How To Apply For Secret Shopper Jobs

On the face of it, this may seem very straightforward but how to apply for secret shopper jobs is a very important part of the process.  Remember this:  You are likely to be competing to get the shopping assignment.  That is, there are going to be several people applying for the same job that you are.  So, you need to do whatever you can to make sure that you are the best candidate for that particular shopping job.

There are a number of things that you can do to improve your chances.  Here are some of the best ways to ensure that you get that all important assignment.

Open Accounts with Secret Shopping Companies

One of the most important things to do when it comes to making sure your secret shopping business is going to run well is to apply to as many companies as possible.  Remember, there is no charge to do so.  You are simply opening an account with the company to allow you to work with them.  Doing this first will speed up the process down the road, allowing you to get the shops you want.

• Open accounts with the company simply by providing detailed information about you.

•   Create any necessary profiles that the company requests.  Make sure to provide details and well written responses.

• If required, provide the necessary writing sample for the company to showcase your talents.

• Set any type of alert to send you an alert when there are shops available within your area.

• List all cities within your area that you are willing to shop, if requested.

Join As Many Message Boards as Possible

You will want as much access to the available shopping assignments that you can have.  When you do that, you are better able to ensure that you can get the shop that you want as you will know about it faster than others will.  Make sure to set up those message boards to email you as soon as shops are available or posted to the board.

A quick tip:   If you see that a new company has posted an a shopping assignment that you do not belong to as of yet, even if you can not perform that shop specifically for them, get over to their website and open and account.  Remember, they usually post shops only after their regular shoppers can not perform them.

React Fast

One of the most important things for you to do is to react fast when a shop becomes available.  Therefore, the first thing you need to become quite in the habit of is checking your email.  As you sign up for various companies, they will begin sending you emails as soon as shops are available in your area. 

If you live in an area that is heavily shopped, then there are likely to be many others getting that email and then, if you do not react fast, you are not likely to get the job.  In other words, if you live in one of these areas, then you will want to insure you have access to shops as soon as they come in.

Getting Shops When They Are Released

Another thing for you to consider doing is setting up a schedule where you will visit the companies website to search for available shops.  Some secret shopping companies have enough people who do this and therefore get the best jobs available and may not even need to send out emails.  Here’s what to do.

• Visit the company’s website and find out when shops are released during the month. Some are released throughout the month and others are released just one time per month. Find out when these are done.

• Set up a reminder service in your email program to let you know the day of or the day before the companies that send out just monthly shops are going to be doing so.  This way, you can check the service and get to the available shops before anyone else does.

• For those shops that released sporadically or regularly throughout the month, set up a favorites list on your internet service provider listing each of those addresses for you to reference.

• Visit each morning or each evening, whichever works better for you, and quickly go through and find out if there has been a new release of shops and if so, select those that you are interested in.

• Make sure to keep this updated for new mystery shopping companies that you come across and apply for.

A Tip:  It can be very difficult to deal with all of the passwords that correlate to your secret shopping websites.  The fact is that most of them will allow for a standard password and username format that you can choose.  In this case, make sure that you use the same username and password throughout all of your sites to make your job of applying easier.

In addition, if you can not do this, consider getting hold of free programs such as Roboform that will help you to keep track of and input all of the programs you need to easily.  This will save countless aggravating days.

Successfully Applying

There is a skill to applying for shopping jobs that will ensure that you get the assignment rather than the next guy.

First, realize that there are two main things that you can do.  Some companies provide self assign secret shops on their websites.  These are harder to come by, but are definitely good choices if you find them.  Remember to act fast here.  If you find a self assign shop, you will be able to instantly get it just by providing your information.

This is not the most common scenario though.  In most cases, you will need to actually apply for the shop.  This allows the scheduler the ability to pick the right shopper and allows them to ensure the best qualified person gets it.  Keep these things in mind when applying to these types of shops.

