforce to view you as a reliable stand-in for your senior. Quite often they will want someone on the team to do a call, or meeting, etc with little notice. If they can’t find your senior, you want them to be comfortable asking you.

16) Remember that sales gets their impression about you from their clients, not from your senior. It’s a virtuous cycle – timely thoughtful client interactions feed back to sales, from there feed to your senior, and back around.

On the other hand if sales begins to view you as unreliable it can be the kiss of death for you to advance in a sell-side career, even if your senior likes you.

17) A good trick – build relationships with some of the younger, newer salespeople (which is less scary than trying to hang with the greybeards sometimes).

18) Build solid and direct client relationships. I know I beat this one like a dead horse, but I truly believe it comes first, second, and third on the list of what is important. Manage your own call list. Go above and beyond on client outreach and request fulfilment.

And really try to connect on a personal level, remember these are real people, not names on a spreadsheet. If a long-term sell-side career is for you, you should view this as the best part of the job!

Now I will note that to do this right you will likely need the support of your senior to pull it off in the right way. Hence you may need to have a conversation with them on it.

How you manage this conversation depends on your relationship with your senior and your firm’s management, and their perceived value of you. Make sure they see you as valuable!

19) This may be firm-dependent but in general if you want coverage of your own you will have to ask for it. it probably won’t happen by itself. And no one will treat you like an analyst unless they are convinced you can act like an analyst, so all of the above applies.

20) Finally, it will bode well for you to develop a feeling for what you might want to do longer term. Not everyone is cut out for a long-term career on the sell side, and that’s OK.

You like talking to clients? Pulling stories together? Going super deep into industries and stocks? Convincing/arguing around your ideas? The sell side may be for you.

Do you get a thrill from the day-to-day movements of your PA? Do you want to show you can be right instead of just interesting? Do you want to run money someday? Maybe the buy side would be more to your liking.

It’s fine! But over time as you learn more about what makes you tick, try to develop the skills you’ll need to take your career where you want it to go, and take it there. No one will do it for you.

Otherwise if you don't proactively manage your career there is real risk of becoming the guy/gal who has been a senior associate for 12 years hanging around waiting for your senior to retire or die.

(And senior analysts all think we'll live forever).