6 Ways to Strengthen Your Participant Profile

The number one question we hear from participants on Respondent is “how do I get more invitations to participate in research projects?” They’re excited to get started earning extra income and sharing their thoughts on the latest products and services, but they aren’t hearing back from researchers after they take screeners. If this sounds at all familiar, then keep reading. The good news is that there are six easy things you can do today to strengthen your profile and start getting more invitations. Remember, your profile is your first and only chance to show researchers that you are a credible professional with knowledge to share

1. Complete Your Profile

Participants that are just joining Respondent are excited to get started and can sometimes rush through their portfolio setup. This is of course understandable, but if you want to position yourself for the best chance of success on the platform, it’s important to take time to make sure that your profile is complete and accurate. Start by double-checking that all of your demographic information, contact information, work history, and skills are filled out correctly and completely.

Once participants save certain sections of their profile like skills, location, and industry, these sections will be “locked” for four weeks to ensure that participants don’t change their profile information just to match with certain projects. So if you have already created your profile but need to add more skills or change anything else, you will need to wait four weeks. You’ll see the date when you entered the information and the date when the section will be “editable” again. 

2.Verify Your Profile

 Even though you can take screeners on Respondent without verifying your profile, you’re less likely to be invited to participate in projects if you don’t take this added step. Researchers often choose participants with verified profiles over participants with unverified profiles because they know that a verified profile means the person is who they say they are.

Verifying your profile is easy; you just need to provide a social media link and a work email. And Respondent will never share your email or social media links with third parties without your permission, so this is a very easy (and secure) way to get invited to participate in more projects.

3. Add a Video Introduction

Adding a video introduction is another step that many participants skip in their initial rush to get their profile set up. But again, just like with profile verification, you won’t get as many invites to participate in studies without a video introduction. Not only do researchers want to know that you are who you say you are, they also want to know that they will be talking to someone who can speak intelligibly about whatever they are studying. Your video introduction is an opportunity to show researchers that you can do just that.

Take some time to plan out a 30-second introduction that gives researchers a sense of who you are and your areas of expertise. Make sure to put your best foot forward and show researchers that you are friendly, articulate, and can communicate well.

4. Add Skills to Your Profile

Researchers often look for participants who have particular skills. Respondent allows you to add up to 25 skills to your profile, so make sure to think broadly about the skills to include there. Don’t be afraid to brag a little, but at the same time, make sure that you accurately represent your abilities and experience.  

Your resume is a good place to start to help you brainstorm the hard skills and soft skills you can add to your Respondent profile. In addition to the skills you have acquired through your education and professional experience, also think about skills you have acquired through hobbies, volunteer work, or other types of community involvement.

Another way to think about skills to list on your profile is to think back over the past month and identify the work projects and other activities you’ve been involved with. What kinds of work projects did work on? What kinds of hobbies and interests did you pursue? There are a wide variety of research projects on Respondent, and you never know when a researcher might be looking for people with your specific interests and abilities.

5. Add Industries to Your Profile

In addition to skills, researchers also search for participants who have specific experience within a particular industry. The platform allows participants to list up to five industries they have experience in.

You may be wondering if you can only list industries you have worked in or if you can also include industries that you are interested in. The answer is that as long as you have direct experience in the industry, you can (and should!) list it in your profile to increase your chances of getting invitations for projects that want your insight.

6. Keep Your Profile Information Up to Date

When any of your contact or work information changes, make sure to update your profile. It’s especially important to keep contact info and your PayPal address up to date so that researchers can get in touch with you and so you receive payments after completing studies. It’s also a good idea to keep an eye on your junk email after you take screeners because from time to time invitations to participate in projects get lost in junk folders.

The Bottom Line

Respondent offers participants a powerful way to make extra income and have a voice in shaping the products and services of the future. But getting the most out of Respondent starts with a complete and accurate profile. The time you spend on your profile upfront will pay off down the road, so work on these six ways to strengthen your profile now so you can start getting more invitations.

For more ideas on how to improve your profile or troubleshoot any issues that come up, check out Respondent’s Help Center Resources.

Recommend Resources:

• How to Recruit Participants for Qualitative Research (2022 Edition)
• 5 Ways To Improve Your Participant Profile
• Unmoderated Usability Testing 101: How To Get Started
• How To Get Survey Participants
• How To Create A Video Introduction For Your Participant Profile