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Useful experience for survey interviewers includes:

• interviewing
• sales
• customer service
• hospitality work.

Survey interviewers may do some or all of the following:

• phone people to make appointments for interviews
• interview people at their home or business in person or by phone
• approach and interview people in the street or other public places such as railway stations or shopping centres
• ask set questions in a survey questionnaire
• record the answers on a survey form, computer or tablet
• keep a record of the interview for the survey supervisor.

Turnover high for survey interviewers

Turnover among survey interviewers is high because:

• jobs are often short-term, casual or part time
• workers move on to other higher paying jobs.

Demand for interviewers is gradually falling because:

• online surveys are becoming increasingly popular, reducing the need for interviewer-assisted surveys
• some companies are using cheaper overseas call centres to cut costs.

According to the Census, 1,041 survey interviewers worked in New Zealand in 2018.

Types of employers varied

Survey interviewers may work for:

• research firms
• large private companies
• government departments.

Some experienced survey interviewers are self-employed and work on contract.

Survey interviewers may progress to jobs in areas such as:

• supervising
• fieldwork project management
• market research analysis
• telemarketing.

• Market research analyst job information
• Telemarketer job information

Survey interviewers need to be:

• good at listening and talking to people from a range of backgrounds
• tactful, patient, polite and friendly
• able to follow instructions
• accurate and honest when recording information
• able to keep information private
• good at planning and organising.