As a part of the 2017 researcher salary survey, Quirk’s asked respondents who indicated that they were unemployed an open-ended question on what they believe is the greatest difficulty in finding employment in today’s marketing research job market. While optimism seems to be holding steady – almost 90 percent of unemployed respondents are actively seeking employment – the responses prove that the unemployed still face many obstacles.
Respondents again pointed to poor recruitment techniques as a challenge when pounding the pavement in today’s MR job market:
“Positions are filled by the [company’s] personnel. Putting an ad in newspaper or job portal is just to complete the company’s obligations.”
“I feel that it's difficult to get a resume past the applicant tracking systems that many larger companies use and schedule an initial interview. Getting a personal referral at the prospect employer helps, but still is no guarantee that you'll be able to get on their radar and line up an initial interview. This is not a new phenomenon, although it seems like the process has maybe become even more competitive than it was 10 years ago.”
“Being noticed. You have got to get to the interview stage and that can be tough.”
“Too much competition and [difficulty] getting attention of a hiring manager. Plus, HR will not respond to you when you apply or even after interviews.”
Several respondents hoping to avoid relocation noted the challenges of finding a new job in the same market:
“Finding a position that does not require relocation.”
“Trying not to relocate.”
“Not much market research opportunity in this market; would need to relocate again to find a similar position.”
“Nothing matches my qualifications in my area.”
Unsurprisingly, ageism is still present in the industry, with 64 percent of those who claimed an unemployed status being above the age of 46. The survey also points to a surplus of unemployed, highly-experienced researchers. Thirty-nine percent reported being a college graduate and 52 percent a master’s program graduate. As in the past, several respondents reported the difficulties of being labeled as “overqualified” by potential employers:
“With the amount of experience I have in the market research industry and the number of years I've worked, it's difficult to find employers willing to believe I'm willing and comfortable with starting at the bottom again.”
“My age and experience. Employers want young people or want to pay low salaries. I would take a lower salary, but no one asks. It's disheartening.”
“Age and being ‘overqualified.’”
A changing industry
With the presence of big data, enhanced data analytics, automation, artificial intelligence and the call for researchers to do more, faster, it’s no surprise that respondents noted the changing industry as a challenge when seeking employment. The survey open-ends pointed to fewer traditional MR position openings and an overall shift in the skill sets necessary to compete in the industry:
“Traditional positions are not there anymore and not being fully trained on new software yet.”
“To cast a wider net, I'm looking at some opportunities that entail consulting and other areas (such as user experience research), and also am planning to become more knowledgeable about using some data analytics tools.”
“Research is going through a big change (new methodologies, new ways to read and understand the information).”
“Fast pace of change and broad range in digital tools.”
“Marketing research has changed. There's more emphasis on digital marketing and data analytics. Without that experience or skill set, it's hard to find the more 'classical' research jobs.”
The corporate research report work life survey was conducted online from June 5 to June 23, 2017. For complete survey results and information on methodology, visit quirks.com/tools/salary-survey.