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| One of the most common questions I get from people who are
looking to get started in mystery shopping is "how do I get started?" If you
intend to make mystery shopping a real career rather than just getting "paid to
shop" it's important to get started off on the right foot.
Mystery shopping can either be the road to overworked and underpaid, or if you do it
correctly, it can be quite lucrative for a legitimate, work-at-home, flexible job. |
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Unfortunately, the most common error newbie mystery shoppers make is
that they go berserk applying to mystery shopping company web sites left and right.
Signing up with companies is the last thing you want to do when you are just starting
out--unless you want to be a new mystery shopper with sore fingers saying "I applied
to 100 companies but I didn't hear anything". Going directly to companies, especially
if you don't have any, or have very little mystery shopping experience, is a waste of time
in my opinion.
Most companies are inundated with requests from newbies wanting to become mystery
shoppers; what they want are experienced shoppers they can count on. Think of a "real
world" job search. If you just apply to companies all over the place without any
experience, or knowing if they even have any job openings, it's going to be a fruitless
effort.
Another big reason why applying to company web sites is a waste of time is that the
largest and best companies outsource their assignments to schedulers--the middlemen of the
industry. So companies don't bother going through their own databases. The real way to get
started in mystery shopping is to get connected to schedulers in a way that makes you
stand out from the crowd and gets assignments coming to you.
Okay, you ask, how do I get connected to schedulers? I go over the many ways to do this in
great detail, along with lots of other great tips and techniques in my book "The
Perfect Work-At-Home Job: Mystery Shopping". But here's one way:
Go to http://mysteryshopcoach.cjb.net. At the bottom of that page is a link to
"Mystery Shoppers Resource", a great site for mystery shopping leads almost
exclusively posted by schedulers. The webmaster, Julie Moreau, will even e-mail you each
time she updates the page (e-mail to jmoreau1@aol.com, please mention I referred you).
When you see a job posting in your area, simply follow the instructions and apply. There's
a lot more to being a professional, top-earning mystery shopper than just this, but it's a
way for you to dabble and get a feel for what is possible.
Summary: Despite what others may say, the biggest mistake you can make as a newbie shopper
is wasting your time applying directly to mystery shopping companies. You wouldn't look
for a job in the "real world" this way, and the "mystery shopping
world" is no different. Learn to work with schedulers and you'll have started your
mystery shopping career the right way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
"The Perfect Work-At-Home Job: Mystery Shopping" by Melanie Jordan can be
downloaded at the following URL:
http://www.booklocker.com/books/923.html
Subscribe to the free e-zine "Perfect Work-At-Home Job Update".
E-mail to: mysteryshopcoach@aol.com.
(c) Copyright By Melanie R. Jordan E-Publishing
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