Is Nelson Recruiting Legit? Pros, Cons & Unbiased Thoughts

Are you looking to earn extra dollars by joining paid focus group discussions? Many companies in the US claim to pay you for sharing your thoughts, like Nelson Recruiting.

But is Nelson Recruiting legit? What’s the process like, and how much can you earn? This review will answer all your questions.

What Is Nelson Recruiting?

Nelson Recruiting is a family-owned business, specifically a market research recruitment company based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1980 and is proud to be an established and experienced recruiting company.

Unlike other online paid focus groups we featured on our website, Nelson is a unique company that caters mainly to locals through on-site recruitment.

They have trained recruiters for every paid focus group who will assess the applicants on a more personal level compared to other web-based market research platforms.

They specialize in mock jury recruitment, but they also cater to other market research needs.

How Does Nelson Recruiting Work?

Nelson Recruiting offers a straightforward process. They form groups of six to 12 individuals who will need to participate in in-depth discussions.

Topics vary and can be about almost anything–from tech, food, politics, favorite brands, or gaming. A market research professional leads these groups.

If you’ve been selected for their research, you’ll need to provide your honest opinions regarding concepts, current or future services, and even upcoming products.

They claim to pay individuals once they’re done participating.

Joining Nelson Recruiting is fairly easy. They have an online registration form you can fill out.

You need to provide basic information like your full name, email address, home address, birthday, and cell phone number.

You’ll also need to provide more personal information, such as your phone model, marital status, ethnicity, level of education, and employment status. 

If you’re not comfortable declaring your household income, it’s not mandatory. The same goes for the make and model of your car, your gadgets, your political party, if you smoke or drink, and your sports.

Upon closely looking at this form, we found out that you need to provide a password.

This will automatically create a profile for you, which you can log into and update from time to time.

Once you complete the form and a company needs someone from your demographic, a recruiter from Nelson will contact you by phone and/or email.

Common Questions to Understand

Participating in paid focus group companies like Nelson Recruiting gives rise to a range of questions that require clarification, including:

What Is a Mock Jury?

Nelson Recruiting is known for hiring participants for mock juries courtesy of their legal clients. 

The purpose of a mock jury is to imitate what’s likely to happen in an actual trial setting.

This is typically done to gain insights into how potential jurors might react to the evidence, arguments, and overall presentation of a case before it goes to trial.

As with an actual set of jurors, Nelson finds participants without possible ties or common interests with each other. 

Does Nelson Recruiting Offer a Lot of Opportunities?

Nelson claims to facilitate all kinds of focus group discussions, making it possible for individuals to find a project from time to time.

The company recruits focus group participants for phone interviews, online interviews, new app participation, website reviews, and even taste tests. They may also offer you a paid clinical trial gig.

Still, the opportunities you can take will depend if you meet the specific requirements of their clients.

What Kind of Industries Does Nelson Recruiting Cater To?

You can expect to work with a lot of industries when you wish to participate in their research projects.

Nelson caters to technology companies, politics, food and beverage establishments, healthcare institutions, banking, and a lot more.

What Does Nelson Recruiting Do With My Data and Opinions?

Your information and feedback will be complied with and processed by Nelson.

They will then submit it to their clients, who will utilize your feedback to improve their products or services.

Real opinions are important for businesses as they can help them understand historical performance, uncover novel prospects, and forecast how a market might respond to a specific product or service.

Is Nelson Recruiting Legit?

We found out that Nelson is a legitimate market research company. Here are a few reasons why:

• Trusted by Legal Companies: Nelson paved the way for the success of many legal firms. It only strengthens our belief in their legitimacy since they’re trusted to facilitate mock juries and have stellar rates for results.
• BBB Accredited: Nelson & Skidmore, LLC, the company behind Nelson Recruiting, has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since October 2020. BBB conducts thorough reviews for each company they accredit.
• Years Active: Nelson Recruiting has been operating since 1980, which says a lot about its credibility. The company continued to grow and gain massive success in 2016 and 2019.
• Real People Behind It: Nelson is a proud family-owned company and shows the people behind their business through their website. You can tell that their organization is built well since the positions are held by individuals with extensive experience in the market research industry.
• Physical Location: Another reason that made us say Nelson is legitimate is that they have a physical location. They’re located in Woodland Hills, California.
• Professional Website: Upon visiting Nelson Recruiting’s website, you won’t stumble across sketchy or scandalous advertisements. It’s well-built and has separate pages for those looking for jobs and companies looking for real opinions.

Is Nelson Recruiting Reliable?

Nelson Recruiting appears to be a reliable market research platform.

They’re clear about what services they offer to companies and have a straightforward approach to conducting paid focus groups.

They also have recruiters who have undergone extensive training.

What’s even better is that they have designated recruiters for Latin participants. Even those who only speak Spanish can find opportunities through Nelson.

Nelson also has a positive reputation and is trusted even by legal companies. 

For participants, it’s worth noting that the opportunities available will always depend on the research requirement of the companies.

This means there’s no way to say that they can offer a steady stream of compensation.

Is Nelson Recruiting Safe?

Through our research, we can say that Nelson Recruitment is a safe company.

They follow the Insights Association Code of Standards and Ethics—a comprehensive set of guidelines that govern the conduct of market research companies.

This ensures the safety and privacy of the individuals and data involved in their market research activities.

Nelson Recruiting also has its own Privacy Policy.

