The important thing for anyone job-hunting in the current climate is to think laterally - to look beyond the positions they would traditionally target and consider other routes into their chosen sectors. There are job opportunities out there, but the key is to find one that will provide valuable experience and training that will help the candidate work up the ladder once the worst of the recession is over. In the past, many senior retail executives started out stacking shelves; in line with a booming economy and 15 years of relative prosperity, graduates' expectations of their first job may have risen, but we are once again seeing a return to the traditional approach of starting out on the bottom rung.
An effective HR team can capitalise on this change, by attracting talented individuals to positions that previously held less appeal. A qualified business graduate may hope to secure a strategic management position, but faced with a lack of available posts they will be willing to enter through the back door, working on the shop floor to gain experience and prove their worth. It is a win-win scenario - the employer can test a recruit's drive, tenacity, creativity and relationship abilities and so judge their future potential; the employee has work in the sector they want to be in, and the opportunity to prove themselves and apply for other jobs when they arise.
Market research was fortunate at the beginning of the recession to be one of the few sectors enjoying some small growth but this has stalled and, with this, so have many of the graduate opportunities. Those wanting to enter the marketing services industry face a tough challenge. The advice we are giving aspiring market researchers is to get down to basics and look beyond just graduate training posts.
One example is data collection - or becoming an interviewer. This is not an established graduate path - conjuring up images of standing with a clipboard in a shopping centre - but it presents good opportunities for those wanting to get into the sector. Unusually for the current climate, there is actually a shortage of face-to-face interviewers in London and the South East. Foreign language graduates are highly desirable, bringing key skills for engaging minority groups, while graduates with IT skills can provide technical support for online research panels.
These positions offer a new way into market research. They pay above the minimum wage, provide on-the-ground training and help individuals understand the mechanics of research and build up their CV. Many of the industry's senior directors started out as interviewers - amassing skills they have drawn on throughout their careers.
The downturn presents employers with the opportunity to recruit good people, hungry for work and experience, who are prepared to consider lower-paid positions. HR managers would do well to target university careers advisers and academic departments, to encourage students to start thinking laterally, and realistically, about their first job. It may be many years before traditional fast-track training programmes reach their previous levels - for now, both employers and employees need to change their outlook.
Case study: Rowland Lloyd is chairman of MRS and operations director at Ipsos MORI. He explains: "The recession has certainly changed perceptions of job opportunities in research. We are not only receiving more enquiries from graduates wanting to become interviewers, we are seeing our existing field interviewers stay with us longer. In the past, these positions were subject to churn, but as individuals see the value of a steady and reliable role, we benefit from retaining experienced people for longer.
"As an employer we are always attracted by managers who have had broad research sector experience. Data collection is the essence of what we do and, if a manager has done the real job of interviewing, they amass knowledge they will draw on throughout their career. It's a real asset and we advertise for management positions in all of our telephone call centres to encourage telephone interview staff to apply. Historically we had to work hard to get graduates to become interviewers; the changing climate has reintroduced interest in this side of the business, which we will benefit from for many years to come."
Debrah Harding is deputy director general, Market Research Society
