Even when I was working I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to earn quick cash from participating in focus groups.  As a recruiting manager at Goldman Sachs I was invited to participate in two, one where I had to comment on the strengths of Wharton’s Career Management Office and the other on my perception of various business schools that was eventually revealed to be sponsored by Cornell.  I also vacationed at spas in those days, and my third invitation was to comment on possible advertising campaigns for Canyon Ranch.  All of these paid $100 in cash for around two hours, and were held in midtown office buildings with conference facilities and accompanied by nice refreshments.

I’m not going to be tapped for a focus group based on my professional status now and it will be some time before I see the lush grounds of a spa again, but I think I’m still opinionated enough to be a good focus group participant.  In my quest for part-time work and day gigs to sustain me while job hunting, I decided to search out focus groups on the internet.  The first listing from my Google search was for surveylot.com.  It seemed a bit too good to be true, with a brightly colored main page containing lines like “On the next page, you will learn the secret of making serious money with these opportunities,” and “earn $1000 a week working at your own pace from the comfort of your own home.” If only half the listings involving making thousands of dollars working at home were true most Americans would never get out of their pajamas.

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