Prior to Hanover, I’d never seen a company that provided such comprehensive grant services. I wanted an opportunity to diversify my talents within the grants world by building upon my previous research and analysis skills. I was also attracted to Hanover’s status as a newer, expanding company. Given the company’s rate of growth and evolution, I felt there would be space for me to explore new roles and potential leadership opportunities while creating a name and reputation for myself. Finally, in my experience, smaller, emerging companies offer more opportunity for employees to make a personal impact on methods and policies. Joining the company as a new mother after a break from the workforce, I felt empowered to shape my role and define my work-life balance without making significant sacrifices.
For our grants partners, it’s about building confidence and capacity. In the end, if we help them receive much needed funding, we’ve achieved just one of our goals. In an increasingly competitive funding landscape, we want to help our partners level the playing field so that they can use their unique strengths and characteristics to build their institution and/or research franchise. Every one of our research reports or grant proposal projects helps educate our partners and augments their ability to provide services to their communities.
Be proactive. If you find a project type you enjoy, a role you would like to explore, or a training opportunity that interests you, be your own advocate. Hanover provides room to expand your niche and individualize your role, but it requires self-efficacy and drive.
Embrace the culture of “yes.” Flexibility, enthusiasm, and curiosity are valued and rewarded.
Our research team consists of highly qualified people from across the globe, which is one of the most attractive aspects of Hanover. Working with them, not only do I learn something new every day, but I also gain a deep sense of camaraderie. Despite such diverse backgrounds, researchers at Hanover all share the traits of humility and willingness to help out fellow researchers.
I also find the learning opportunities here really rewarding—the knowledge-sharing culture gives me the chance to constantly develop professionally and personally. Every week, several professional development activities are offered to help employees enhance their skills or develop new ones.
Businesses and organizations collect enormous amounts of data. Hanover’s job is to uncover the hidden stories behind the data so partners can make informed, fact-based decisions to achieve their goals. Hanover specializes in a variety of data analysis techniques that allow us to address our client’s pressing research needs. For example, clients often request evaluations of program or product effectiveness to make adjustments to their offerings and will be interested in elasticity measures to manipulate their pricing strategies better. The research team’s quantitative and qualitative skill sets allow us to deliver insights that give our customers confidence in making business decisions.
Learn from your peers. Your coworkers are highly qualified and always willing to help.
Balance managing projects with improving your research methodologies. The field of research is very fast-paced and investing in professional development will only help you.
Push yourself. Be creative, intellectually curious, and passionate about the research work.
For the love of learning – as a lifelong learner, I am consistently learning something new each day at Hanover. Whether it’s working directly with our members, understanding nuances of a changing educational landscape, or collaborating on thought leadership with my peers, I am constantly pushed to reflect and grow as a leader. I am also surrounded by highly thoughtful and passionate colleagues who inspire me to challenge myself and take risks on a daily basis in an effort to maximize learning and success for students around the country.
As a Senior Managing Director of our K12 Education practice area, I oversee the entire research, Advisory, and Educator Learning Center teams. Managing a multitude of products and services has been rewarding because we are able to find the right solution to support our K12 members’ complex strategic priorities and needs. It’s exciting to see the positive impact we can make on students by working directly to make a significant impact on the overall organization’s systems and processes – from program design and implementation support to helping K12 districts and schools monitor and track their progress towards strategic goals, we are always leveraging our expertise in research, consulting, and professional development to support their continuous improvement efforts and success.
Embrace challenges with a growth mindset
View setbacks and challenging situations as opportunities for growth and learning. There will likely be internal barriers and external challenges with clients that may be discouraging, but approach each situation with an open mind and a willingness to learn from each unique situation.
Cultivate curiosity and take risks
Hanover rewards innovative and creative thinking and problem-solving, so don’t be shy to share your perspectives and unique ideas. Growth in my career occurred because I was willing to push a boundary and experiment with new ideas; you should approach every situation with the desire to expand your skill set and find creative solutions to unique needs.
Self-reflect & seek feedback
Begin and end each day with self-reflection as it allows you to gain a deeper understanding of your strengths and areas for growth, and don’t be shy to actively ask for feedback and use it to improve your skills.
I chose to work at Hanover because I was excited about the prospect of working for a boutique and fast-growing company that is providing high-quality custom research for clients. As a business development professional, it is important that the product I am selling is sturdy, the clients I welcome are served well, and the consultative conversations I’m having with prospective clients are diverse and engaging. Hanover has been a good place for all of the above.
Our business model enables clients to receive more custom research across a full-year partnership. We help clients grow their businesses by helping answer some of their most important company-specific business questions. We don’t do general research—we answer nuanced questions clients ask by performing custom research built from the ground up for each client.
Align your strengths with the company and customers’ needs. Take the time to understand what you’re truly good at and match that with what the company values and what our clients and members need. That will be the key to your happiness in your career.
