Make money as a market researcher
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Almost every day in the newspapers we hear results of a new survey of opinions or behaviour patterns.
Many of these surveys are carried out over the phone or, increasingly, via email but a large number are conducted face-to-face in the street or in people's homes. Someone has to do these interviews and if you are friendly, open and interested in meeting new people regularly, that could be you, making some rather useful extra cash in your evenings and weekends.
It is not a job for the shy. It involves knocking on people's doors and asking them to answer questions about, say, which newspapers and magazines they read, what financial products they have or what they think of the current Government. You need to be approachable and able make people want to listen to what you are asking.
Being able to cope with rejection and actually having the door slammed in your face also helps! However, if you are friendly and polite, with good communication skills, and you are interested in meeting a wide variety of people, you should have no problems.
Companies like Ipsos-Mori (www.ipsos-mori.com) use interviewers all the time. They come from all walks of life and are given training before being let out into the world to ask questions.
"Every applicant is asked to complete an application form, followed by a screening conversation with one of our experienced trainers," says Jane A'Court from Ipsos-Mori. "Successful applicants are invited to an Assessment & Training which lasts 3 days and is a combination of classroom and practical sessions.
"If they pass this successfully they join our panel and on the first day of 'live' working they are accompanied by an experienced supervisor. After this they are supported daily via specific mentors until sufficiently experienced."
Much of the work is done at the evenings and weekends because it tends to involve speaking to people in their own homes. Jane A'Court says a typical day for one of their interviewers would start at 1pm and finish around 8pm.
Sometimes interviewers are simply given a few roads to try with a quota of, say, twelve interviews to do. They just have to keep knocking on doors until they fulfill their quota. At other times they are given pre-selected addresses to contact and, often, a specific type of person to speak to (perhaps the youngest member of the household or only females).
Ann Smith, 28, has been a researcher for Ipsos-Mori for six years. Originally she worked part-time for them outside her day job then she took it on full-time. "It's more fun than office work and there's a lot more variety in it," she says. "Also, it's a really flexible job. I have a six-month-old son now and I can fit in the work when my husband's home in evenings and weekends. You can work as much or as little as you want. We're not on a contract or anything. Some people just do one weekend a month."
Ann lives in Hullbridge in Essex and says that the jobs she gets are generally in her own local area, but some, particularly the 'pre-selected' ones, can be a car-ride away. However, she says she only recently learnt to drive and for years she managed to do the job well by walking, cycling and taking buses. "It really wasn't a problem at all, although it is easier now that I can drive," she says.
Being in Essex, Ann is paid the rate for the South East which averages out at about £9.50 an hour. "You could live off it," she adds. "I did it full-time for a year and made a living out of it. Some of the pre-selected jobs are really well-paid so if you're happy to do those you can make a lot more money."
The researchers are paid per completed interview but their pay is topped-up in the first few weeks as they learn the ropes. Payments per survey at Ipsos-Mori vary depending on where the researchers live too. In London and the South East basic interviews tend to be paid around £9.25 each. Elsewhere it's about £8.75. The pre-selected interviews are often harder to complete so these are paid more than the others. There are also bonuses to be had if you meet your quotas.
"I really enjoy working with the public," says Ann. "No day is ever the same. One day you might get a load of interviews - everyone is happy to speak to you - and another day it's hard to get a 'yes' but you meet a few really interesting people. You do have to cope with rejection but it doesn't bother me anymore. My door-stepping techniques have improved over the time. As long as you're positive then it's not a problem.
"Probably the best experience I had was with one lady that I interviewed a couple of times. We got on really well and she told me she was emigrating to Australia. We kept in touch after she moved and later on my husband and I decided we wanted to have a holiday over there. We stayed with that lady when we were over there which was great!"
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