“Who is she waiting for, St Francis of Assisi?” 
She’ll be waiting a long time then 
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We have a fantastic success rate, mainly because we’ll happily return to sit (whereas most sitters travel and stay in different places) and also our areas where we focus have a low number of applicants.
When we get turned down, it’s usually because we were too slow in applying, so we usually get a message to say they’d already arranged a video chat with someone else, but will get back to us if it doesn’t go well, or they give us their vague future dates to see if we’re free.
BUT on the odd occasion where we don’t get a personalised message back at all, I never ever apply to them again. I always remember their profiles, because they make me feel not-so-great, like we weren’t good enough to even get a one liner back.
I put effort in to write a personalised message that is specific to their profile. If they glanced at our message for just 2 seconds they would know that.
If I think logically, they probably wouldn’t have even read my message if they had already been in contact with a sitter who had applied prior to us, but logic doesn’t come into it, we’re only human!
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I don’t mind being declined at all, it’s no different to me declining invitations to sit or skipping over listings…the wording when automated is meaningless it simply means NO and that’s OK. The important thing is to never invest too much in one sit as being almost essential to your plans. When you send an application it’s only a request to be considered as a potential match.
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That’s very kind of you but, should your chosen sitter not accept then you could have egg on your face and the declined applicants may not then be willing to sit for you.
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^This. If you go with a second choice after sending them that courteous message it puts a negative spin on it. The unspoken messages is that you found someone better but you had to go with someone else.
Send that message after the sitter confirms. The most recent message will be at the top of the inbox and probably first read,
I realize that’s the risk. I prefer that risk over having THS abruptly notifying declined applicants for me.
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I like your approach and might steal it (asking for feedback about the decline) ! Assuming that you’ve done this more than once, do people respond with any regularity ?
If so, what sorts of answers do you get ? Thanks.
Actually I haven’t. This one took me aback though because it was within only minutes. But I might use it again.
This! At the end of the day, it does need to happen but, I am in a stage of feeling pure rejection right now. I don’t know why, but I am taking it so personally!
I agree with your approach. As a sitter, I prefer to get an answer to my message and be told the truth. It’s not any better to be kept waiting knowing my message has been read.
We’ve hit a bit of negative streak of about a dozen declines, so if anyone has any magic application tips I am all ears. Getting declines with 5 minutes of an application is unpleasant and getting a lot of declines is such a time waster.
For context - 8 years with THS, 60+ 5 star reviews. I would like to look up later and the sits where we were not selected were usually completed by brand new users. What’s weird is that many of these users’ profiles are not clickable, so they did like one-two sits and left the platform. I guess HOs prefer new users or they are quicker to apply, smh.
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Don’t wait! Apply to other sits that you would like. And as @BonnyinBrighton also said, don’t invest too much in an application: don’t put too much work on it (put that energy in your profile), don’t get invested emotionally before you get a sit confirmed.
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This is the first comment in this thread that I totally agree with. My applications take about 5 minutes to write, if that. First paragraph, I’d like to come and sit for (cats’ name); second paragraph, have/haven’t been to your area; third paragraph, please look at my profile and reviews (100+ 5* and a 1* which is explained).
I am celebrating my 10-year cat-sitting ‘career’ with THS this month - 6 days until the anniversary of my first sit. Does it matter if I get declined? No, it doesn’t, other sits will come up. Does it matter if somebody doesn’t send a personal message to say why I wasn’t selected? No, it doesn’t, I just accept that another sitter is a better fit for the HO, for whatever reason (your application wasn’t the first received; they’re looking for a couple/single; they’re looking for male/female; something in your profile doesn’t fit with their expectations/situation, etc. etc.). Sometimes you may not want to hear why you were not accepted. This isn’t personal, it’s a transaction. But the transaction will often lead to repeat sits and friendship. It’s a rewarding lifestyle if you don’t take it seriously.
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Replying with a short personal note is simply a matter of courtesy. In that case, why not just click a button to send our application ?
It is of course not a serious issue to receive an automatic decline notification. It just gives the sad impression that we are all robots.
If the HO wish the PS to sit for them in the future, the least you can do is to send a personal message.
Courtesy is a very personal concept, according to each individual’s education and culture.
However, a quick response is welcome so that we can make arrangements or choose other sits.
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