Sarah H.

Social Researcher
Happy to mentor
Happy to be contacted

About me

Sarah H.
Sociology
Sociology and Social Policy
Undergraduate
James
2011
United Kingdom

My employment

Social Researcher
United Kingdom
Charity and voluntary sector
2013

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A day in the life of a Social Researcher in the United Kingdom

How I found out about the job

Milkround

The recruitment process

After application I was invited to a day of tests, presentations and group exercises. I was then invited back for a second interview.

My advice to students considering work

Try wherever possible to get work experience even if it's for a short amount of time. Be brave and apply for jobs you want- even if you feel you won't get it.

What I do

I am a mixed methods social researcher, I work within a team to carry out large scale surveys, evaluations and ad hoc qualitative research.

I am involved in all aspects of the research process including designing questionnaires or topic guides, carrying out fieldwork, analysing data and report writing. I work within the children and young people team and so my job is focused within that policy area specifically.

Skills I use and how I developed them



Extracurricular skills:
As my job is so varied I use a lot of different skills. Day-to-day I use communication skills with both my team and with research participants. I use project management and organisation skills, as well as using analysis tools such as SPSS and NViVo.
A lot of the skills that I use within my job I learnt whilst I was at York. For instance I use a lot of the skills gained during my dissertation to write reports and academic papers. I also often present at conferences or events, a skill I also learnt during the course of my degree.

What I like most

I love the wide variety of tasks and the fact that I work in several projects at once. I also love that due to the clients we work for, my work has a direct impact on UK policy.

What I like least

Sometimes the job can be quite stressful but I have learned to juggle a lot of tasks at once and I now quite enjoy the pressure!

Next steps...

If you like the look of Sarah’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send Sarah a message to find out more about their career journey. If you feel you would benefit from more in-depth conversations, ask Sarah to be your mentor.

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