Career Spotlight: Self-employed, Market Research Interviewer
By Olivia Burgess
Mrs Letman is a self-employed Market Research Interviewer and she has worked in this field for 34 years. She has kindly agreed to give us the low down on what the job entails…
1.What is your job and what does your job include?
I work as a Market Research Interviewer, and I am self-employed. My job entails interviewing a variety of people for a company. The job also entails allocating work, training people and accompanying them, and a lot of travel. I also do quality control and home placements. I have worked for a range of companies from train lines to TV companies!
2.What motivations fuelled your career path?
By being self-employed it allowed me to manage my diary and commitments around my personal situation as, at the time, I was raising a family and had a husband with complicated health issues. Being self-employed it gave me the flexibility that I needed and was the best option for myself at the time.
3.What do you wish you had known about getting started in your field?
I wished that getting started in interviewing the general public that I had of known how rude and condescending some of the general public could be. Also that this is unavoidable and unfortunately that this is a necessary part of my job due to the fact that the job requires communication with the general public across the UK in order to gain the information required.
4.What additional education or certification is required?
You must complete a three day training programme. In this training programme you are trained in speaking to people and collecting a range of non biased data.
5.What do you like about your job?
I enjoy the travelling that I do for the job as I have been all over the UK and have been able to see and go to places that the general public normally cannot get access too. The job has brought me many experiences and opportunities that I wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. For example, I have met some well-known people such as Steve Backshall! I also enjoy a majority of the communication with the general public.
6.What do you dislike about your job?
Some members of the general public can be really rude and it’s unnecessary and has put me off the job in some cases.
7.Did you want to pursue a career in anything else, and why did you not pursue it?
When I was younger I really wanted to be a nurse and work in the St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, but I grew out of it!
8.What advice would you give to someone going into your field?
I would avoid going self-employed and work directly for an agency and based in an office. Don’t work as an interviewer.
We hope you found this career insight helpful. Read more interviews to find out about other careers:
More career spotlights coming soon!
By Olivia Burgess
Mrs Letman is a self-employed Market Research Interviewer and she has worked in this field for 34 years. She has kindly agreed to give us the low down on what the job entails…
1.What is your job and what does your job include?
I work as a Market Research Interviewer, and I am self-employed. My job entails interviewing a variety of people for a company. The job also entails allocating work, training people and accompanying them, and a lot of travel. I also do quality control and home placements. I have worked for a range of companies from train lines to TV companies!
2.What motivations fuelled your career path?
By being self-employed it allowed me to manage my diary and commitments around my personal situation as, at the time, I was raising a family and had a husband with complicated health issues. Being self-employed it gave me the flexibility that I needed and was the best option for myself at the time.
3.What do you wish you had known about getting started in your field?
I wished that getting started in interviewing the general public that I had of known how rude and condescending some of the general public could be. Also that this is unavoidable and unfortunately that this is a necessary part of my job due to the fact that the job requires communication with the general public across the UK in order to gain the information required.
4.What additional education or certification is required?
You must complete a three day training programme. In this training programme you are trained in speaking to people and collecting a range of non biased data.
5.What do you like about your job?
I enjoy the travelling that I do for the job as I have been all over the UK and have been able to see and go to places that the general public normally cannot get access too. The job has brought me many experiences and opportunities that I wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. For example, I have met some well-known people such as Steve Backshall! I also enjoy a majority of the communication with the general public.
6.What do you dislike about your job?
Some members of the general public can be really rude and it’s unnecessary and has put me off the job in some cases.
7.Did you want to pursue a career in anything else, and why did you not pursue it?
When I was younger I really wanted to be a nurse and work in the St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, but I grew out of it!
8.What advice would you give to someone going into your field?
I would avoid going self-employed and work directly for an agency and based in an office. Don’t work as an interviewer.
We hope you found this career insight helpful. Read more interviews to find out about other careers:
More career spotlights coming soon!
