How did you land your first sit with no reviews?

[Rena]

Hi everyone,

I’m fairly new to TrustedHousesitters and would love to learn from your experiences. How did you get your very first sit on the platform?

A little background about me: I graduated last year and currently work remotely for an IT company, which gives me flexibility to travel. I’m planning to spend time in the UK, Europe and New Zealand next year.

I absolutely love animals and have hands-on experience caring for my own cats and dogs. I’m also into photography, and I’m hoping to offer something extra by taking a small set of free photos of pets during sits as a thank-you to homeowners.

That said, I know starting out with no reviews can be challenging, and I’d really appreciate hearing:
– How did your first sit come about?
– What do you think helped homeowners trust you at the beginning?
– Is there anything you’d recommend doing (or avoiding) when starting out?

Thanks so much in advance — I’d really value any advice or stories you’re happy to share.

[Rhe]

Hi, welcome.

• local sits
• less-desirable areas (with no or very few applications)
• short sits (one or two nights) that more experienced sitters won’t usually take
• last minute sits

good luck!

[Rena]

Thank you, that’s helpful — I appreciate the advice

[Silversitters]

Welcome to the forum @Rena great question .

Our first four applications were accepted and confirmed very quickly ( within 24 hours) when we didn’t have any reviews yet !

We didn’t have a particular strategy at the time , but looking back these are some of the contributing factors that helped us get a sit.

They were lovely locations but not necessarily typical holiday destinations

Two were for hosts who were also new to THS and didn’t have any reviews !

The third was for school holiday dates, (when listed sits often exceed the number of available sitters)

In our application for the 4th one, we offered to meet up since we were relatively local , so I think that helped build trust.

Avoid - accepting a sit just to get a review if your gut is telling you that it is not a good match .

Do read all the responsibilities section and all previous reviews from sitters and look out for any red flags

[Travel]

Last minute sits, use your references, and any AirBnb experience you have.

At the end of the day homeowners are looking for someone they are comfortable to trust their beloved pets and home.

The photos are great, and so end up blasting the pet parent with photos, mine probably aren’t as good as yours though, lol.

Also I like to tells the pets stories (for pet story time) that include themselves and their pet family. Hearing the names of their pet parents and family as well as their own name in a story gets their attention. To craft this… use ChatGPT or your favorite AI, enter the dog breed, traits, coloring, habits, characteristics, environment, area and city to get stories customized for the pet. Do your best acting when reading. Then take the photo lol. ChatGPT will even turn the story into an ongoing series for your pet reading time. Sometimes I’ll send a snippet of the story in message. Not that it helps me get sits but though I’d offer it for sitters and pet parents. Pets typically like to read to when their names and their pet parents names are in the story.

As a sitter TH is the only pet houseitter service I use.

I love being a part of this community and have met some great pets and pet parents.

[BunnyCat]

We joined in the Fall of 2018 and after two months and 22 rejections we secured our first holiday sit. We are still friends and keep in touch with the family that helped us start our petsitting journey.

[pietkuip]

My first sit was a 10-days Christmas sit in Brussels. Two nice dogs, a beautiful home in a pleasant neighbourhood. I think it helped that I had my LinkedIn page linked on my profile.

And the photos of me with the happy dog of a friend.

[PVGemini]

We applied to at least 20 sits before landing one! We eventually got lucky. Our first host was a young person, in his late 20’s. His parents told him to “look for a retired couple” to sit for your dog (in San Francisco, very nice location).

We happened to fit the bill!

There is some great advice in this thread:
The perfect application?

Focus on how you can fulfill the actual needs of the host, rather than on how you are great at photography, and that you want to travel.

[HappyDeb]

You’re gonna love THS. The thing that will help you gain trust is being transparent in your profile about who you are, ie leave no question in the owners mind, because they probably won’t ask you for more info, they’ll just pick someone else.

We got given our first sit within our first week or two, and were sitting full time within 3 months, but we’ll have a completely different skill set/attributes to you, we sit as a couple, and we’re in our 50’s and 60’s.

