What Makes Research Experience Valuable: Curiosity Over Credentials

Karen Krishfield stood in the middle of TMRE, notebook in hand, absorbing every session she could attend. She had just been laid off after twenty years at Lieberman Research Worldwide, and she'd paid her own way to this conference.

When she bumped into a former colleague, Kristin Luck, Crishfield confessed: "I feel like I've been living under a rock."

Luck's response was direct. "You have."

That conversation became a turning point.

With three decades of research experience spanning entertainment and media, including roles at Lieberman and on the client side at Hulu, Krishfield had just realised she'd been sheltered from an industry that never stopped evolving.

During a recent Insightful Inspiration conversation with Isabelle Landreville, owner and Chief Insight Seeker of Sylvestre & Co., Krishfield reflected on what keeps researchers energized and relevant across decades in insights. Her answer shows something fundamental about what makes research experience valuable.

The career path nobody actually plans

Krishfield didn't plot her way into insights. She answered a job posting that required someone detail-oriented who liked movies.

That posting led to testing TV commercials and trailers for a major movie studio, which led to twenty years at Lieberman. She stayed because she believed the company would take care of her. Misplaced loyalty, she calls it now.

When that twenty-year relationship ended abruptly through a layoff, Krishfield learned a hard lesson. Those years didn't matter as much as she thought they would. She'd recently read Madeline Mann's book, which reframes the entire conversation about careers. Job security doesn't exist anymore. Career security does.

The distinction changed how Krishfield approached everything that followed.

Thirty years of research experience builds something AI can't replicate

After that TMRE conference, Krishfield made a decision. She would step outside her bubble intentionally.

Conferences became non-negotiable. Meeting vendors, hearing case studies, exploring new methodologies became her education. "I always came back inspired," Krishfield told Landreville. "I'd be like, okay, watch out. I'm coming back from the conference. I'm gonna have some ideas."

Landreville related to this immediately. She'd recently returned from a conference where one small sentence in a twenty-minute presentation shifted her entire perspective. Sometimes exposure matters more than formal training.

The scrappiness Krishfield developed over decades can't be replicated. She learned to moderate focus groups in Mexico City with two weeks' notice and no screener written. She learned to read the pause before someone answers, understanding what people calculate about social acceptability before they speak. She learned to spot the difference between interesting observations and actionable insights.

That same hunger to keep learning eventually shaped her next big leap.

When research experience opens new doors

When Krishfield decided to transition from supplier side to client side, one woman told her she'd waited too long. There was no way she could make it. Krishfield was devastated.

However, she then spoke to someone else who said it just depends on the company, which gave her hope. She applied her research skills to researching her own career. What roles existed? What skills transferred? Where could she add unique value?

Hulu needed someone with both entertainment and brand experience. Fortunately, she had both, and was hired as the fourth person on the insights team. The adjustment was real, but her supplier-side skills translated. When teammates asked how they'd been doing something, they'd often say they hadn't done it before. "At least I know how to do this," Krishfield thought.

Her last manager at Hulu, Maggie, gave her advice that crystallized everything: "Do the thing you want to be known for." That guidance helped Krishfield prioritize. Not every project deserved her attention. The ones that built the reputation she wanted did.

She took that principle beyond project selection. Mentorship became central. At Hulu, Krishfield signed up to mentor through Disney's formal program. She met people across the company, shared her knowledge, made connections that enriched both sides of the relationship.

Then she joined an accountability group through the WIRE Exec Summit. Monthly meetings with other individual contributors created space to share progress, ask for perspective, and get support through challenging moments. "I really do like my group," Krishfield told Landreville with genuine warmth.

Landreville understood immediately. She'd recently joined her first accountability group and found value she didn't expect.

These relationships reinforced what Krishfield had learned. Create things for yourself to move yourself forward. Don't wait for other people to do it for you.

Technology may evolve, but the essence of research doesn't.

The confidence that comes from surviving every shiny new tool

When Landreville brought up AI, Krishfield's response was immediate. "We're still here."

She's watched VHS tapes become streaming platforms. She's seen every technological shift promise to replace human researchers. The tools changed, but the need for human interpretation never did.

"There's still this human element that we have to communicate," Krishfield explained. "AI is not going to get that."

Landreville agreed. Her perspective comes from fifty years at Sylvestre & Co., where bilingual and bicultural expertise reveals nuances that automated tools miss entirely.

Having research experience amplifies specific human capabilities. Storytelling. Persuasion. Pattern recognition from thousands of conversations.

Krishfield described her current relationship with AI simply. "It can be a helper. It could be an assistant. It could be a thought partner." But it can't replace the scrappy critical thinking that comes from decades of adaptation. When you've seen every new tool come and go, you understand what stays constant.

What three decades teaches you

Three decades into her career, Krishfield stays energized by constant change. She’s learned that curiosity doesn’t fade if you keep feeding it. Building houses as a volunteer taught her how to organize people around a goal. Photography keeps her noticing details and patterns. “People are so fascinating,” she said simply.

That same curiosity is what connects her story to Sylvestre & Co.’s fifty years of human-first innovation. When professionals stay interested in what they don’t know yet, when they invest in relationships and continuous learning, they build something no company can take away.

Research experience that keeps evolving

For 50 years, Sylvestre & Co. has built its expertise on curiosity, not just credentials. Our researchers bring cultural intelligence and human-first insight to every project because meaningful research evolves with those who never stop learning.

Ready to work with researchers whose experience keeps evolving? Contact Sylvestre & Co. to explore how our approach can benefit your next project.

Insightful Inspiration features discussions with thought leaders in research, strategy, and cultural understanding. Listen to the full conversation with Karen Krishfield on our website, where 50 years of human-centred expertise comes to life.