Getting Your FIRST Sit

[KatieBurch]

Hi Folks! I am new to the trusted house sitter site and am wondering if anyone has any tips for getting your first sit. I am a professional with excellent online presence AND can work remotely but I have yet to be successful getting accepted to do a sit! Any suggestions would be so helpful!
Thanks!
Katie

[toml]

If you link you profile we might be able to give some tips. But - in your application make it show that you read and understand the posting - let the HO know that you have a sense of the kind of sitter they are seeking.
I can’t remember how many sits I applied for before getting my first, which was short - just a long weekend, and nearby. But #2 was a week across the country and I never met the HOs - they trusted me. And #3 and 4 were in the UK - couldn’t believe those folks took me a new sitter from the US. But they did.

[Smiley]

Hi Katie
This has been asked and answered before in the Forum.
If, before you start a topic, you put key words into the spy glass in the top right hand corner your question may already have been answered.
I did that for you and found this:

Rookie on the platform. How could I get my first sit?

Hi y’all! I’m Ricardo, 27 years old remote worker I’m new on TrustedHousesitters (create the account 2 weeks ago). I’m really having troubles finding my first sit and I totally understand it (I would look for someone with many reviews too if I had to leave my pets with a sitter). Any advice you could give me to achieve my first sit will be more than welcome! It’s really hard to find a sit with any reviews on the platform.

And this:

Getting your first house sit

Hello everyone! I’m new to trustedhousesitters but look forward to getting started. My wife and I travel teaching improv workshops to kids. We love animals but chose not to have them because we travel full time. Someone told me about this site and i’ve applied for a few different stays but haven’t gotten anything yet and was wondering what is the best way to get your first stay or do people look for when someone messages them? Thank you

You will also find lots of advice in the website too!
Good luck!

[KatieBurch]

thanks appreciate this!

[KatieBurch]

Thanks for reaching out Tom! I really apprecaite the information.
I suspect i just need to get a sit under my belt

Admin Notice: Post moderated to remove profile link in comment.

[geoff.hom]

Welcome, @KatieBurch!

Totally agree with the others, including @Smiley; I like how she follows “teach a sitter to fish…” . But I’ll comment more just for fun:

• It looks like you tried to put your profile link in the post? Per guidelines, the mods don’t allow that. We just roll with it and put the link in our profiles, which I see you’ve done nicely! I used to worry that a new person’s profile link isn’t clickable, but that’s temporary. For more details, I made a detailed reply here: Bit of Advice Needed First Time Owner Looking for Sit in Near Future - #24 by geoff.hom
• To get your first sit, I’d focus on local, short. I suppose short doesn’t necessarily matter, but some people want to sit only as travel. Rather, think of the first sit as training, or a staycation, whatever will motivate you to find one and try your best. As you’re local, when you apply, you can offer to visit in person beforehand.
• To really up your game, search for other sitters and check out their profiles. You’ll find some similarities amongst the top ones, and/or some new ideas will speak to you. This includes photos, headline, references, and of course the description. And photo captions, though I never see those because I use the website (vs the app).
• Oh yeah, keep in mind the differences of the app vs the website. Or at a bare minimum, check out your own profile on the app vs the website. I personally use the website more because I like typing and it’s more stable (than the Android app, at least).
• Think of this as a stepwise process: 1) find a local sit (or sits) you think you can do and want to do → 2) apply → 3) converse with the HOs/PPs, via any platform/etc. → 4) get confirmed → 5) confirm → etc. The important point here is that 2) gets you to 3); it doesn’t have to get you to 4), though it may.
• If you’ve done most of what you can to your profile/search and still want more help, just ask here! People are happy to give advice on search/application techniques, as well as feedback on one’s profile.

Welcome to the start of a great adventure!

[Lokstar]

Hi Katie & Welcome!!
Some great tips from @geoff.hom & others already- I can add a couple more!
Many people recommend local short sits to get you going and that’s great. But all depends on your circumstances at the time. You really can apply for anything and everything that takes your fancy!

For example my hubby and I are German/English and we were in Bali when we applied for our first sit. It was November and we wanted a Christmas Sit for 3 or 4 weeks so we just applied for everything interesting within reasonable & cost effective flying distance! This included Singapore, Kuala Lumpur & Perth, Australia! We landed a 4 week sit in Perth with 2 cats in a house 10 mins drive to the beach! Fellow first timers- they were a young couple heading to India to get married! We all took a leap of faith and everything fell perfectly into place! It was a great experience but not the typical first Sit- long and international! But just to show anything is possible. That was 4 years ago and we are now on our 58th Sit- in Singapore!

In your application be sure to show lots of interest in the pets and home- use the pets names as often as possible! Sell yourself and the reasons why you’d be perfect for the sit. Everyone has to start somewhere and once you’ve got your first review it’ll get easier!
Good luck!