The one thing I would say, is that I’m not sure if owners would see taking photo’s as unique, most sitters on THS send the owners regular updates with photo’s. We’ve done it with 100% of our sits, and we send the odd video too, so when you apply just don’t word that part in a way that makes you look naive as to what’s very normal with THS.

Good luck, we love it

[Marion]

Being a pet owner is an important part of your story. As you are a new grad and I assume fairly young, it’s important to make it clear that your “ownership” involved being the responsible caregiver and wasn’t just enjoying pets growing up with your parents caring for them.

Any housesitting you’ve done for others, friends, family members, paid, and volunteering is also important.

While some people say references don’t matter, having 3 references that speak to both your character and care of pets is important imo when you don’t have reviews.

I would be careful about phrasing the photo-gifts, as some sitters offer additional services and are clearly trying to get money for them and this can be a turn off. So just mention a love for photography and happy to send cute photos for updates.

In my case, I was a combined member, so I used that as part of my “story” and was able to easily get sits. I was fine with multicat homes and giving medication because I’ve done it for my own cats.

[Smiley]

I did have some references but, for my very first sit I offered to meet the owners. They had had a dog who died beforehand but had a cat. It turned out the male owner was a retired Met Police officer as am I, so I think that helped. Sadly the cat died before the sit started ( they had expected that might happen) but still wanted me to sit as it was winter time (lots of snow) for security. I will be for ever grateful that they took me on.

[catscatscats24]

Someone very fortunately took a chance on us, but even with that one review I did sits locally- returning twice to one, and then I was, and still am, really open minded on where we go and sit.

[Maggie8K]

It can be harder to get started if you’re younger, because some hosts look for sitters with more life experience, homeownership background and such. Some assume that older folks are more responsible. So figure out how to demonstrate that you’re trustworthy, responsible, communicative and such. Show, not tell, with your profile whenever possible. Having references can help in your circumstances.

From the outset, I figured that I should produce a profile that anticipated homeowners’ concerns. I prioritized homes that are owned (versus rentals) to better match with house-proud, clean folks with spacious homes. So for instance, I mentioned that I’ve owned houses over decades. I also highlighted my remote work, pet ownership, not smoking, etc. I didn’t bother with references, because I thought my profile was strong enough.

The first sit I accepted was an unsolicited invite. I’m guessing that I surfaced to hosts, because THS rotates profiles, including those of new members.

It was a six-week sit on the opposite U.S. coast from me. Two lovable, super easy dogs. Upscale home, with three guest rooms to choose from. Lovely landscaped yard. Weekly cleaners and gardener. Use of a late-model car. The home was near loads of amenities and the beach.

My hosts split the sit at my request, so I could go home for a spell. They were experienced on THS and showed great hospitality.

Separately, I landed my first actual sit (which happened before the one above), in San Francisco. That took seven applications to land. Great host and sweet, sweet, easy dog. Nice, comfortable home in a walkable neighborhood with plenty of amenities.

That host was a first-timer, chill and easy to communicate with. Also offered to pick me up at the airport. Gifted me with treats.

His dog helped give him peace of mind, because she slept with me in the guest room the night before he left.

[ElsieDownie]

The home owner was a sailor. So were we.

[Snowbird]

@Rena My approach was different to many others when I came to references. I approached just about everyone we knew, asking them to give a reference. I also wrote a thorough profile, but many do that.

We (I was with my ex then) lived in Niagara Falls, Canada. We were snowbirds and so we applied for a sit in Arizona. As it turned out, the couple were Canadians who had a home in Arizona for the Canadian winter. It was also their first time on the site. In those days there wasn’t a cap on applications, and they had many applicants. The wife reviewed the applications and narrowed it down to two. When the husband saw that one was from fellow Canadians, he said it was a no-brainer. We still had a video call but all four of us felt it was a good fit.

