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Topic: Off the Record Research (company) your experiences
| Author | Message |
| waldo | Posted – 5/13/2008 2:02:44 PM | show profile | email poster Does anyone have experience working with OTR - Off the Record Research? http://www.otaotr.com/ I think I saw a similar post about this a while back but can't seem to dig it out. Any insight on this group would be much appreciated. Thanks. |
| lilah78 | Posted – 5/13/2008 9:04:57 PM | show profile | email poster I interviewed with them, and it was a little strange. I got the sense that the woman hadn't actually looked at my resume because she wanted me to tell her what areas I could specialize in, what work I had done, etc. I've done a lot of writing about the media industry, so that's what I spoke with her about, but it quickly became clear that it was not a good fit. They really seem to be looking for people who already do the sort of niche investigative work they do, not journalists who interview for the sake of writing articles. (And you should beware that it's really not a writing job -- the woman said about 75 percent of the work is research and only a quarter is writing these white papers that they send to their clients.) |
| waldo | Posted – 5/14/2008 1:07:55 AM | show profile | email poster OTR (more.. followup) Thanks for the reply! Much appreciated. I Very recently I interviewed via phone for that media position and I got the same feeling. I actually said, if this is the focus and I have to have this experience, this isn't a good fit. It was a very niche-y area and nothing that I was interested in learning about in any case. But then, she saw I had other relevant background for another upcoming spot related to health. And I was very proactive and emailed her and said I do not have the specialized "aesthetic health market" background you're looking for and she said fine let's do it anyway. And I am now scheduled for another phone interview with her next week and I am thinking..huh??? Maybe the woman who does the recruiting gets a bounty or some incentive for the number of candidates she screens? If not writing .. well, how is the research delivered? Don't you have to write up research? Not sure what sorts of deliverables they want.. I am not enthusiastic about this now. It sounded on the surface to be a decent gig - part time consistent income room to do other stuff. But now my interest is.. not so much. thanks again. |
| lilah78 | Posted – 5/14/2008 1:16:15 PM | show profile How strange! I actually got a weird vibe from the interviewer as well and kind of wondered if she's paid based on how many people she interviews a day or something. She was very insistent that we do my interview on Monday (she emailed me Friday afternoon) and when I told her there was a big block of time when I was unavailable, she kept trying to push it to earlier and earlier in the morning (6am!!). In the end I talked her into an afternoon slot, but it wasn't easy, and she was kind of odd to speak with on the phone. I'm glad you told her you didn't think it was a good fit--that's what I wanted to tell her about 2 minutes into it as well ... It does sound like it could be an okay, potentially lucrative gig, but the vibe I got wasn't good. As for the writing, I think they do want the reports written up, but they want you to spend almost all of your time researching and investigating different companies or whatever, and I could see that quickly becoming really painful. I think the woman told me you spend about a week and a half researching and then a day or two writing it up into a report. Good luck! |
| 1978 | Posted – 5/15/2008 12:31:49 AM | show profile I've worked for them and honestly was not impressed. They advertise and bill themselves as 'investigative journalists' but in truth not many people have actual news or journalism experience. It's basically writing reports about how companies are performing, updated every 6 weeks or so. It's not a clip you could ever show, but I guess if you need some more steady income it could work for that ... I wouldn't work for them again however. |
| waldo | Posted – 5/15/2008 1:10:03 PM | show profile | email poster working at OTR more info? 1978: Thanks for your candid comments about OTR too. I am supposed to interview with them (again for a different market niche) next week. I could indeed use a steady income to buoy me with my other work. Could you tell me more about it? Was the money ok? Were you able to do other projects concurrently? How long did you work there? Were your colleagues nice enough, respectful? Is it s factory sort of atmosphere - quick and dirty? it does sound disappointing in terms of their standards and the way they market themselves. Was it difficult getting companies and other sources to return your calls when you were doing interviews/research? thanks again. |
| hayfell | Posted – 5/16/2008 1:23:44 AM | show profile Depressing, depressing, depressing I worked for OTR for about a minute. The money was fine at $30/hr. introductory rate, and plenty of hours available. Fast pay, pretty fast response on e-mailed communications with my direct supervisor or whatever. However, I realized before long that I could make $50 or more per hour by writing articles, something I actually ENJOY! This job was nothing more than rampant cold calling and surveying; it was a trip back in time to my highly unpleasant days of advertising sales. Lots of rejection, and I felt like a telemarketer. I quit halfway through my project (too depressing) and they still paid me for the hours I'd worked. And yes, my supervisor/interviewer lady was very pushy and did not want to let me leave, but I insisted and never looked back. Ever. It's probably just a matter of preference, but I think the company itself is OK. |
