Are you an unemployed marketing researcher? Well, the good news is, there are likely many open positions for you. Forty percent of employed survey respondents who participated in our 2018 marketing researcher salary survey said it was somewhat likely, likely or very likely that their company would hire additional marketing research employees in 2018. The bad news? When we asked our unemployed respondents an open-end to better understand the challenges they are facing on the job hunt, they cited several. Perhaps finding that next insights gig won’t be so easy.
What are some of the barriers? While there were mentions of everything from struggles with relocation and department downsizing – one respondent even called out the “tyrannical consolidation” of MR departments – there were a few that stood out: age and experience level; economic outlook; and an overall shift in the industry.
Age and experience
Unsurprisingly, ageism is still present in the industry. Numerous age-related challenges were voiced in this year’s survey.
“Age, because I am facing retirement in less than two years.”
“Age is a factor always. But for all the wrong reasons. As a strategic planner, my years of experience make my work even better. I'm good at mentoring younger planners and have plenty of energy for my work and play. One reason we are discriminated against is the age rating for health insurance coverage. When you are older you have the potential to cost more in health coverage than someone half your age.”
“Ageism. The perception of 20 years of experience is more than they need, want to pay. Also, perceptions of not being current with industry and consumer digital lives.”
“Competition is young and the big companies want fresh blood.”
Several comments pointed to a disproportionate number of highly experienced unemployed researchers to open senior-level positions.
“There are few positions available at a senior level within the industry of market research.”
“Limited number of positions for market researchers with more than 15 years of experience.”
“The Northeast is saturated with senior marketing research insights and only mid and junior positions are opening up most often.”
One respondent reminded us of the challenges faced by the new and inexperienced:
“Another major hurdle is that if you've never been employed and have no job experience, companies take that as a negative point.”
Economic outlook
Local economies play an important role in the job-search struggle. Several respondents called out economic instability as the reason they are still pounding the pavement.
“Argentina is in crisis and all the marketing and research teams are getting smaller. I´m also looking in U.S. and Europe, but companies prefer not to relocate a person.”
“Recession in economy. Marketing research industry is facing the worst kind of slump in years.”
On the opposite end, several respondents reported that they are holding out for the right job. The ability to wait for a more desirable position – and compensation level – may be a sign of stability in some areas of the world.
“Lack of interesting open positions.”
“If I want to be employed quickly, it means lowering my salary level and that can be counterproductive for my next positions.”
“Truly engaging, interesting jobs are rare.”
“Finding the right role: both at the right level, as well as the right company/culture with opportunity to progress.”
Changing view of the industry
Last year several respondents noted the changing industry as a challenge when seeking employment. From artificial intelligence to enhanced data analytics and the call for researchers to do more, faster, it’s no surprise that this year’s open-end responses pointed to a shift away from traditional MR as a barrier to employment.
“Decrease in spending on classic survey research.”
“Primary market research seems to be declining with the increasing availability of behavioral data from online searches and purchasing.”
“Less reliance by business on traditional market research”
“The overall ROI of MR remains difficult to quantify. Fast, pseudo MR is increasingly prized more than real, valid MR.”
Still hopeful
While 77 percent of unemployed respondents reported that they are expanding the job search outside of the marketing research industry, a few are still hopeful: “Job hunting is a pain at the very beginning since there is little to no guidance. Once you study and get to know the market where you can serve, you can narrow down the opportunities and apply.”
For complete survey results and information on methodology, visit quirks.com/tools/salary-survey.