That was the start of what has been, for me, ten years of exploring. I only do a few sits a year now but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Debbie]

We joined in early August 2019 and our first sit was over the UK Bank Holiday weekend at the end of August - so I suppose it was last minute and at a busy time when lots of hosts were seeking sitters.

We knew we would have more chance if we didn’t choose a very sought after location, and we deliberately applied to homes that were nice, but ordinary like our own as we figured they would have less applicants.

At the time we sat as a family of 4 (now just my sons and I). My sons were 10 and 8 so we looked for family friendly sits, ideally with more than one pet, so that a family would be seen as an advantage. However we did want to make sure that our first sit was comfortably within our capabilities.

My profile included lots of photos of the boys with pets, and even a couple of them cleaning the chicken house at the school where I work. We didn’t have any references.

Our first sit was for a family with 2 children of a similar age. The pets were a senior cat and 4 chickens. The hosts were experienced on THS. We never actually met.

We have now done over 50 sits and have some regular repeat sits. We will always be grateful for the family who first gave us a chance.

[temba]

Back in 2016 when I became a sitter, there were far more sitters than owners so competition was high. I was also applying for the UK (I’m Australian) which made it tougher. References were important. After about 20 declines, I landed my first sit and it was for new owners so we were taking a chance on each other. There were no video calls, just messages through the Inbox. It was a great sit and I returned the following year to sit for them again.

You are presumably younger than many of us so may not have your own home. If I was a host you were applying to, I would not only look at your experience with pets but also your experience at managing and looking after a house, garden, and would want to know how you would cope in an emergency e.g we have experienced severe bushfires at present so how you would cope evacuating yourself and the pets in your care would be important.

[karilill]

I joined TH in 2019 when my son started working for United Airlines, and as his parent, I am able to fly free anywhere in the world. (I would not be able to do this otherwise.) My first sit was in London with a lovely woman with 2 cats. This was her first time using TH and it was also my first time petsitting. Neither of us knew what we were doing. I landed in London and realized I had no idea of her exact address. When I was asked where I was staying, I used an address where I lived 39 years before while studying at the University of London. I then texted her to find her actual address. Both of us were completely clueless, and it was quite comical. We have remained dear friends, and we keep in touch to this day. I always visit her when I am in London and love her extended family as well. It was a blessing, and I am grateful to have had this as my first sit. Whatever I said in my application, I was just true to myself, and it somehow worked. I remember thinking this would be a perfect sit for both of us, and it was. It seems that the majority of my sits that I have been chosen for reflect this feeling when I applied.

[ABGM]

Agree with putting in as many references as you can from people who can evaluate your responsibility, maturity, pet care skills etc. (as opposed to friends who’ll just say you’re a great person). Do you have any Airbnb reviews and are they good? You can link that.
Write the best “pitch” you can for yourself in your profile. Not a big word salad, just highlight your experience and why you’d be someone hosts can rely on. Write the best pitch you can in your application too – ditto.
People get really prickly when sits are compared to “jobs” with “interviews”. Yes, it’s a mutual exchange here, but I do think you need to “sell” yourself as a sitter in a similar way as convincing someone to hire you for a job. Offer a video call; let people get to know you a bit face-to-face. Many owners will rely on the vibe they get here.
Local, short, last-minute sits can get you some reviews before you embark on your bigger travel goals.
I wouldn’t bother mentioning the photos as “why you should pick me”… owners may be more interested in having a reliable sitter than a photoshoot of their pet. I usually send owners some closeup portraits taken on my real camera as opposed to the phone snapshots in updates, but I usually leave it for a little surprise after I’ve left. It’s a little extra thank-you that I’ve never thought of as a reason they should pick me.
Keep trying and don’t be discouraged at being declined – eventually someone will take a chance on you and you’ll have a foot in the door.

[GotYourBack]

@Rena, we invested time & effort to develop our THS profile (photos, text, completeness). In early video calls we would have spent time reading listing carefully and preparing questions. Some part of this worked as we did not struggle to secure sits. Our first housesit - not THS - was in our home country but many hours drive away. On THS, none of our first 15 sits were in our home country!