You start a survey, answer a few questions, and it ends: you don't qualify. It's the most frustrating part of paid surveys, and the most common. Here's what's happening, why it isn't about you, and the few things that genuinely help.
What a screen-out is
Every survey is looking for particular people: parents of under-fives, say, or people who bought a car in the last year. The first questions check whether you're one of them. If you're not, the survey ends. That's a screen-out.
A survey can also end early because it's full. Researchers set quotas, for example 200 women aged 35 to 44, and once a quota fills, everyone else in that group is turned away, however well they match.
Why it happens so often
Most survey attempts end this way, on every survey site, not just JOYT. Researchers invite more people than they need, because they can't know in advance who qualifies. So being screened out is the normal outcome, not a sign that something is wrong with your account.
What happens when you're screened out on JOYT
- A survey that ends early pays nothing. JOYT earns nothing from it either: researchers pay only for completed surveys.
- We look for another survey that might suit you, up to six times, so one screen-out often leads straight into another attempt.
What helps
- Complete your profile. Your profile answers are used to match you to surveys before you're invited, so fewer of the surveys you start will be wrong for you.
- Keep it up to date. If you've moved, changed job or had a baby, update your profile. Old answers send you to surveys you won't qualify for.
- Start surveys soon after you're invited. Quotas fill up, so the sooner you start, the less likely the survey is to be full.
- Answer screening questions honestly. It's tempting to guess what the researcher wants to hear. Don't; the next section explains why.
What doesn't help, and can cost you
- Giving answers you think will qualify you. Surveys check for consistency, and Cint's quality checks look for answers that contradict your profile or each other. If a completed survey fails those checks, its reward can be removed during the 28 to 56 day pending period, and repeated problems can cost you your account.
- Rushing. Finishing far faster than a survey could reasonably take, or ticking the same option all the way down a grid, is a classic reason for a reward to be removed.
- More than one account, or hiding where you are. It's one account per person, used from your real location. Duplicate accounts and tools that disguise your location can get an account blocked.
Screen-outs and what you earn
Because screen-outs pay nothing, they're the main reason survey earnings are lower than the reward per survey suggests. Our earnings guide shows what each survey length pays, so you can judge whether it's worth your time.