30Under30 Nominee: Thomas Kim
Great to hear from 30 Under 30 Nominee, Thomas Kim, a Director on the Centre of Excellence team at Behaviorally. Thomas oversees the Americas team, managing the workload across all the teams in their execution of several Behaviorally products (all the quantitative projects).
How did you get into the industry and reach this point?
Some of my more interesting classes during school were market research related. However, at the time, I thought the industry was too niche to get into. But when I was exploring options, I came across an opportunity within market research at Behaviorally (formerly PRS IN VIVO). I’ve been with the company for over 6 years now, and I’ve come to be in my current position because I’ve had great managers and opportunities within the business to take on more responsibilities.
Why should someone consider a career in market research, data and insights?
I think that it’s very rewarding work. The research that we do, the data that we collect and the insights that we generate all make a meaningful impact to strategy and decision making. It’s a great feeling to see your work come to life, whether in store, online or on TV.
Career paths are rarely without challenges. Can you share a moment from your career when things didn’t go to plan, but the lessons learned remain with you to this day?
I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned from working in this industry is to be resilient. There’s a lot of changes that happen quickly within the industry with the introduction of new technology. Working at a company like Behaviorally, where we stay ahead of these changes, means that we’re also moving fast and making changes to our process and systems, and adapting to these changes can be challenging at times.
What two things should junior researchers focus on as they progress in their careers?
I think one thing to focus on is to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of technology. Working on the agency side, you learn quickly that clients want things more for less, and that means you have to adopt technology into your systems and process, and these days that means leveraging AI.
The other thing to focus on would be to try new things. There’s a lot of opportunities that come your way in the industry, so not being afraid to be the way-maker for your company and championing a new initiative or the latest technology advancement can serve you in the long run.
Do you have any advice for our sector?
Embrace change. I’m mentioning AI a lot, but it truly is the future of market research. It’s already disrupting the industry, so it’s mandatory at this point to embrace it. The first wave of change that I’ve experienced myself was moving away from in-person research to online research, and now the latest wave of change is leveraging AI.
Is there anyone who has helped or supported you in your career who you’d like to acknowledge or thank?
No one specific person, but I’ve had great managers as well as great team members at Behaviorally, who have been nothing but supportive of me. I love the people at Behaviorally.
