Applying for Assignments Faster (Mystery Shopping)
Applying for assignments faster becomes much easier once you're registered with several legitimate mystery shopping companies. Instead of searching the Internet every time you want work, assignments begin coming to you through job boards, emails, text messages, and mobile alerts.
That's how I find most of my assignments today. I've worked with enough companies and schedulers that I can quickly look through what's available and decide which shops are worth my time. Some of my higher-paying assignments have come to me this way.
Want more help getting started? My book, Take That Job And Mystery Shop It!, walks you through finding assignments, completing shops, writing reports, and avoiding many of the mistakes new shoppers make.
Start by Registering with Mystery Shopping Companies
When you're beginning, mystery shopping schedulers don't know anything about you. They don't know whether you'll complete an assignment correctly, submit the report on time, or disappear after accepting the shop.
You have to establish a track record.
The best way to begin is to register with several legitimate mystery shopping companies. I have a list of more than 150 mystery shopping companies in my book.
Don't expect every company to have assignments in your area. One company may have restaurant shops near you, another may handle apartment communities, and another may have automobile dealerships or retail assignments.
The more legitimate companies you're registered with, the more job boards you can check.
Be careful about where you provide your personal information. Make sure you're dealing with the actual mystery shopping company and using its secure website. Be suspicious of unsolicited emails or websites that don't look legitimate.
How Mystery Shopping Job Boards Work
Once you're registered in a company's shopper database, many companies give you access to a job board.
You can usually search for assignments based on your location and the number of miles you're willing to travel.
For example, searching within 10 miles of your home may produce only a handful of assignments. Expand the search to 50 miles, and you could find dozens.
That doesn't mean you should drive 50 miles for a $12 mystery shop.
The wider search simply lets you see what's available. You can then decide whether the pay, distance, type of assignment, and reporting requirements make the trip worthwhile.
When you're registered with several companies, you may have multiple job boards to browse. I look through the available assignments and concentrate on the ones that interest me or pay enough to justify my time.
Listen to my conversation with Mystery Phil, who works the mystery shopping business full-time.
Applying for Assignments Faster with Alerts
You don't always have to keep checking job boards.
Many mystery shopping companies send email notifications when assignments become available. Others use mobile apps, text messages, or other alerts based on your location.
Those alerts can make applying for assignments faster because you may learn about a good shop shortly after it is posted.
Sometimes an assignment is self-assign, meaning you can accept it immediately if you meet the requirements. Other assignments require you to apply and wait for a scheduler to select a shopper.
Good assignments can disappear quickly.
If I receive an alert for an assignment I know well and the price is right, I can make a decision without spending much time researching it. Experience helps because I already know approximately how long certain types of shops and reports will take.
Read Before You Accept
Speed can also get you into trouble.
I've learned not to look only at the dollar amount. An assignment paying $30 may sound attractive until you discover it requires a long drive, 25 photographs, and an hour-long report.
Before accepting something unfamiliar, find out what you're getting yourself into.
Look at the location, deadline, instructions, required purchases, reimbursement, photographs, and reporting requirements. If possible, look at the report before accepting the assignment.
There's no advantage to grabbing a shop quickly and discovering five minutes later that you don't want it.
Schedulers Will Get to Know You
This is where mystery shopping gets easier.
Once you've completed assignments successfully and developed a good reputation, schedulers begin to recognize your name.
I've had schedulers contact me directly because they needed help getting an assignment completed. They already knew I had experience and could depend on me.
That's particularly useful when a difficult assignment needs to be completed quickly. A scheduler may have a shop in an out-of-the-way location, an approaching deadline, or an assignment that nobody else has accepted.
Sometimes additional money is added to get the shop done.
Those calls can lead to some very good assignments.
You don't develop those relationships overnight. You develop them by doing what you agreed to do, turning in good reports, meeting deadlines, and communicating with the scheduler when a problem occurs.
More Companies Mean More Choices
One of the advantages of being registered with many mystery shopping companies is that you don't have to depend on one source for work.
On a particular day, one company's job board may have nothing that interests you. Another might have three assignments close to home.
You can also build routes. If you find several worthwhile assignments in the same area, you may be able to complete them during one trip rather than making several separate drives.
That's when applying for assignments faster becomes less about being the fastest person to click a button and more about having a system already in place.
Register with legitimate companies. Check the job boards. Set up alerts. Learn which assignments are worth your time. Most importantly, build a reputation with schedulers.
Eventually, you may not always have to go looking for the assignments.
Sometimes the schedulers will come looking for you.
Your Best Next Step When Applying for Assignments Faster
If this article helped, read these next:
- How to Choose the Best Mystery Shopping Route
- Creating a Shopper Profile
- How to Start Mystery Shopping Without Feeling Overwhelmed
- Mystery Shopping for Beginners
About the Author
I'm Mystery Don, and I've completed mystery shopping assignments for restaurants, hotels, apartment communities, automobile dealerships, and new home builders.
I created this website to help people avoid the mistakes I've seen—and to show new shoppers how legitimate mystery shopping really works.
My book Take That Job And Mystery Shop It! lists over 150 mystery shopping companies to contact. I offer beginner-friendly tips and honest guidance without hype.
We're always looking for new faces to visit different places.
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