Welcome to one of my favourite tools!
Perplexity is basically a cross between Chat GPT and a standard Google search. You ask it a question, it checks a bunch of different websites, then gives you a summary of its findings. WITH the source websites listed, so you can check.
Where this is most useful is those times you’d search for something on Google, but have to check a few different websites to get a decent sort of answer.
Imagine this
You’re applying for a job and the application form has thrown up that really nasty question ‘what are your salary expectations?’. What do you put? If you’re too high, they’re going to cut you for being out of their budget range, if you’re lower than most, then you might get lowballed on the salary if you get the job.
In the Google world, I’d go through Glassdoor, and Payscale and any other salary sites I can find to try and get an idea for the industry norm. Except this might not be the company norm, if the company is at the smaller end (or larger end) of town. And it might vary by location (in the UK, companies will list different salaries in their ads depending on whether you’re based in London or another part of the country).
In the Perplexity world, you give it the prompt ‘What is the average salary for an event marketing manager in the banking industry in London?’ and if you’re going for a role at a very large company, you could add the company name too.
Here’s what Perplexity came back with in answer to the above question, and its list of sources:
Based on the available information, the average salary for an event marketing manager in the banking industry in London is approximately £45,000 to £60,000 per year.
While there isn’t specific data for event marketing managers in the banking sector, we can infer the salary range from related roles and industries:
- The average salary for Events Managers in Central London ranges from £51,750 to £61,250[13].
- Marketing Managers in London earn an average of £46,195 per year[12].
- Event Marketing Managers in the UK have an average salary of £40,000 per year[11].
- For more senior roles, such as Marketing Directors in London, salaries can range from £100,000 to £200,000 per year[9].
Considering the financial sector typically offers higher salaries, an event marketing manager in banking would likely earn towards the upper end of these ranges. The role would combine elements of event management and marketing, requiring specialised skills in both areas.
Factors that could influence the salary include:
- Years of experience
- Size of the banking institution
- Scope of responsibilities
- Specific expertise in financial sector marketing
It’s worth noting that salaries in London are generally higher than the UK average due to the higher cost of living in the capital. Additionally, the banking industry often offers competitive compensation packages, which may include bonuses and other benefits on top of the base salary.
Citations:
[1] https://www.reed.co.uk/average-salary/average-events-manager-salary-in-london
[2] https://www.reed.co.uk/average-salary/average-events-manager-salary-in-north-london
[3] https://www.reed.co.uk/average-salary/average-marketing-manager-salary
[4] https://www.morganmckinley.com/uk/salary-guide/data/events-manager/london
[5] https://www.totaljobs.com/salary-checker/average-event-marketing-salary
[6] https://firstrecruitment.co.uk/job/events-marketing-manager/
[7] https://uk.talent.com/salary?job=event+manager
[8] https://uk.jooble.org/salary/senior-event-marketing-manager
[9] https://www.intelligentpeople.co.uk/employer-advice/marketing-salary/
[10] https://www.roberthalf.com/gb/en/job-details/events-manager/london
[11] https://uk.talent.com/salary?job=event+marketing+manager
[12] https://uk.indeed.com/career/marketing-manager/salaries/London
[13] https://www.reed.co.uk/average-salary/average-events-manager-salary-in-central-london
[14] https://uk.indeed.com/q-banking-marketing-events-jobs.html
How long would that have taken you on a standard search? Of course you’ve still got a range there, and still need to make the decision on what number to write on the form (although I’ve found most of those salary questions will accept a range for an answer), but at least this way you’ll have an idea what’s a fair market amount.
For more of a fun time saver, here’s a link to a request I did recently for music concerts in London.
Of course Google is now doing generative AI summaries at the top of a lot of its normal searches, and both Gemini and Chat GPT are set up to search the web, but if you want to verify the facts, Perplexity makes it easy.
Can this tool get things wrong/hallucinate? YES! While it doesn’t happen often, do check.
Like the LLMs (Chat GPT, Claude, Gemini, etc), Perplexity keeps a library of your previous queries, so you can go back and pick up an old question or conversation rather than starting from scratch each time.
Extra Credit
In the bottom left corner of the Perplexity prompt box is the word ‘Auto’ with a down arrow next to it. this lets you choose which LLM to use for your question. I just stick with auto, which leaves the choice to Perplexity.
Next to it is a gridded globe that gives you a choice of specific types of sources for the tool to search:
- Web – this is the standard/default
- Academic – only looks at academic papers (I presume it’s using Google Scholar)
- Social – originally tagged as ‘Reddit’, I’m pretty sure that’s still what it looks at
Reminder, this tech stuff moves fast. If you’re reading this more than a month after it was published, check for accuracy. Odds are pretty good something’s changed.
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