Like many marketing research professionals, Symmetric Project Manager Candace Shores’ reason for getting into the marketing research industry was very simple: she had just graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in Journalism and needed money! However, as she says, “It’s been magic ever since. I enjoy seeing all the interesting topics or events that clients are concerned with at any given time.”

And of course, she raves about the Symmetric team. “The team is amazing and the atmosphere is amazing! Everyone is so helpful and team-oriented that it's hard not to love. Flexible schedules and being able to constantly learn new skills are just an added bonus!”

Candace is most proud of a project that she was able to turn-around and win-back from a competitor. “We initially submitted a great quote for this project and the client ended up going with a different panel. Things didn't go well with that panel and the client ended coming back to us and revisiting the quote. We ended up winning the project with multiple quotas and multi-country. Once everything was programmed and launched the project ran very smoothly and we closed with a satisfied client!”

Project management is a great fit with Candace’s personality. She describes herself as “a happy person who sees the good in every situation.” She loves to keep herself motivated by working towards different goals along with motivating and supporting others. None the less, bad quality results can challenge the most optimistic research. Candace reports, “The most challenging part about being a project manager when your client starts to collect bad data from a sample partner. You have to work through the situation and figure out a solution to make things perfect. Delivering or receiving bad news is never a pleasant conversation, but as long you are able to identify the problem and present a solution the client is typically put at ease and the project succeeds.”

Candace hales from Paris, Texas and is married with 3 small children (ages 6, 3, and 2). Needless to say, Candace is working on her Parenting PhD and her dissertation topic is testing new techniques/tricks to make the children go to bed earlier! She enjoys spending time going to the movies, to playgrounds and to the beach. She and her husband are looking forward to getting the kids involved in team sports as soon as they are old enough.