Looking for a freelance role where your research expertise is truly appreciated? Can you quickly distinguish between reliable and unreliable data sources? If so, you might be the perfect candidate for this remote, freelance research assistant role.
I’m writing a book about personal branding and looking for a skilled, strategic Research Assistant to find recent secondary data and research (2024-2025 statistics, surveys, and industry reports) to support the book’s content and claims.
📄 ROLE OVERVIEW
This role is for someone who goes beyond task execution—a research expert who can suggest better strategies, find hard-to-locate data, and assess credibility with precision. The ideal candidate is also someone who can proactively help drive and shape the research process, tapping into your research expertise to provide guidance and input on the types of data to best support the book’s narrative.
The scope of work may also involve:
- identifying, perusing, and summarizing competitive book titles
- compiling a list of potential book agents by browsing the acknowledgment chapter of popular non-fiction books.
This is a flexible, remote freelance role. The work cadence may vary, but will likely involve fewer than 10 hours per month between 2025-26
I value collaborative communication and see all those I’ve hired in the past as a respected part of my broader team. If you’re selected, I’m happy to put you in touch with others I’ve hired so you can get a sense of how I work with others, where I always aim to be collaborative, constructive, and professional.
🤔 WHY APPLY?
- Work with a respected global thought leader in personal branding.
- Be featured in the book’s acknowledgments for your contributions (if all goes well😉)
- Make a meaningful impact. Your research will shape a book that helps people advance their careers.
- Enjoy a professional, collaborative project where we can hopefully both learn from each other.
💼 RESPONSIBILITIES
- Find and cite recent statistics, surveys, research, and reports on personal branding.
- Read and synthesize key takeaways from academic & grey literature
- Prioritize the credibility of sources
- Use citation management tools (please specify which you use).
- Suggest better research strategies when applicable.
- Organize findings, documents, and communications in Google Docs, Dropbox, Trello, and/or Slack.
- Conduct ad-hoc research, such as identifying literary agents from book acknowledgments.
👤 IDEAL CANDIDATE
- Experienced in business/academic research, with a track record of finding hard-to-source data.
- Strategic thinker—able to suggest more effective research methods.
- Strong critical thinking skills—can differentiate credible sources from hearsay.
- Organized & proactive—meets deadlines and communicates any timeline changes.
- Familiar with citation management tools.
- Open to occasional in-person research (e.g., browsing bookstores for competitive book titles & agent acknowledgments).
- Native English speaker
- Based in the 🇺🇸USA, 🇨🇦Canada, 🇬🇧UK, 🇦🇺Australia, or 🇪🇺Western Europe (likely target markets)
✍️ HOW TO APPLY
Please send a brief 2-page cover letter to Joseph Liu (email to joseph [at] josephliu.co or message Joseph on LinkedIn) with the following:
Page 1 (overview):
- Explain your research process and how you find high-quality data. Include a brief explanation of your most challenging research project.
- Include the phrase “Strategic Research Partner” somewhere in your cover letter (so I know you’ve read this description and now simply copy & paste a generic cover letter).
- Share Your availability, location, and preferred hourly rate.
Page 2 (screening questions): (Please respond to each with 1-3 sentences)
- Describe the process you’ve used to find hard-to-locate data from credible sources.
- How do you determine whether a source is credible?
- Which research tools (including AI research tools) do you typically find most useful?
- Name 3 sources (e.g., companies, organizations, etc.) you would consider credible for data related to personal branding or career development-related trends.
- Which citation management software do you prefer to use, and how do you organize your sources there?
Note: I use various AI-detection tools when screening candidate responses. Any generic, copy-paste, or AI-generated cover letters or responses will not be considered.
🔎 MY HIRING PROCESS
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a 15-20 minute chemistry Zoom call, and final candidates will be asked to do a quick trial task (paid) so I can get a clearer sense of fit, capability, enthusiasm, work style, and personality. This helps ensure I find the right person. Please apply only if you’re open to doing both.
I intend to hire 1-2 people for this long-term project, so in your cover letter, be sure to let me know which particular aspect of this project appeals to you and why. I will review applications by Feb 28, and then contact shortlisted candidates afterwards. I appreciate your patience with my process. There’s no need for repeated follow-up, as it won’t influence my selection in any way.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I look forward to partnering with you on this book journey.
-Joseph Liu
Speaker · Career Consultant · Career Relaunch® podcast host