Now that we have launched, we’d like to introduce ourselves. We’re Tanya and Nicolle, founders of HelloInfo. In this post, Tanya answers a few questions about herself, her work, and her outlook for HelloInfo. Read on for insight into her background, her strategic approach, and her favorite keyboard shortcut. And check back next week for an introduction to Nicolle!
Q: What do you love about your job?
Honestly? Everything.
I particularly love:
- The research I do – finding an elusive nugget of information that will have significant impact for our clients
- Building out analytical models and frameworks that make our project work digestible so the insights we have uncovered are understood by clients and their teams
- Seeing the strategy shifts clients make with the insights we provide
- Meeting new people, learning about new industries, and constantly being challenged
And now, as we build HelloInfo, I am enjoying crafting our company culture, getting more involved in lead generation and marketing, and having more of a direct relationship between the quality of my work and the impact it has on clients.
Q: What inspired you to go to library school, thereby starting your career in research?
When I was doing my undergraduate degree, I always chose obscure topics to write papers on, and as such, finding research to support the arguments I was making was challenging. I loved spending hours in the library tracking down elusive books, journal articles, and other sources. In those days before federated search (I’m dating myself!), there were so many different ways to find information, both digital and analog. It was like playing detective.
When I was considering post-graduate options with my liberal arts degree, I realized library and information science was an easy choice. I could continue doing detailed research, turning it into a career.
I loved my time in the Library and Information Science program at University of Western. It was there that I did a co-op at a competitive intelligence firm and initially became interested in strategic research and analysis.
Q: What advice do you have for the next generation of information professionals?
Two major points:
- Question everything
- Don’t underestimate the importance of how information is delivered to the audience
On the first point – question things like:
- Where you are getting your information from
- If there is a different/easier/better way to search/present/be efficient
- What is going on behind the scenes when you are searching, e.g. what databases are covered, are there any default settings
As for how information is delivered – people do judge a book by its cover, be that right or wrong. Making information painlessly accessible to your audience is paramount, so they can dive right in and hear your message. From the flow of the narrative, to the nit-picky formatting details, it all matters. This essential aspect is part of the reason why HelloInfo’s mission is to provide approachable deliverables.
Q: What’s one hobby that you’d love to get into?
I’ve dabbled in rock climbing and would love the opportunity to do more of it!
Q: What is your favorite keyboard shortcut?
Alt-E-S – Paste Special.
My first client, that also turned out to be the longest client of my career to date was a mid-sized Canadian firm that received a daily analytical newsletter. There were two components to the piece: some material that was cut and pasted from the original, and some ‘so what’ analysis. Every morning I’d be up early to get it out by the 7:30am deadline. After the first week or two of working on the case I started to look for ways to improve the efficiency of the cut and paste section so I could focus on the ‘so what’ analysis, and I discovered Alt-E-S.
I’ve used it extensively to date, and I find it’s a good example of my philosophy of supporting clients – automate what you can to focus on the value-add portion of the work.
Q: Where will HelloInfo be in 3 years?
We will be a happy team, focused on helping our client companies answer strategic questions. We want to retain our boutique mentality but gradually bring more team members on full-time to increase our offerings and expand our skillset.
Connect with Tanya anytime to learn more about her background, her goals for HelloInfo and how we can support you, or some additional keyboard shortcuts that can change your life: tanya@helloinfo.global.