To make sure your personal information and identity are kept safe and private, Nelson Recruiting promises to never sell or share your data with anyone outside its company.

Their registration form is also flexible, and you don’t have to provide some types of personal information if you’re not comfortable.

What Are Users Saying About Nelson Recruiting?

We’ve found some positive reviews for this focus group company.

What Google Reviewers Liked About Nelson Recruiting

• Legit Company: Many users went to Google to say that Nelson is indeed a legitimate company. They said that they enjoyed participating in their focus group discussion, and there were even free meals.
• Impressive Process: There are also users who were impressed by how organized and streamlined their process was. They said that the employees were knowledgeable and professional and did their job well.
• Interesting Sessions: Another common review that we noticed is that participants liked how interesting the discussions were. One mentioned that the research was well-designed and run. They said that it made their experience enjoyable.
• Well Compensated: Many participants were happy to receive a good amount of money for a few hours of work. 
• Wonderful Customer Service: Participants also liked how welcoming and friendly the employees were.
• Engaging Discussions: Some participants also liked how the facilitators listened to their opinions and even asked follow-up questions. 
• Personal Growth: A lot of participants liked how they met a lot of people from different places. They were also thankful that they learned a lot about being in a focus group discussion.
• Would Do It Again: Most of the comments mentioned that they want to join more focus group discussions with Nelson in the future.

What Reddit Users Liked About Nelson Recruiting

• Pays Well: One Reddit user mentioned that the company is real and even knows some of its employees. He also mentioned that it’s just like a call center environment that functions through teams.
• Popularity: Another user also mentioned that they know the company and that it is indeed located in Los Angeles.
• Worth It: There’s also someone who said she earned $600 from participating in their focus group. Even better, Nelson also had a raffle where she won $50.

Why Are People Worried About Using Nelson Recruiting?

While the number of positive reviews is astonishing, we found some complaints about Nelson.

What Google Reviewers Are Worried About

• Terrible Recruitment Process: Unfortunately, some users didn’t like the company’s recruitment process. They said that they received multiple calls and were expected to confirm their attendance multiple times by different recruiters.
• Problems with Digital Card: Some users also complained that the digital Visa card they received as compensation was not working.
• No Flexibility: There are other participants that were disheartened by being limited to certain purchases. They felt like there must be a better rewards method that offers more flexibility than a Visa card.
• Short Notice: Some participants felt that Nelson gave such short notice (only 24 hours for some) for the focus group discussion they joined.
• Overbooking: There are participants who were disappointed since they were initially recruited for a discussion but were suddenly let go because of overbooking.
• Repetitive Process: One user was frustrated because he had to answer an online survey and had to answer the same questions over again through a phone call.
• Poor Accommodation: Surprisingly, there were a couple of participants who shared their disappointment with the free food and accommodation they were given.

What Reddit Users Are Worried About

• Non-Payment: A Reddit user mentioned that he wasn’t paid for a canceled discussion. He said that the company contacted him and asked him to answer the screening test. On the same day of the discussion, he received a call that the session won’t push through.
• Expired Visa Card: Another user complained that he was given an expired Visa card. It was even frustrating for him since he kept on following up for a new one, but the staff did not acknowledge his request.

Nelson Recruiting Quality & Guarantees

Nelson promises qualified and quality respondents to its clients and competitive pricing on their services.

However, they don’t offer much guarantee or quality to participants.

They don’t commit to giving opportunities once you’re registered on their platform. There were even instances where people who were booked for focus group discussions were suddenly let go because of canceled sessions or overbooking.

Something participants can expect is that their data is kept confidential and will not be sold or distributed to other focus group companies.

Aside from that, the company promises to pay people after successfully participating in their paid focus group via virtual reward, check, or cash.

Does Nelson Recruiting Offer Customer Service?

Nelson offers customer service for both their clients and participants.

What Customer Service Options Are Available?

They offer a few options for those who want to reach out:

• Online Contact Form: They have a Contact Us page on their website where you need to provide your name, email, and phone number. It’s worth noting that you have to agree to their Privacy Policy first to use this option.
• Email: The company is very transparent and provides more than a single support email. You can find the email addresses of their president, COO, and other employees on their website.
• Telephone Numbers: If you prefer to contact them via phone, they have four different numbers you can dial.
• Social Media: They have Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. If you prefer contacting a certain employee, you can try their Linkedin page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Similar Gigs to Check Out

Looking for more paid focus group companies in the country? Check out if these companies stay true to their promise.

• Is Apex Focus Group Legit?: This is another focus group company that claims to pay people for their opinions. But is it legit? Find out in this review.
• Is Ascendancy Research Legit?: Can you really earn money by sharing your ideas about products and services? Check this guide before signing up for Ascendancy Research.
• Is Adler Weiner Research Legit?: Adler Weiner has been operating since the 1960s. Read our comprehensive guide to learn more about earning money with this platform.

Wrapping Up

Nelson Recruiting is a reliable and genuine platform for those looking to earn money by participating in focus group discussions.

While there’s no guarantee you’ll be invited to join their studies, it’s worth giving them a try as long as you’re comfortable sharing your personal information and opinion.

Just be careful with providing them with information, and make sure you’re talking directly with their recruiters to avoid scams.

Be truthful in answering their queries, and you’re sure to be well compensated.

What do you think about Nelson? Will you sign up on their website? Tell us your thoughts by leaving comments down below.