Find out why recruiting slows down or stops, and what you can fix yourself before contacting our team.
This article is for all researchers (admins and users) running Recruit projects on the User Interviews panel, on any User Interviews plan.
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How recruiting works after you launch
- We check your project. If something needs to change, we email you from projects@userinterviews.com. Some projects wait for our team's review before recruiting starts.
- We notify participants who match your criteria. Your project may also be listed for participants to find and apply.
- Candidates apply and complete your screener. Qualified candidates appear in your Applied list. With automatic review, candidates who are a 100% match to your screener and characteristics move straight to Approved, without your review. The first qualified candidate usually arrives within 24 hours.
- We pause recruiting when you have enough qualified candidates. We compare your qualified candidates with the number of participants you requested. Recruiting also stops when your study is full or your deadline passes.
Notifications don't start again on their own. If you need more candidates after a pause, follow the steps in this article, then contact our team.
First, check whether recruiting is paused
Start here. These are the most common reasons a project stops getting new applicants.
Your study is full
Your study is full when enough participants reach your requested number:
- Moderated studies: confirmed participants count. This includes past and upcoming sessions, but not no-shows or reported participants.
- Unmoderated studies: participants who have started, submitted, or completed your task count.
To pause recruiting, lower the number to match your confirmed and completed participants. You can't set it lower than that. Approved candidates who haven't booked or started can't join, but participants who already started can finish.
If you want more participants in your study, raise the number:
- Go to Research design > Participant number & incentives.
- Enter a higher Number of participants.
- Click Save.
When you raise the number, approved candidates are told about the new openings. For moderated studies, add new session times to your calendar too. More participants means more completed sessions, so your recruitment fees may go up.
Your Applied list has candidates you won't use
Qualified candidates count toward your recruiting limit, even if you haven't reviewed them yet. Marking a candidate Not a fit removes them from that count. No other status does.
- Go to Participant management > Applied.
- Select the checkbox next to each candidate you won't use.
- Click Not a fit.
The candidates move to the Removed tab. This can make your project visible to participants browsing studies again, but it doesn't restart notifications. To send new notifications, contact our team.
Candidates marked Potential fit, approved candidates, canceled sessions, and no-shows all still count toward your recruiting limit.
If many candidates in Applied don't fit, check your skip logic. Sending candidates to Finish doesn't disqualify them. Only a Reject answer does. Preview your screener, and test each path that should qualify or disqualify someone. Learn more in How do I set up and preview skip logic?
Qualified candidates are waiting for your review
Candidates stay in Applied until you approve them. Approving invites them to book a session or start your task. If your project uses automatic review, 100% matches are approved for you.
- Go to Participant management > Applied.
- Select the checkbox next to each candidate you want.
- Click Approve.
For moderated studies, we recommend approving about twice as many candidates as you need, because some won't book. If approved candidates don't book a session or start your task within 48 hours, approve more.
Your deadline has passed
For unmoderated studies, recruiting stops at your project deadline. After the deadline, you can't approve new participants. To extend it:
- Go to Research design > Research activity.
- Under Project deadline, select a later date and time.
- Click Save.
We've emailed you about a change
Check your inbox for an email from projects@userinterviews.com. Some projects can't recruit until you reply.
Few people are applying
Participants decide whether to apply based on your project listing. Check these settings. You can change all of them after launch.
- Title and description: Say what the study is about and how long it takes. Describe your audience in general terms, without listing your exact criteria.
- Incentive: Longer sessions, multi-day studies, and professional audiences need higher incentives. Compare yours with our incentive recommendations.
- Screener: Keep it under 15 questions, and use plain wording. Longer screeners get fewer applications. Learn more in How many questions should a screener survey have?
If your criteria are narrow, such as a small age range or one or two job titles, contact our team. You can't change criteria after launch, but we can change them for you.
Your project may also exclude people who recently took part in a study with your team. We don't invite them, so fewer people can apply. To check this setting, go to Research design > Recruitment and open Past participation. People you invite directly aren't affected.
Quotas don't change who we invite. Define quota targets tracks your progress, but it doesn't affect project invitations. To recruit more of a specific group, contact our team.
People apply, but few qualify
- Check your Reject answers. Choosing a Reject answer is what disqualifies a candidate. Make sure you only marked answers that truly rule someone out.
- Ask about your criteria. If the right people are rare in our panel, contact our team. We can suggest which criteria to widen.
Learn which settings you can change yourself in What project settings can be edited once a project has launched?
Approved candidates aren't booking or starting your task
- Check your calendar. For moderated studies, approved candidates can only book open session times. Check your availability and limits in Why can't participants book the times I expect?
- Check your quota automations. On subscription plans, quotas can block booking or task start. This applies to moderated projects and to unmoderated projects with a response time limit. You may have turned on Prevent scheduling or task start when quota is full. If so, people in a full quota can't book or start your task. They join a waitlist instead. Learn more in Manage participant quotas for a balanced recruit.
- Approve more candidates. If your calendar and quotas look right, approve more candidates.
Contact our team
If you've worked through these checks and still aren't getting suitable applicants, contact our team. Your project coordinator may also reach out to you first.
Please include:
- Your project ID.
- What's wrong with your current candidates, if you have any.
- Which criteria you can be flexible on.
Depending on your project, we may be able to send more notifications, change your criteria, or target a specific group, such as one location.
Frequently asked questions
Can you send more notifications for my study?
We may be able to, if your project needs more qualified candidates. First, mark candidates you won't use Not a fit. Then contact our team, and we'll review your project and recruiting options.
Why did recruiting stop?
Recruiting stops when you have enough qualified candidates, your study is full, or your deadline passes. It can also stop when we've notified everyone who matches your criteria. Notifications don't restart on their own, so contact our team if you need more candidates.
Can I change my criteria after launch?
No, you can't change criteria such as age, location, or job title after launch. Our team can change them for you. You can still edit your screener, incentive, calendar, title, and description.