Sherouk Soliman about her first months at Hammer

Sherouk Soliman is a Market Analyst on the Hammer team. Hammer is a boutique consultancy specialized in providing market intelligence for strategic decision making. Based in Arnhem, Hammer serves a wide range of clients consisting of family-owned companies, investors, and multinationals. We asked Sherouk about her first months at Hammer.

What is your background and how did you find Hammer?

I obtained my master’s degree from Radboud University. Unlike most of the Hammer team, I did my studies in Biomedical Sciences and specifically in healthcare consultancy. I joined Hammer in December 2022 after I saw an exciting job post on Radboud Career Portal.

Having studied and worked in healthcare consultancy made me very aware of the importance of data.

As a consultant you need data to base your recommendations on. If any of the data pieces you use is misleading or inaccurate, everything that follows is incorrect. In the final few months of my master’s degree, I started realizing that I wanted to explore consultancy from an earlier step; learning how to find and judge the right data before I proceed to use it. That’s why I was very happy to read the job description of Hammer’s vacancy that enlisted what I wanted to do in my career.

What did you learn at Hammer?

When I initially joined Hammer, I must admit, I felt somewhat out of my comfort zone. Surrounded by individuals from diverse business backgrounds, I was initially hesitant about how I would fit into the expertise of the team. However, I soon realized that diverse strengths and skill sets were the hidden gem within our collective team.

On my very first day in Hammer, I was given the opportunity to join a project about mapping the market of infant formula and food for specific medical purposes (FSMP) for a major ingredients company. Coming from a healthcare background, I knew infant formula and FSMP from the aspects of nutritious value or patient population. But delving into the origins of the ingredients, the supply chain, and the market dynamics- were all new (and very eye-opening) aspects to me.

Hammer's work in a wide array of industries exposed me to exciting new horizons. The projects we undertook not only broadened my understanding of different industries but also highlighted the interconnectedness between various sectors. Across nine months at Hammer, I have worked on projects for healthcare, dairy, animal feed, personal care, infant formula, and more. You would imagine how such opportunities widened my perspectives and helped me learn a lot along the way.

In the past nine months in Hammer, I learned to appreciate the importance of stepping out of my comfort zone, indulging new challenges, and embracing the collective intelligence of a diverse team.

How do you experience the culture at Hammer?

I joined Hammer after two interviews with different team members. Although the interaction on both occasions was online, I could easily sense the amazing spirit of the team. The harmony and understanding between the team members manifested themselves so smoothly and in turn made me even more excited to be part of the team.

One of the main things that I like about Hammer is the young team, this means that we all have many things in common to talk about.

Bonding and social interactions are a lot easier when you can relate to each other’s challenges and lines of thinking, being all from the same generation. Well, I have to admit though, football discussions are still something I cannot relate to Hammer’s team in.

What advice would you like to give other starters?

To everyone at the beginning of their career, I would advise you to never be scared of exploring new opportunities. You never know what new learnings might come your way!