The Research Team is responsible for the development of CANSTAR's Star Ratings on financial products. This process begins with initial research, followed by the development of a ratings methodology, conducting the necessary calculations, and analysing the results. In my first year at Canstar I have had the opportunity to work on ratings for a wide variety of financial products including credit cards, travel money cards, health insurance, and landlord insurance. Being responsible for conducting one of our ratings provides a high level of insight into what drives value when it comes to financial products, and I have found it rewarding to be involved in providing these insights to consumers. A new and exciting project that I took on after joining Canstar was a rating to help people decide which credit or debit card to take with them when travelling overseas.
I have also had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the industry to discuss our methodology and how their respective products perform in our ratings, as well as to build relationships with journalists and provide commentary on products and industry trends. Working in the Research team is consistently interesting and challenging, requiring us to be aware of and adapt to changes in market offerings in financial products and changing consumer needs and behaviour.
Canstar provides a welcoming and nurturing environment for new employees and there is an active social environment. I have immensely enjoyed my first year at Canstar and I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead.