Pros
Absolutely none. I'll echo previous reviews by saying that, although your coworkers are kind and smart, there are an infinite number of worthy workplaces in DC where this will also be true. I watched the Hanover experience crush the spirits of resilient, intelligent people during my tenure, and I posit that the only potential plus from working there is that it will teach you precisely what you don't want in a workplace. It's a great and terrible tale to tell in interviews.
Cons
Again, to affirm negative reviews that have already been posted -- Hanover tends to hire eager new graduates who want to prove their worth by working hard, and managers drive them into the ground by pushing them to turn around low-quality, laughably low-value products in 2-5 days, depending on the research department. If you're looking for a first job that will substantively build your research skills, look elsewhere -- you'll mostly use Google here. If you're looking for a first job that will substantively build your client-facing skills, look elsewhere as well -- researchers almost never sit in on client calls, and God forbid they ever receive direct instruction or feedback from clients, either. I guess the silver lining there is that researchers don't have to be on the receiving end when clients realize the kind of drivel (literally tarted-up Google search results) they've been sold at a premium. Hanover is, in many ways, a study in top-down failed management. You'll see in other reviews that Hanover employs a grading scale on each report, where you are evaluated on a number of criterion on a scale from 1-4. These scores are awarded in a shockingly arbitrary fashion, and receiving them on each project feels like being babysat by the world's least enthusiastic babysitter (in my department, researchers often wouldn't receive any feedback on daily project updates until right before the product was due, defeating the whole purpose). A message to those working at Hanover and looking to get out: You should, and you can. I know that working at this company is both boring and intellectually discouraging, but you got this job because you're a good writer with a strong work ethic, and those are skills that every employer needs. Don't continue sharing your talents with a company whose model and product is a highkey abomination, and who undervalues its employees so dramatically and consistently. A message to those considering a position at Hanover: sure, do as the CHRO has suggested on this page and talk with managers to weigh your options. But ask them hard-hitting questions, and be warned that the nature of the work described throughout the interview process bears very little resemblance to what you do on a day to day basis. And quite frankly, take the reviews on this page to heart. Folks wouldn't be taking the time to write many-paragraph long criticisms for a company that isn't deeply flawed. I guarantee you, you can do better than this place.
