When I was invited to serve as an intern mentor for MarketVision’s Summer Insights program, I assumed my job was simple: pass along my research experience and wisdom to the next generation. I felt fully prepared to teach. What I didn’t expect was for the lessons they taught me to prove the most valuable of all.
For 10 weeks, six interns with little to no formal research background were immersed in our day-to-day operations. They were thrown right into the deep end, navigating qualitative and quantitative methodologies, running live community interactions, and tackling a large interdepartmental project. Rather than handling administrative or support tasks, they ran a full-lifecycle initiative: translating a business challenge into a research strategy, designing methodologies, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting final recommendations to internal leadership. Watching them take on that challenge wasn’t just impressive; it delivered a much-needed reminder of what true research craftsmanship requires.
From day one, the interns brought a raw, uninhibited curiosity that challenged our organizational habits. Unburdened by industry baggage or institutional memory, they didn't take processes at face value. They repeatedly asked why.
In market research, experience is invaluable, but it can also mean that more seasoned researchers have blind spots. It’s easy to default to familiar questionnaires, standard discussion guides, or routine analysis simply because "that's how we always do it." The interns proved that coming in with an unbiased perspective is actually a superpower. Asking fundamental questions forces you to strip away assumptions and look at human behavior with fresh eyes.
Breaking free from legacy thinking means stepping out of auto-pilot. It requires stress-testing traditional frameworks, actively challenging our own logic, and welcoming input from every level of the team.
Watching the interns dive headfirst into complex projects and processes—despite their initial uncertainty—was inspiring. They had no choice but to operate outside of their comfort zones, embracing the steep learning curve to get the job done. As a result, they accelerated their professional development, achieving a remarkable rate of growth in a single summer.
The insights industry evolves rapidly. Between shifting consumer habits, the emergence of new digital platforms, and AI workflow integration, the modern market research landscape demands continuous adaptation. It’s human nature to want to stay where it feels safe and routine, but comfort can quickly become the enemy of growth. Real advancement only happens when you deliberately step into uncharted territory and embrace the discomfort of learning something new.
There’s a lot of talk about Gen Z in the workplace, but what stood out to me most was their continuous drive to learn, ask questions, and push for progress. They don't wait for permission to challenge the status quo.
Mentorship, I learned, is not a simple transfer of knowledge; it is a strategic two-way exchange. While we gave them foundational tools and research frameworks, they delivered a powerful lesson in adaptability and a push to reignite our curiosity.
Staying ahead as researchers requires us to periodically unlearn our own routines. To keep delivering deep, actionable insights for our clients, we all need to adopt an "intern mindset" every now and then – staying curious, leaning into discomfort, and remaining relentlessly open to new ways of seeing the world.
