A Little Help PLEASE!

Can someone take a look at my profile and make suggestions on how I can improve my profile to get my first housesit? I have made multiple attempts but have gotten no confirmed housesits.

Thanks in Advance,

Olivia

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Hi and welcome
I clicked on your link but it goes to LinkedIn! Are you a member of THS? If so, you need to make a profile on the THS website. If you havenā€™t got any references then itā€™s handy to get some from people you may have housesat for before

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@greergoneusa Hi! I would suggest going more in depth in all your profile sections. Personalize it to who you are, so owners feel like they know you a bit better. All sitters are anticipated to have a passion for travel & pet care - what are your individual passions / hobbies, some fun facts about you, what brought you to TH, work history overview (past/current field, retired, working remote, etc). Get specific in your experience, include any unique skills you have acquired from breeding, and give details of previous sitting experience - breeds, specialized care, duration / frequency of sits, etc. Owners are essentially inviting strangers into their homes, so it helps to provide as complete an overview of yourself as possible :hugs: You also never know what niche part of yourself an owner might share in common, and that helps build trust.

In your application letter, you could reiterate that while you are new to TH, you are not new to pet sitting. Also, customize the message to their petsā€™ needs/personalities, and offer to video chat. Try not to get discouraged from rejections, itā€™s not personal. Most (if not all) new sitters experience plenty of rejection when first starting out before building up reviews. Itā€™s so worth sticking with it! :heart:

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@greergoneusa Hello Olivia and welcome. If you are a member of TrustedHousesitters, please embed your sitter profile in your forum username/profile.

If you are not a member, Iā€™ll add details of the membership pricing for you to take a look at.

You can search a wide variety of posts by using the magnifying glass and key words on the topics that interest you. If you donā€™t find what youā€™re looking for, come back to the forum and post your question and our members will do their best to help you.

Francine,
Volunteer moderator :canada:

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Hi @greergoneusa youā€™ve already received some great advice from our members and you post is so similar to that of @Andrew a member who cam to the forum with exactly the same situation ā€¦ here is the topic he started and now he is ā€œbookedā€ solidly

There is some excellent help and guidance from our community in this topic and Andrew will tell you how it worked for him.

Welcome to the forum

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Hi @greergoneusa - Your profile looks fine to me except that the links to your Airbnb and Linkedin profiles are not working.

It may be your application message that is letting you down - there are some good tips in this thread you may want to take a look at.

@greergoneusa Hello Olivia. My suggestions:

  • In Why I want to house sit, I would add details about your interest in caring for pets. So far youā€™ve only mentioned travel and culture. Owners want to know that their pets are your priority, so itā€™s good to add that early in your profile.

  • Currently your availability shows as only for two months. Iā€™m wondering if you have the concept reversed. Green is your available dates. You may find it helpful to read this post on sitter calendar availability.

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Hi @greergoneusa

Based on one of your photos it looks like you are a police officer (I assume that is correct), however you donā€™t mention that at all in your profile.

You need to extend on the comment ā€œYour home is safe and secure with meā€. Why is it safer with you than with anyone else??? Whyā€¦because you are a police officer with XX number of years experience. Talk about how you are used to calmly and confidently dealing with difficult situations. You should take advantage of any attribute that the homeowner is going to see as a positive.

You should also make the photo of yourself in uniform the first one of you that they see. That way it is easier to make the link between your police uniform and the comment " This Public Servant is At Your Service."

Also, as others have mentioned just flesh out the details a bit. You want people to know you enough that they feel confident handing over the keys to their home.

I like to browse through the ā€˜Find a Sitterā€™ page and read through the profiles of the experienced sitters. Itā€™s a great way to get some tips on what to include.

And finally. Good luck and hope you have a lot of fun. Itā€™s a great way to travel :slight_smile:

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You have had lots of great advice so the only thing I would add as a suggestion is that you add photos of yourself with animals rather than just animals on their own.
Hope you get something soon.

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Hi Colin
Thanks Colin for the suggestion links to your Airbnb and Linkedin profiles are not working.
I also checked mine And fixed them so now they are working!

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That picture of you with that happy smile, the one where you are wearing a beige top would be a good one to be the first one people see. And than the next one where you are in your uniform.
You have all the background checks plus Airbnb and LinkedIn which is great.
Things you may want to include are any experiences giving pet medications, shots, senior pet care, etcā€¦
You could mention you would send photos and texts of their pet while they are gone as often as they would like.
You can look for sits locally just to get some home owner reviews of you so it shows you have experience.
Pictures of you with pets would be a good idea.

Hi Olivia
I am a fellow sitter and I have just looked at your profile. Firstly I would suggest more details in your profile description. You have written very little. Hosts would like to get to know you more -so thatā€™s where Iā€™d start. You need to sell yourself! Show them youā€™d be the perfect choice for their sit! Once you get your first sit it will all start flowing. I would also suggest you start appling for short sits close to you- to build up your reviews. And if you are able to offer to pop in for a pre-sit visit, even better. Make yourself as available as possible- especially in the beginning. Later on your reviews will be there to help sell you as a sitter! Good luck!!

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Hi Olivia,
I agree with all the great advice from all the other members. Give specific details about your experience caring for pets. You have 3 pictures of you by yourself and all the others are pictures of pets without you. As someone suggested, the one of you as a police officer is great. I suggest replacing most of the other pictures with pictures of you actually interacting with pets: cuddling, walking, petting them, feeding them, giving them treats or medicine, brushing them, etc.
Since you donā€™t have any ā€œreviewsā€ yet from Trustedhousesitters homeowners, since you are new to THS, you can add as many external ā€œreferencesā€ as you want. I had 12 external references before my first THS Housesit and review. Also, ask the people writing you references to be specific and give examples. The one you have is very brief and general.
Also update your availability calendar, as someone suggested, and the countries in which you would like to housesit. ā€œAfghanistanā€ shows up at the top of your listā€¦ really? Select the actual countries in which you would realistically like to pet and housesit. Remember, it is not what the homeowner can do for you, but what you can do for the homeowners and their pets.
Be patient, it takes time to get established on TrustedHousesitters and build a good reputation through repeat housesits and good reviews. Start by applying for sits fairly local to you and offer to come and introduce yourself in person.
Wishing you all the best.!

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I have discovered that few homeowners look back on our profile page. They get back to us only when our cover letter appeals to them.

I applied for many sits before finally being accepted. It is highly competitive. When I needed a sitter I think the first reply came one minute after I posted!

I am preparing for retirement so I didnā€™t want to put myself out there until my exit date (end of Oct '22).

Thanks for the helpful tips.
Olivia

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Iā€™m usually the one holding the camera but Iā€™ll try to take photos WITH my pets. Iā€™ll get one of my kids to stop by for some shots. Thanks for the advice.

The Airbnb works, Iā€™ve just updated the LinkedIn. Thanks

My links should work now. I had to open them in a new browser. Thanks

OK,
In todayā€™s climate Iā€™m making a move to include a photo of me in my uniform. This will stand until after my first 3 sit declines and then Iā€™m removing it! Weā€™ll see if this changes things.