Work Placement & Intern Opportunities

Graduate/Student Work Placements

A great way to gain on the job knowledge and training, either as part of your degree or after graduating, is to experience a work placement or internship with an MRS Company Partner. Many companies choose to recruit students and graduates for specialist projects and really value the ideas young individuals wishing to pursue a career in research can bring. Completing a work placement or internship could be the essential element that stands you above the crowd during interviews, or could even open up further opportunities for you within your placement company, it can enable you to make some valuable contacts too.

See list of participating MRS Company Partners

Testimonial of a Research Agency

Illuminas is a strategic research agency so we run a classic consultancy business model where we are talent led. We recruit the best talent we can, usually at junior level to "feed the consultancy pyramid" and regard every hire as someone who could potentially be a future global leader.

“We have long used an internship scheme in our US offices and we have more recently set one up in London. We have set a reasonable salary level to ensure we don't exclude by class or income.”

Martin Cary, Global Chief Operating Officer, Illuminas

We have found the UK internship scheme allows us a very effective way of getting to know somebody and to assess their attitude and cultural fit before we commit the considerable resource required to build their research, consultancy and client skills. This assessment is far easier to do over a six month internship than a graduate assessment day.

Hannah was a great example of someone demonstrating from the off that she had a great attitude, was happy to start at ground level, was totally flexible, very willing to pitch in and help a variety of teams and very easy for staff and clients to work with. Towards the end of her internship I had several research teams bidding to take her on as a Research Executive. That's a convincing endorsement for the scheme.

Testimonial of an Intern (now full time Research Executive)

Having studied French and Arabic at Cambridge University, my knowledge of the research industry was minimal, but I wanted to know more. Illuminas struck me as a dynamic, interesting place to work and a great company to learn from. I worked in the Field department as an intern for five months, assisting the Field Manager in all aspects of qualitative recruitment for a wide variety of business and consumer projects. The internship paid enough to cover my rent and travel costs, and despite this being a struggle at times, the knowledge I gained has since proved invaluable.

“The internship provided me with a great insight into the world of research and the chance to experience the day to day life of an agency before deciding whether or not this was the industry for me. I was also able to learn from the other young researchers I was working with about their experiences in research and to benefit from their help and advice.”

Hannah Wright, Research Executive, Illuminas

Since starting my full-time post as a Research Executive, my experience in the Field department has proved incredibly useful, as have my friends and colleagues, who continue to be a great source of help and encouragement. I now work on both qualitative and quantitative projects and I am thoroughly enjoying the challenges of my new role.