Dec 10 2008
How long will it take to get my first mystery shopping job?
That depends a lot on you. Needless to say the more companies you apply with the more assignments you’ll find in your area, and the better your chances for securing one for yourself. I would definitely recommend a company that offers self-assign, as you’ll have a better chance of scoring that first job.
I was actually just facing this myself. I signed up with a new shopping company that had a lot of shops in my area. The problem was they were available on a self-assign/request basis. The company had requirements for being able to self-assign the jobs that as a new shopper for them I just didn’t meet. Needless to say the jobs that I requested I did not receive as other shoppers got to them first. So what to do? I took my own advice and was considering taking a rural type area shop that I knew I could do a good job on to get my foot in the door. Alas someone got to it before I did, because the next time I checked the job board it was gone.
Then fate intervened. I was sitting at the computer on a Saturday afternoon when the phone rang. It was my day job calling to let me know that they had scheduled too many people and I didn’t need to come in that evening. Huh. Now I’ve got a free night with nothing to do. So I checked my shopping list to see if I could get any assignments done early, I couldn’t, and then hit the job boards. Lo and behold I get an email from a panicked scheduler. The mystery shopper it was assigned to cancelled at the last minute and she had a shop that was due tonight! Wouldn’t you know it - the assignment was for that same rural job. I applied, got assigned the job, read the instructions, and was in my car in 30 minutes time. For taking the job last minute I also got a $13 bonus. I also received a nice thank you, and an excellent grade on my shop report. Now when the jobs are posted next month for that company I will have first pick since I am no longer a new shopper for them.
Like anything else it’s hard getting started. Keep at it and don’t get discouraged. Even with my qualifications I still do get turned down for shops that I have requested. It’s not personal. There are many reasons your shop requests can be rejected. You may not fit the target demographic, an experienced shopper might be assigned instead, you may only be allowed a certain number of shops, or any number of reasons.
