If you haven't already done so contact the Association of Qualitative Research for any advice they might be able to give.

Do searches for qualitative agencies and set yourself a target of contacting and sending out so many CV's a week.

If you are earning an exceptionally high salary to get a role as a Trainee might mean you need to be a little bit flexible on earnings but possibly not.

When starting out in your career you should always have a goal and then look at the ways you are going to reach this goal, i.e. some people want a career in marketing and use market research as the springboard to this. Whilst it is true you can stay too long in one role at least by working as an interviewer/supervisor you will be working in the market research arena and in the field where you see your career path. This has got to be more relevant than working in a completely different function. It shows you are committed to a career in market research.

Regarding the supervisory role, you should check out what the next career move with that company would be, check what you can learn from taking the job and if you do take the job make sure you keep a log of all the different types of field studies you get involved with, the business sectors etc. Demonstrate on your CV what you have learned / got from the role.

It is always difficult to take a permanent job when you heart is not in it, and it doesn't look good if you leave too soon but you must also think about yourself and your career - it is all too easy to get pigeonholed. If the supervisory role is with the company you already work for as an interview perhaps you should be honest with them and explain what your ultimate goal is.

Any role in market research involves an element of travel and also commitment because of course when working agency side one must meet client expectations. As a result researchers often work unsociable hours. Qualitative is possibly worst as focus groups often are held in the evening. I am afraid travel and long hours come with the territory in this field.

I don't know if you were thinking of applying for roles in the UK or if your question relates to working in India, and of course there could be differences – for example there are greater distances to travel in India - but in essence in my experience roles are pretty similar.

Please note if you are keen to secure work in the UK many companies look for candidates to hold a work permit, which can only be obtained if you have a job as the company must make the application. Of course you might have British Ancestry which can make it easier. If you do find a company prepared to obtain a work permit that is great although for positions at graduate entry level this can be very difficult.

The food retailers use their own EPOS data to track the products being sold across their stores. This data capture is fundamental to the role of the researcher. They usually require very numerate individuals to do data analysis and possibly use different statistical techniques on the data. There are numerous studies on pricing, promotions and perception of the value. There are factors that affect sales, such as price, choice, distribution, display of the products and competition. The candidate should be aware of the retail industry. Who are the main players, what has been happening to the industry over the last five years? They could look at M&S and say Asda.

Doing the 3 months unpaid experience is a really good idea, work experience usually counts for more than academic qualifications. Doing a Masters shows a certain level of academic achievement which is good, and an enthusiasm for the subject, which is also useful. Quite how useful it will be depends a little bit on the content of the course and what you plan to do long term. If it revolves around qualitative methods and gives you an opportunity to moderate and apply your findings to real marketing problems it is obviously very useful. Even if it revolves around quantitative methods it could still be useful eventually, if one day you would like a role buying research and need to have a good understanding of all methodologies.

You are right to think that remaining on the switchboard at your present company isn't helping. Have you asked the qualitative companies you have applied to whether there are any temporary (or even permanent) administrative roles you could do there? Even working in a non research role, you would learn quite a lot generally about the area by working for a qualitative company and you can be sure next time they recruit a junior they will be considering you.

Secondly one of the biggest regional research agencies is in Stockport. Rather than doing a customer service job which you don't enjoy, why don't you see if they have any positions?

Ideally of course this would be as a trainee but assuming they don't have any trainee roles, working here in field or admin would at least give you relevant experience, which would help with any future applications.

I presume that some of your applications will have been speculative rather than for a specific job or training scheme. Right now [NB early 2003] speculative CVs are falling on deaf ears, especially if there is little experience. Regarding specifics, unfortunately there are very few junior vacancies at present - what there were have either been filled by the grad in-take from last Autumn, or put on hold.

If you were thinking of grad trainee schemes, you may have fallen 'between the stools' applying when last year's trainees are just getting started and thoughts have not yet turned to this year. In fact companies should be starting to prepare for next Sept/Oct in-take in the next couple of months. I am not 100% sure how each operates. Most tend to make their 'apply by'dates in July or August (to include this year's grads - which will just make it harder!). However, if you apply now it might be hoped that you could be at the top of the pile when resourcers' minds are fresh. I always feel it is best to get in early - some companies do have a start date as well so best to check the websites.

Regarding numbers of applicants - the plum grad trainee schemes are highly oversubscribed - for example, last August Martin Hamblin received 200 applications less than one day after posting details on their website; none of the big companies uses recruitment consultancies to find grads because they can attract so many through the milk-rounds and via their websites - we are talking several hundreds applying to each of Research International, MORI, TNSofres etc etc. So you are up against huge competition, hence the importance of the degree.

The market - it is still very quiet, with a lot of companies still operating a total freeze on recruitment. Others are putting tentative toes in the water - but often retracting them as quickly. The most buoyant sectors are healthcare/pharma and social. Within these we have quite a lot of vacancies for people with 2-5+ years relevant experience - even a couple for those with only one year. IT/Tcoms are still slow with only essential replacement - mostly 4+ years experience.

There is no easy solution other than to keep at them - definitely target the big companies as they are the ones most likely to recruit grads - the grad trainee schemes will start in the Autumn so he could use the time in between to work as an interviewer - telephone, street, or temping in field departments, learning/brushing up IT skills such as Power Point, Excel, SPSS. Also don't take silence for an answer - identify the companies you are really keen on and get on the phone. In addition, identify sectors of interest, build up 'your case' and target smaller companies that focus on these sectors.

Good luck!

Your suitability as a qualitative researcher is very much to do with your personality and it's not something I can assess using the wonders of the internet. Very broadly, good qualitative researchers are intuitive, creative, good communicators and listeners, assertive but not aggressive, able to think on their feet and process information as they receive it. They are also able to empathise with a wide range of different people. If you match that profile to a reasonable degree I'm sure you'll make it as a qualitative researcher.

So what's the best way of getting in? The answer is to use whatever means you can. Try moving for a start! The opportunities in London far exceed the rest of the country. Apply to graduate programmes by all means, but that is putting yourself into competitive situations where your age may count against you. I think you should also identify companies that focus on the research areas that interest you and write directly. If company size is important to you then of course exclude those that do not fit the bill, but if it's not a major issue don't allow anything to limit your opportunities - it's a competitive enough world to get into as it is.

Without doubt you should use whatever personal contacts you have. If you know someone who knows someone who knows someone in MR then get an introduction. People are usually more than willing to help someone out if they can. With speculative approaches, make sure you know something about the company so that you can give a plausible explanation for your approach in your covering letter, and identify a senior person in the company, i.e director level, that is responsible for that area. In other words write personally to the person you think is likely to be your boss. If you can interest them in your letter you stand a good chance of being invited in for interview. Be brief and direct, try to keep your letter to one side and make it punchy and compelling. Show them why you'd make a good researcher. You should also include your CV which will preferably be no more than two pages long.

Good luck, I hope to see your name in MRS publications before long!