What a field interviewer does
A field interviewer collects information from people, households or shops on behalf of a market research firm, a statistics office or a research body. They follow a questionnaire or an observation grid set in advance, and their role is neither to persuade nor to comment, but to pass on faithfully what they hear or see.
Depending on the assignment, they may question residents at home, approach passers-by, count travellers in a station, record prices in shops or recruit households to take part in a study. Topics are very varied: travel habits, spending, health, employment, housing, satisfaction with a service.
The work needs preparation. You have to read the instructions, understand the logic of the questions, know how to introduce the study and know how to react to a refusal.
The different types of survey
Several kinds of assignment exist, each with very different constraints:
- Face-to-face surveys at home: appointments or door-to-door visits, sometimes in the evening, with answers entered on a tablet or laptop.
- Surveys in public spaces: stopping passers-by outdoors at set times.
- Counts and transport surveys: recording passenger numbers, or satisfaction questionnaires in stations or on board.
- Price checks: visiting shops with a list of products to observe.
- Telephone surveys: carried out from a call centre or remotely, during defined time slots.
Each type calls for a different pace and stamina. Someone who finds long walks hard will probably prefer telephone work or home interviews arranged by appointment.
Qualities sought and what a senior profile brings
People skills are valuable, but they are not enough. Employers mainly look for clear diction, rigour, reliability and the ability to follow a procedure without bending it to personal taste. An interviewer who rewords a question or adds a personal remark can distort the results of a whole study.
Life experience helps put a wide range of people at ease, stay calm when someone refuses and handle an exchange that is sometimes long. Digital comfort has become essential: answers are entered on a tablet or smartphone using dedicated apps, and sometimes on your own smartphone with an internet connection.
One last point is discretion. The answers collected are confidential, and an interviewer never discusses what they heard with friends or family.
Status and contracts: what is seen in practice
The status depends on the organisation. Private research firms often use fixed-term contracts, sometimes short casual-work contracts for one-off assignments, paid by the hour or by the assignment. Public surveys may follow their own framework: at Insee, the French national statistics institute, for example, interviewers are hired under public-law contracts, permanent or fixed-term, and vacancies are advertised through the public employment service.
It is therefore essential to ask who the employer is, which contract is offered, how travel time is counted and whether transport costs are reimbursed. The number of hours can vary a great deal from one week to the next, depending on the surveys under way.
Earnings are only indicative: no sum can be guaranteed, and it is wise to read the pay details carefully before committing.
Combining work with a pension: points to check
A retired person may consider this kind of activity to top up their income or to stay active. The central question is whether you can draw a pension and earn at the same time. In France this generally requires that your pensions have already been claimed, and some situations cap the earnings you may combine. The rules depend on your pension scheme, your retirement date and the type of income.
Before accepting an assignment, it is sensible to:
- contact your pension fund to learn which rules apply to your file;
- check whether the work will be declared as salary or as self-employed income;
- keep your payslips or invoices in case of later checks.
None of this is automatic: it is handled case by case.
Assessing the ground before announcing your availability
Before saying yes, ask the organisation about the practical conditions:
- where the interviews take place: homes, street, shops, stations;
- the time slots, especially evenings and weekends;
- the geographical area and how you will travel (own car, public transport);
- the equipment supplied or the equipment you must bring;
- training on the questionnaire, and whether that training is paid;
- how the data is transmitted and protected.
Some assignments require compulsory training before the first interview. Others assume you own a smartphone with a data connection. It is better to know this at the job interview than to be caught out later.
Difficulties to expect
Refusal is part of the job. Many of the people approached say no, sometimes curtly, and the interviewer must accept it without insisting. Bad weather, waiting at a door that stays shut, travelling through unfamiliar neighbourhoods or entering long answers can also be tiring.
Physically, walking and standing are frequent in outdoor assignments. In terms of organisation, the schedule can change quickly. Someone who likes a stable timetable may prefer a post in a telephone call centre or planned home interviews.
Preparing and applying with a method
- Write a short profile describing your mobility, your availability and your comfort with a tablet or smartphone.
- Draw on an experience where you followed a procedure consistently: inspection, stocktaking, reception work, volunteering, a community survey.
- Check the careers pages of market research firms and the vacancies listed by the public employment service.
- Ask your questions about the contract, the training and the reimbursement of expenses.
- Practise reading a text aloud fluently: some recruitment processes include a reading test.
It is not unusual for a firm’s needs to change with the seasons and the studies it has been commissioned to run. An unsuccessful application can therefore be renewed later.
An example week, to fix ideas
This is a fictional example, with no force as a rule. A retired interviewer accepts a counting assignment in a regional station: two three-hour mornings, then an afternoon spent phoning households for a telephone questionnaire. The day before, she receives the list of platforms, the schedules and a preloaded tablet.
Each morning she records the number of travellers at fixed intervals without speaking to anyone. In the afternoon she reads the questions aloud exactly as written, thanks each participant and enters the answers without interpreting them. This balance between movement and a set task suits some people and not others.
Pitfalls to avoid and alternatives
Beware of adverts that ask you to pay for access to surveys, to hand over bank details without a contract or to promise high earnings without describing the work. A serious firm explains the framework, the training and the pay before any commitment.
If fieldwork seems too demanding, similar activities exist: mystery shopper, museum reception, data entry, telephone surveys from a call centre. They draw on observation, rigour and contact with the public, sometimes with a more flexible organisation.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a qualification to become a field interviewer?
Not always. Some categories of public-statistics interviewers require no qualification, while others go through a professional exam. In private research firms, the focus is on diction, reliability, digital ease and motivation. In every case, training on the questionnaire is generally provided before the first assignment.
Can a retired person work as an interviewer?
In principle yes, subject to the French rules on combining work and a pension, which vary by scheme and personal situation. Check with your pension fund before signing a contract, then keep your payslips. Each employer may also set its own recruitment criteria.
Is the work steady throughout the year?
Rarely on a constant basis. Needs depend on the studies commissioned, the seasons and the campaigns under way. Some weeks are busy and others quieter. It is therefore better to treat this as a supplement or occasional activity, unless the organisation explicitly offers a lasting contract and puts it in writing.
Do you need your own vehicle?
It depends on the area. For home interviews in rural or outer-suburban zones, a vehicle is often useful. For station counts or surveys in town, public transport may be enough. Before accepting, ask whether travel costs are reimbursed and on what terms.
What should you do if someone refuses to answer?
Thank them politely and move on to the next person. The interviewer does not insist and does not try to persuade with personal arguments. Refusal is built into the method and may be recorded according to the study’s instructions. A friendly tone protects both the firm’s image and the quality of the sample.
Where can you find interviewer vacancies?
The careers pages of market and opinion research firms publish calls for applications, as does the public employment service for public-statistics surveys. Vacancies change over time. It helps to prepare a clear profile with your availability and to check these sources regularly.