Our Associates are at the center of our projects, our processes, and our culture.
Why Sterling?
Never stop learning
Our clients come to us with difficult questions—we combine hard work, resourcefulness, and expertise to deliver answers
We’re a generalist firm (we cover all industries), which means lots of variety—you’ll get exposure to a wide range of businesses / markets (from cybersecurity to surfboards!)
Our projects are fast—~2-6 weeks long—which means that there’s always a new challenge around the corner
We go straight to the source—most of our insight comes from direct dialog with key people in an industry
We have structures in place to ensure our people develop as professionals through training and feedback—we reject complacency!
Be valued
We value our people, and we foster a culture of inclusion and respect
We invest in you and your development—when you succeed, we succeed
You’ll work closely with senior staff and learn directly from them—Associates are essential to our team structures
Each Associate works with a mentor who supports “big picture” development, beyond the day-to-day coaching that takes place during projects
Most of our managers started as Associates with the firm—we’re proud to be a firm where people choose to grow their careers
Have a voice in a growing company
We’re a lot bigger than we were, even just a few years ago—but we’re still a small company, which means everyone has an opportunity to share their ideas and opinions
Our emphasis on continuous improvement drives our success, and we encourage Associates to think critically and creatively about our approach—we’re always looking for new ideas that can invigorate our work and make us better
Critical Responsibilities
- Helping develop project strategies / plans that allow us to meet our client’s needs, practically, and quickly
- Managing project logistics to ensure successful execution of work streams
- Gathering data, commonly via primary research (e.g., in-depth interviews, surveys) as well as secondary research
- Analyzing data and generating insights to help answer our clients’ key questions
- Producing written reports to communicate key findings and insights to our clients
- Contributing to ongoing client conversations
Career Path
The Associate role is an entry-level position that has meaningful potential for promotion and advancement.
- We give Associates additional responsibilities as fast as we trust they’re able to handle them
- High-performing Associates advance to the Senior Associate role, often in Year 3, at which point they assume some leadership responsibilities within project teams
- From there, Senior Associates have the opportunity to progress into the Project Leader and Director roles
Qualifications
- Highly self-motivated and self-directed
- Effective time management and organizational skills: will be comfortable working across concurrent projects with demanding timelines
- Exceptional critical thinking skills and comfort analyzing a variety of data—quantitative and qualitative, structured and unstructured
- Attention to detail and keen judgment: can determine which findings are important (and which aren’t)
- Proficient oral and written communications skills: able to communicate effectively and develop coherent, accurate narratives
- Excellent interpersonal skills, including collaborating well in a team environment
- Proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint is preferred, but we will work with promising candidates to develop foundational skills
- Minimum GPA = 3.4—all majors / concentrations encouraged to apply
- Must be a US citizen or have authorization to work in the US. Sterling Associates does not sponsor international applicants in need of work authorization.
- The Associate role requires the employee to be physically present in Sterling’s offices. Applicant must have received, or be willing to receive, the COVID-19 vaccine, and be fully vaccinated (including recommended boosters) by date of employment with Sterling Associates to be considered for jobs that require the employee to be physically present in our offices, subject to required accommodations.
Note to all candidates: We welcome all applicants that meet the qualifications listed above and do not discriminate on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, etc. However, we are unfortunately unable to sponsor candidates in need of local work authorization.
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