MSc Organisational and Social Psychology, 2011
Senior Research Executive, TNS
After completing my undergraduate studies in India and then my MSc at LSE, I took up an internship as a trends researcher with a behavioural insights agency in London. The tasks assigned were quite new and interesting to me: I was to look up consumer trends, analyse them and write about them, and they were published as proprietary content online and shared with big brands across categories. After that I joined a digital market research agency in London where I worked on a full-time basis as a research executive for about a year.
I eventually moved back to India. There was a brief period during which I was unemployed, which was quite a frustrating time. However I connected with my UK employers and got myself a couple of freelance jobs that I could work on from home. I finally found a job in the field I wanted with TNS, one of the biggest market research agencies today.
When I first made the decision to apply for MSc Organisational and Social Psychology, I was sure that I wanted to eventually be an organisational psychologist. However, during the course I found the social psychology aspect a lot more interesting. I linked this up with my personal interest in understanding consumer behaviour and eventually opted for a career in market research, essentially consumer psychology. Consumer psychology has always interested me, but I was never sure what kind of career you could have with it. Once I had that figured, I knew I wanted to be in this field. Firstly, it is immensely satisfying and gives you a strong sense of achievement when you see hoardings all over the city about a print ad that you had researched on and recommended to your client; or a new product launch that you had helped with. It is also a very interesting job where you get to do ‘something new’ every day. One day you are testing a new alcoholic drink, the other day you are noting consumer expectations from home loan providers. Thirdly, it’s an interdisciplinary field to the say the least – a culmination of all the psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, business management studies.
My day to day job is extremely fast paced and challenging, and that’s precisely what keeps me going. It is an extremely versatile job in which I may be researching a pain relief gel in the eastern parts of the country one day and be in Thailand the next day, understanding how folks in Bangkok do their laundry. Day to day responsibilities include managing my team, speaking with clients, responding to research briefs, drafting proposals, collecting data, analysing and reporting it.
In terms of personal qualities, the job requires an immense amount of motivation to sustain, given its challenging, dynamic and fast paced nature. You have to be very well organised, calm and collected at all times. To moderate interviews, you need to be able to strike up conversations, make people feel comfortable around you and be a good listener. It is not as easy as it sounds!
At times, the fast paced nature is exhausting. A sense of peace and quiet that is needed to analyse and understand data is often missing.
Being in London and at LSE, was definitely was one of the best experiences of my life. Studying at LSE was a dream come true, more for my parents than me! I had met an alumnus from LSE during my undergraduate days and I remember being very impressed with her, her field of work and her academic background. It inspired me to take the same route.
Being an international student in London was a very enriching experience. Other than the fact that it has made me a lot more confident and independent, it also made me aware of cultural differences and taught me to not evaluate all with the same lens. I apply this often in my job when analysing consumer behaviour across geographies, communities and socio-economic levels. The LSE brand name in itself is an impressive one. It is a great conversation starter when speaking with employers and it establishes you as a superior candidate instantly, giving you a clear edge over others.