1. Apply as soon as possible as the first qualified person is likely to get the shop first.

2. Make sure that you have a good standing with the company.  That is, always turn in your work on time and don’t cancel shops often.

3. Make sure that you have your profile filled out and that you have as much as possible in the way of providing your writing skills. 

4. Some will request that you answer a strange question, such as, “What’s your favorite dining experience?”  Don’t fall for this.  It is a method of seeing how well you can write.  Be detailed and specific and make sure these are always positive!

5. Don’t bother the scheduler.  Asking if you have got the shop will just annoy them.  Instead, make sure to just provide the necessary information.  If you get the shop, they will tell you, don’t worry!

Confirmations

Now, you have applied for the secret shop, what do you do next?  At this point, you will need to wait to hear back whether you have been assigned to the shop, unless it is a self assign shop, in which case you will want to start reading through the scenario and getting it done as quickly as possible. 

But, if you are applying for a mystery shop where you need to be selected, you will have to wait until you have been assigned for that shop to learn if you have been successful.  Some of the shopping websites will update this for you; for others, you will just have you wait until they get back to you.

But, once you do hear that the shopping assignment has been awarded to you, make sure you read that email thoroughly.  One of the biggest mistakes people make is not doing this and they then end up losing the shop.  Why?  Because they did not confirm that they would be completing it.  Not all mystery shop companies require this but if they do and you miss it, you have missed your opportunity.

Usually, it is as simple as following a link to their website and confirming the date that you will be completing the shop on.  This is a simple process but one that has to be done and an easy one to miss.

Then What?

Once you have got the shop, confirmed it and are ready to complete it, the most important thing for you to do is to make sure that you know what is expected to happen.  Make sure you invest the necessary time in reading through all of the details before you actually head out to the location to do the assignment.  In most cases, the email that you have received will advise what is needed and when to do it. 

If not, you will need to visit their website and read through the details.  If you want to grow your  business, always know what is expected of you. 

The company has the right to disregard your shop if you did not follow the directions and made mistakes.  This makes the shop void with the company and they do not get paid either.

Follow all directions to the T!

Reporting Successfully

One of the most important aspects of your shopping business will be how well you do your job.  If you want the company to come to you time and time again to perform their secret shops, you need to insure that all details are completed 100% accurately every time.  When you do this, you are ensuring your own success.

What should you look forward to? There are several key things.  For example, you first need to make sure that you report back on time.  Usually, you will have several hours from the time that you have completed your shop to report back about what happened.  Never let this wait beyond 24 hours or beyond the time stipulated by the company.

Here are some additional tips to insure that your assignment is received in the best manner possible.

• Read the entire report before you complete your shop to know what is expected of you. 

• Never leave out any details.  You should fill in all boxes with necessary information as it applies to the shop.

• Usually you will be asked to answer yes and no to questions.  But, they will require you to provide additional information in a space below those questions.  Always provide as much relevent information as possible.  Even if all of the answers are “yes” and "no" it is still helpful to provide additional details. 

• Do not repeat the yes and no questions in your responses.  If they ask, “Were the bathrooms neat and clean?”  Do not repeat this in your description.  Instead, say, “The bathrooms smelled good, the counters were clean and there was no debris on the floor.” 

• Always use just facts.  Facts, facts, facts!  No opinions here.  Do not say, “She looked cute.”  But rather describe the characteristics about the person.

• Always double check your entire report for mistakes, errors or things you left out.  You can download software that is free to use to check for spelling errors.  If you do not catch these, they will and that lowers your grade.

• Submit it on time, every time.

You Are Graded

You have been out of school for years, so why are you being graded now?  secret shoppers may be graded for how well they perform their shop.  As a shopper, your business hinges on how well you perform your assignment.  Therefore, make sure that if the company does provide a grading system; you remain at the top of that system.  You should always make every effort to demonstrate that you are doing your job as thoroughly as possible.

Now that you know the processes involved, it is important to understand how to make your mystery shopping business the very best that it can be.  The following pages will focus on this.

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