Could you please review my profile?

Welcome & Getting Started
1

Hi everyone. I’m new here, I sent out 25 personalized requests and received 2 sits. It might be a “fair” stat first.
However I was wondering if there is anything I could improve on my profile or my request message.

Feel free to give constructive criticism.

I also paste here the sample message that I send out replaced with the actual owner and pet names:

Hi [Pet owner name]

[Pet name] looks adorable! :slight_smile:

My goal with travelling to [name of the city ] is to pet cute animals and also to change my environment.
I work from home full time so you can rest assured that [Pet name] will be in good company with me ! :slight_smile:
I work as a freelance Web Analyst, hence I can make my own working schedule. So if you need me to do anything special I would be happy to help you anytime of the day.

I am a cat owner since my childhood and get along with all personality types of cats. You can see my cat, Cicu on my profile picture.

I have been house sitting for a long time, but I just recently joined the trustedhousesitter platform.
I know trust is a key thing in finding a house sitter. Thats why I linked my Linkedin account where you can see some reviews of me in the professional scene.

I am happy to send you regular videos of [Pet name] as we are playing, so you can make sure [Pet name] is treated well. :slight_smile:

I hope to meet you soon! :slight_smile:

Edited: Sitter profile added to forum profile

2

I suggest that you get some more external references - since you state that you have been house sitting for eight years people will expect to see more references and they may not want to go searching on LinkedIn (as you suggest in your profile ) to find them .

It’s great that you already have two sits confirmed . Once you have completed those sits and have been given THS reviews you will find it much easier to get sits .

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3

Hi @Happy_Kardamom and welcome. Your profile looks good. If you are a non smoker, consider adding that detail.
If you apply for sits a long way from home, in your application mention how you plan to arrive and how you will assure the pet owners you will arrive on time.
Best of luck!

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David,
You make readers do a LOT!

Searching for you on LinkedIn is just too hard. Too much work.

If you have a Whatsapp link, paste it in your message (time zone Hungary?)

If you have a video of yourself with cats, then paste the YouTube link right in the message, like this:

I set privacy there to “Link Only”. This may allow your Web Analytics experience to track your HO responses.

In this day and age, expect “No Response” when you fail to engage a reader. Many People may find it difficult to say No.

Also consider, do A-B split testing by sending different messages.

Move your love of cats up top. Focus on your past sits with cats when applying to Cat sits. If sits are dogs, switch focus to dogs. HOs want THEIR pet cared for. Your work from home job gives you lots of time.

If you really love to play with cats, show the video of you doing that. Like this toy I created:

If you can show yourself giving pills, then show the HO right in the message. Giving pills to a cat takes a special skill. If you have it, show it up front, like this:

Your THS profile pic #6 Rabbits caption is cut off, crop your picture shorter.

Good luck David!

1 Like
5

The message you have written is lovely… but it’s very VERY generic! Here’s the brutal honesty, you are telling the HO that you are lazy and don’t really care about their particular pets, because you copy & pasted a generic message which has nothing to do with their particular pets or location.

Sorry to be harsh, but your personalised message isn’t actually personalised at all apart from the name of their pet, generic, generic, generic. It is written very nicely, but you could have put that in your ‘about us’ part of your profile, so your personal message doesn’t stand out at all, it’s like every other generic message that an HO will receive, which is a shame, because your profile sounds like you would be an great pet sitter.

It will help you if you add specific details in your message about their profile in the message you send, not just the name of their pet, so that they know you have taken the time to read their profile, because nothing about your message says that at all.

Why are you visiting their SPECIFIC location, or why do you want to care for their specific pets, what did they mention in their profile, such as are they on medication etc? Make your message relevant to the individual sit you are applying for, so that the HO notices you more, over others that send a generic message (like yours).

If you want a sit, you need to make the pet owner know why you want their particular sit.

Also, if you stick to sits that are closer to where you live then you will stand a better chance at getting them, just to begin with until you have some reviews under your belt.

Sorry to be brutal, but I hope it helps.

5 Likes
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Hey there, I love all your pictures on your profile with all the animals, it certainly shows you do truly love animals. My suggestion to you would be to go read a bunch of other sitters profiles and bio’s. I feel that would be helpful to you in fine tuning yours. I would eliminate “for trust reasons” and “to prove my reliability” out of your wording. Instead you may just say that you are dependable and reliable and a trustworthy pet sitter. I hope that makes sense. Good luck in your sits!

