Job description · Admin and executive support · Full-time
Research Assistant job description
A business research assistant finds, checks, and summarizes information: market data, competitor moves, prospect lists, vendors, and sources for content. They turn hours of searching into a clear one-page brief.
Responsibilities
- Research markets, competitors, vendors, and prospects against a clear brief
- Verify facts against primary sources and record every link
- Summarize findings in short briefs with a clear recommendation
- Build and maintain research databases and comparison tables
- Monitor news, filings, and competitor updates on a schedule
- Gather sources and quotes for articles and presentations
- Keep a log of searches so research can be repeated and updated
Requirements
- Strong reading comprehension and written English
- Skeptical about sources; prefers primary data
- Advanced search skills, including operators and databases
- Summarizes long material into a few clear points
- Organized notes with citations
- Curious and persistent when information is hard to find
Tools
- Google Search and Scholar
- Notion or Airtable
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Perplexity or ChatGPT for first drafts, checked by hand
What success looks like after 90 days
- A standard brief format the team uses for every research request
- A maintained competitor and market tracker
- Research turnaround measured in hours, not days
Screening questions
Ask these before you book an interview.
- What kinds of research have you done for businesses?
- How do you decide whether a source is reliable?
- Share a sample summary or brief you wrote.
- This is a full-time role working set hours each business day. Can you commit to that schedule?
Interview questions
- Find three facts about our top competitor in ten minutes and tell me how you checked them.
- Two sources disagree on a number. What do you do?
- How do you keep a brief to one page?
- Tell me about research that changed a decision.
- How do you use AI tools without introducing errors?
Hiring tip
Ask for citations on every claim in a test brief. Research assistants who cite by habit save you from publishing a wrong number.
Research Assistant hiring FAQ
What does a Research Assistant do?
A business research assistant finds, checks, and summarizes information: market data, competitor moves, prospect lists, vendors, and sources for content. They turn hours of searching into a clear one-page brief. Day to day, the role covers work such as: research markets, competitors, vendors, and prospects against a clear brief, verify facts against primary sources and record every link, and summarize findings in short briefs with a clear recommendation.
How much does it cost to hire a full-time Research Assistant from the Philippines?
We place a full-time Research Assistant from the Philippines for $1,800 a month. Every candidate passes our top 2% vetting, starts within 14 days, and comes with a 1-week trial backed by a replacement or refund. The price is a flat monthly rate for a dedicated full-time hire.
What skills should a Research Assistant have?
Look for: strong reading comprehension and written English, skeptical about sources; prefers primary data, advanced search skills, including operators and databases, and summarizes long material into a few clear points. Common tools include Google Search and Scholar, Notion or Airtable, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and Perplexity or ChatGPT for first drafts, checked by hand.
What should a Research Assistant achieve in the first 90 days?
A standard brief format the team uses for every research request, A maintained competitor and market tracker, and research turnaround measured in hours, not days.
Can I copy and edit this Research Assistant job description?
Yes. Copy it with one click, edit it for your business, and post it anywhere. For a version built from your own task list, open it in our free job description generator, or book a strategy call and we will find the hire for you.
Want us to find your Research Assistant?
We place a full-time Research Assistant from the Philippines for $1,800 a month. Every candidate passes our top 2% vetting, starts within 14 days, and comes with a 1-week trial backed by a replacement or refund.