A tale of two cities
Florrie Hodgkinson tells us about her experience working with The Leading Edge in our London and Sydney offices.
Transitioning from the security of University to the reality of working life can be a stressful time for many. After studying Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol in the UK, I made the decision to take a post-university gap year. Whilst I aimed to do as much travelling as possible, I equally decided to take this opportunity to properly consider career choices and try out a couple of options in which the industry seemed particularly appealing.
Like many, when I graduated from University I did not yet know what I wanted to do. Despite this, I decided I should at least put my degree learnings to good use and headed to Indonesia for two months to carry out a Mental Health Placement.
Spending the week working, the weekends gave me time to travel and relax. I started to enjoy reading around Behavioural Economics, how it connects with Psychology and its real-world applications. I came to realise that a career grounded in the Behavioural Sciences, revolving around how and why we make decisions would not only be stimulating, but well-suited to my interests and research experience gained from my degree. Whilst looking into this possibility I stumbled across the term consumer insights and found myself extremely interested.
A career in market research was never something I had previously considered
The next stop on my travels was to head Down Under for around 3 months, but my aim became to incorporate this with gaining some experience in my newly discovered interest - ‘consumer insights’. Thanks to the wonder that is Google, I found The Leading Edge. A career in market research was never something I had previously considered. Admittedly, like many, my preconceptions about market research were limited to the idea of being stood on the street with a clipboard in order to collect data, but, eager to find out more, I got in touch to discuss doing some work experience, and was offered the chance to do so in both their offices.
In total I have spent a month with The Leading Edge - two weeks in London, and two in Sydney - seeing the reality of what working in market research and consumer insights actually is and how findings have a strategic impact. I attended training days in research practices and methodologies - such as using on-line communities. I assisted with projects (including heading into people’s homes to assist on a qualitative research project to find out about people’s pets), and I’ve learnt some interesting facts about other cultures, for instance only 15% of retirees in China receive a pension and only 1% of Indians travel overseas annually.
Learning about what The Leading Edge do made me reconsider what I believed market research to be
Learning about what The Leading Edge do made me reconsider what I believed market research to be. Previously it seemed dry and slightly monotonous, but it’s something much more related to human behaviour in a context that is ever changing and ethnographically varied. My experiences in both the London and Sydney offices have been extremely true to this description. I massively appreciated the opportunity to help with and observe a range of projects across various markets. I would encourage other postgraduates, undergraduates and young people not to be put off by the idea of a career in research based on common misperceptions about the industry. Having spent a month working with The Leading Edge, I found the experience to be intellectually stimulating, culturally centred and incredibly diverse.