1 Like
7

A few suggestions for you :

  1. Rather than having people refer to Linked in or another site (which can be a hassle) , list everything on your THS bio.
  2. Using more variation in your “Experience” section rather than using so many “I” statements would lend a bit of variation to counter the monotony of repetitive sentences.
  3. Again, in the “Experience” section , focus on actual experience rather than other things. There are multiple senetences which, while relevant to you, have nothing to do with your familarity with the specific tasks involved. Specifics are helpful.
  4. I would never reply with a form letter. Even though you use the actual pet, owner, etc. names , the monotony always comes across. Yes, it takes a bit more time to compose a personal response but the effort comes across and people will appreciate it.

Good luck.

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Thanks David , great suggestions. But why is it beneficial to send a whatsapp link? Doesn’t it look spammy? I mean I can send it if they accept my request.

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Thank you everyone for the great tips. I will implement as many as I can! :slight_smile:

Another question: Can you click my Linkedin link on my profile? Because I checked it from a non-paying member account and from there it can not be clicked.

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In my applications, I want to speak with the HO asap…One-Click to call me.

The really nice sits get 5 applicants quickly. I dont want any delays or obstacles. You snooze, you lose.

If near by (1 hr travel), I offer to come over to meet the HO and pets in person.

Overall, I dont make the Owner do much work. This is House Sitting, not a IT job application. Giving my Whatsapp link is highly secure. Text, call or video call to build trust. Good luck.

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11

Could not find your LinkedIn link on your THS profile. (Later…found it. But I am not a LinkedIn user and dont want to sign up to see your details. Privacy overload)

Too much work again.

You can paste hyper-links in messages, much easier, instead of asking readers to search for you.

Your IT technology background really comes through.

If you are applying for sits with retired seniors with limited to no computer skills, you are adding unnecessary complexity to this process. Good luck.

1 Like
12

JUST A LITTLE EDIT. I

NCLUDE WHY YOU ARE APPLYING, WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THEIR POSTING, HOW YOU WILL BE IN THE AREA, EXPERIENCE AND WHY YOU WOULD BE A GOOD APPLICANT TO CONSIDER INCLUDING A SPECIAL ANIMAL SKILL

WHAT DO YOU THINK.

Hi [Pet Owner AND PET Name],

I AM APPLYING TO SIT WITH (PET NAME) WHILE YOU ARE AWAY ON YOUR VACATION.
I’m traveling to [City Name]TO EXPLORE AND EXPERIENCE WHAT IT HAS TO OFFER. (MENTION IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME OR YOU HAVE VISITED BEFORE)

I LOVED THE PICTURES OF (PET NAME) (HE OR SHE)IS ADORABLE. I HAVE been a GRATEFUL cat owner since childhood. (I HAVE EXPERIENCE)with cat(S YOUNG THROUGH TO ELDERLY CARE )

As a freelance Web Analyst, I have the flexibility to set my own WORKING HOURS WHICH GIVES ME FOCUS TO MANAGE THE CARE OF YOUR HOME AND (PET NAME HERE)

Although I’m new to the TrustedHousesitters platform, I have extensive experience with house sitting (MENTION WHERE EITHER LOCAL OR ANOTHER COUNTRY). (MENTION IF YOU HAVE ANIMAL FIRST AID OR ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR TRAINING OR A HOBBY YOU ENJOYED WITH AN ANIMAL.)

I WOULD LOVE TO SET UP A VIDEO CHAT WITH YOU AND (PET NAME) TO SEE IF WE ARE ALL A GOOD FIT.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Best,
[Your Name]

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13

@Happy_Kardamom I found your LinkedIn link on your profile and it opens LinkedIn when you click on it. (I wasn’t signed in to LinkedIn so didn’t go any further).

It isn’t easy to find though! On the app you have to click the arrow to expand the ID verified section. I expect many homeowners see “ID verified” as a statement rather than an expandable section of the profile with other information in there!

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@DavidZ081 I had no idea I could include a YouTube clip in my applications. Do I just copy and paste my private link? Will it show up as a playable video on their end?

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Oh yes, paste your Youtube link in any message to HO or HS, like this:

I upload my cell video clips to Youtube with a few clicks, with privacy set to “Link only”. NOT Public! (Spam).

I often send vid clips to travelling HOs of their pets - they love it! Through the THS app, Whatsapp, email or cell text msg.

I like the idea of a “Video Application” showing your selfie with pets. A very unique way to set you apart from others.

Give it a try! Good luck.

PS> a rare possibility but video may be restricted in the Reader’s country. I use Whatsapp for video calls. Not a problem US,Canada, but video is blocked in Dubai…so I use Botim app there.

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16

I normally send videos of their pets as updates in Whatsapp or text but have not done it in my initial applications. I’ll try that next time. Thanks for the tip

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