Market research interviewer
Ask people questions and collect their answers to provide information to businesses or organisations about public opinion.
About the job
What it's like
You would ask people questions and collect their answers to provide information to businesses or organisations about public opinion.
You would stop people in the street or phone them to get them to spend time with you and answer your questions.
You’ll need to listen carefully and record the information correctly and clearly: it would be useful to have neat writing.
You’d work for a research agency which would run the project. The agency would prepare a questionnaire designed to find the information that an organisation or business needs.
You might be asking questions for:
All sorts of businesses
An advertising agency
A government department or agency
A charity
A polling organisation
As part of a team, you would:
Go to an information session (briefing) about the research project
Stop people in the street, phone them or go to their home to ask them questions
Explain about the research and how it’ll be used
Ask a number of set questions from the questionnaire
Record people’s answers on paper forms, a hand-held computer or video
Organise the results and pass them back to the market research organisation
The agency would require you to complete a set number of interviews with people from the target audience. You’d need to be friendly and polite but also move on quickly if someone isn’t interested.
Hours
Part-time and short-term temporary work is common. Hours can be irregular, including evenings and weekends. Some organisations offer more long-term contracts after a few months.
Environment
You may interview people face-to-face in the street, in shopping centres or door-to-door. This can mean spending a long time on your feet in all weather conditions. As a telephone interviewer, you may work from a call centre or from home.
Travel
You may need a car to travel to different sites.
Explore more information about this job
Here are some useful links to learn more about this career:
Like the sound of this career?
Browse courses in Scotland related to 'Market research interviewer'
Select qualification level(s)
Other careers that you might like
Customer service adviser Call centre operator Dispatcher Emergency medical dispatcher
Related industries
Many jobs can be done in lots of different industries. We've highlighted the ones we think are most important for this job.
Creative
Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Top specialised skills
These are the top specialised skills that have been found in job vacancies across Scotland. From March 2024 to March 2025.
- market research
- business insurance
- sales development
- direct selling
- business-to-consumer
- telemarketing
- group finance
- cloud engineering
- public policies
- system support
Meta skills
Here are some of the meta skills you'll need to do this job.
- observation
- questioning
- empathising
- cooperating
- written communication
- verbal communication
- listening
- understanding
- attention to detail
- filtering
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore each section to find more information about getting into this career.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
English
English and Communication
People and Society
There are no formal qualifications required to enter this role.
Qualifications and experience that show some understanding of marketing, communication skills and ICT skills such as Skills for Work Creative Digital Media (SCQF level 4) or Retailing (SCQF level 5).
Experience of dealing with the public, in any kind of customer service job.
Fluency in a language other than English may be useful.
Find the right course for you
Browse courses in Scotland related to 'Market research interviewer'
