Current Hiring and Staffing Trends in the Market Research Industry

Based upon decades of experience helping market research professionals advance their careers, Reeve & Associates would like to periodically share our perspective on the job market.

Below are previous summaries reflecting our perspective of the market research job market.

• Q2, 2010
• Q1, 2010

For more frequent staffing insights within the market research industry, please feel free to connect on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/philreeve) follow us on our new Twitter account at http://twitter.com/reevejobs

Despite the summer months acting as the traditional vacation season within the MR industry, we are seeing an increased demand for researchers at all levels. After two years of downsizing, companies want (and in our opinion--need) to hire.

Among the emerging trends: Growing demand for:

• Researchers with strong quantitative skills for supplier positions
• Sales professionals among research suppliers
• Seasoned Research Managers and Senior Managers for Corporate research jobs

This is all good news.

Unfortunately, many employers continue to believe candidates should be "pleased" to receive any job offer in the current economy. Few seem to understand good candidates--who are always in demand--need to be "wooed" with attractive offers to secure an acceptance.

Candidates with whom we speak are increasingly open to discussions and exploring new positions but remain cautious about making a career move.

Interestingly, we are also seeing employers make aggressive counter offers to keep good researchers on their teams. Before accepting an offer and resigning, candidates need to consider how they may handle counteroffer situations. We will gladly help candidates navigate this important topic to help maximize their long-term career potential.

As we approach the end of the first quarter, I wanted to share our perspective on the job market with you.

Fortunately, the demand for hiring has increased significantly. Employers are looking to expand their teams with quality researches to reduce the current workload and tackle new projects.

However, the salary expectations of many employers (based on their job requirements) remain out of line with historical metrics and the value delivered by seasoned MR professionals. Consequently, many employers are being "penny wise and pound foolish" as they continuously advertise for jobs they cannot fill due to unreasonably low salaries. We urge candidates to ask employers how long they have been trying to fill any given position.

As you know and have likely experienced firsthand, there is a greater workload being placed upon MR professionals who are currently employed -- many who have not received a raise or bonus in the past one or two years.

And with the additional stress of more demanding workloads, cracks are appearing in employee's goodwill toward their employer. Many MR professionals are open to or actively exploring career opportunities. Additionally, many MR professionals also tire of providing minimal quality work in an effort to address the overwhelming demands for their services.

And while the hiring process remains slow, the imbalance that has emerged over the past two years is now beginning to swing in favor of the candidate.

In our view, demand for experienced candidates will continue to grow throughout 2010 as:

• Open positions remain unstaffed
• Turnover becomes more prevalent
• The demand for market research grows
• Candidates seek more lucrative and "balanced" work environments

Importantly, candidates will experience greater compensation as the demand for MR professionals grows throughout the year.

Our suggestion is that it may finally be time for MR professionals to take an objective review of their contributions, workload, career aspirations, and compensation and see how they match to their current position.

We hope you will find congruency. But if you don't, this spring may be the time to take a look around after a two year winter.