The Chaos and Comedy of User Recruitment for UX Research (And How to Do It Right)

By Unnati Senani | Researcher @ Lollypop Design

User recruitment for UX Research – the one thing in research that seems simple but is secretly a high-stakes game of chance. If you’ve ever done user research, you know what I’m talking about.

On paper, it’s easy: Find the right people, ask the right questions, and boom!! Insights! But in reality, is it that easy?

Let me share a couple of my favorite recruiting fails over the past years.

The 15-Minute Surprise

I once scheduled a participant, set up at his shop, and was ready for a full-hour interview. Everything was going great until he casually checked his watch and went, “Oh, I only have 15 minutes.”

15 minutes?! We hadn’t even started! It turns out that the recruiter’s field ops never mentioned how long the interview would take. That session? A total loss of time and resources. Plus, it was at the end of the day, so I was super tired already.

The Clone Conspiracy

Another time, I met a user for a study, and they looked really similar to someone I spoke to in another study, but I figured, “Eh, maybe cousins?” Nope! The same guy showed up twice, pretending to be two people. I mean… dedication? Yes. Usable data? Not so much.

So, how do we make sure recruitment doesn’t turn into a comedy show?

Here’s my Recruitment Survival Guide:

User Recruitment for UX Research: How to Get It Right

• Set clear participant criteria: Define who exactly you want to speak to. Go beyond just “existing users” or “first-time buyers”, outline both must-haves (non-negotiable parameters) and nice-to-haves. This clarity helps recruiters narrow their pool and avoid wasting time. If you don’t get this right, even a great screener won’t save you.

• Use a proper screener:  A screener is your filter. It should mimic the mental checklist you’d use if you were handpicking participants yourself. Include deal-breaker questions early to screen out misfits and use open-ended questions to test articulation. Never use vague Yes/No questions. And always test the screener with a dummy user to catch confusing language or logic flaws.
• Have a pre-call with the recruiter: Before the recruiter starts, get on a call to walk them through the project context. Explain your goals, who you want to reach, what to avoid, and what matters most. This builds alignment and reduces mismatches later. Share examples of good vs bad participants if needed. The more context you give, the less damage control you’ll need later.

• Verify the user details in advance:  Get LinkedIn IDs, basic documents, or anything that verifies their identity. This helps ensure you’re speaking to real users and not to someone trying to earn incentives.

Hack: If you have users’ Aadhar cards, you can verify their identity here at https://myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/verify-email-mobile/en

• Backcheck before the interview: A 5-minute call with the user helps confirm they exist, are the right fit, and will show up. During this call, you can verify the info and check if they’re articulate enough for qualitative research. This call acts as a vibe check. If the user can’t engage in conversation now, the actual interview won’t be useful either.
• Set cancellation rules: If a user isn’t engaging or isn’t the right fit, make sure you can drop the interview early without losing time or money. Set up these rules with the recruiter or the user (in case you’re doing the recruitment yourself). Document them and share them before the study starts.
• Always have backup participants: Recruitment is messy. People drop out, emergencies happen, and schedules shift. Have at least one extra person lined up just in case.
• Give yourself breathing room: Request gaps between interviews so you can debrief, take notes, or travel (for in-person research). Back-to-back interviews with no time in between can cause you to burn out at best and miss the interview at worst. Acknowledge that you are human and go for that coffee break.
• Have field ops check in beforehand: For in-person interviews, have someone from ops or the recruiter check in with the participant a few hours before the session. Confirm they are on track, know the location, and are still available. This small step reduces last-minute cancellations, especially when you’ve traveled to meet users in the field. If you’re flying in, this is non-negotiable.
• Recruiter on the call for setup: During remote interviews, ensure that the recruiter or field ops are on the interview call initially so that they can help with the setup and help in case of any failures, such as network or camera or audio not working.

• Plan the locations: – If it’s a field study, try to have the interviews that are in the same location on the same day. Don’t zigzag across the city between interviews. Clustering your interviews saves you both time and energy.

Final thoughts!

Recruitment is a tough nut to crack, but with the right prep, it can be way smoother and eventually add value to the entire research.

As you run more studies, many of these recruitment best practices will become second nature. But until then, consider this your go-to checklist for getting it right every time.

If you found this useful, my team has written some incredible pieces on UX research, definitely worth exploring, especially if you’re diving deeper into user recruitment for UX research. (add links)

And if you have any wild recruiting stories or go-to strategies? Drop them in the comments! Let’s share the pain (and the hacks!).

If you found this guide on user recruitment for UX research useful… Then lets talk

Have any questions on User Recruitment for UX Research

1. What is user recruitment in UX research?
User recruitment in UX research is the process of identifying, screening, and scheduling participants who match specific user profiles for research activities like interviews, usability testing, or field studies.

2. Why is user recruitment important in UX research?
Recruiting the right users ensures that the insights gathered are accurate, relevant, and actionable. A mismatched participant can lead to misleading data, wasted time, and flawed design decisions.

3. How do you write an effective screener for user research?
An effective screener includes must-have criteria, open-ended questions to assess articulation, and early disqualifiers. It should mimic how you’d manually judge a good-fit participant.

4. What are the biggest challenges in user recruitment for UX research?
Common challenges include no-shows, misaligned participants, identity fraud, scheduling issues, and last-minute dropouts. Clear communication and strong verification methods help reduce these issues.

5. Can I use incentives to recruit users for UX research?
Yes, incentives are commonly used to encourage participation. However, make sure they’re not so high that they attract participants who aren’t genuinely relevant to your study.

If this made you laugh (or cry), share it with your research crew.