@Twitcher Thank you so much for your encouragement. I will keep you all posted as to how they go! This is excellent feedback and I will certainly make sure it is seen and passed on as with all of this feedback.
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Hello, @Aristocat I am sorry that has been your experience. We sometimes see sits like this but as mentioned I have found some wonderful sits, so please keep looking as there are opportunities. Where are you looking to sit?
As a new member you can add the link to your TrustedHousesitters sitters profile to your forum profile, and then community members can help you with feedback and tips.
Best wishes Carla.
My latest newsletter encourages me to dream about Paris!!! It’s right there in writing. So THS , stop making it impossible or stop taunting me.
Thank you for calling me up on that one, to clarify my husband and I both work and I meant to use it as an example of a time span, we did not spend the whole week applying. We applied to 7 sits in the evenings, around things we were doing. I do have saved searches on my App so tend to apply via the App for ease and quickness. But that was around our normal lifestyle and we fit the video calls in with the owners on lunch breaks and after work if we were free.
@Aristocat I am sorry that you feel so disheartened. Everyone was a new member once, including me. It took me a while to get started too. Many sitters travel and work remotely or are nomadic and complete many housesits in a year, it’s the ethos of the site.
“I have applied to NY city before the new rule and I have waited in a list of 30-plus applicants and never got a reply or was picked, just the way it goes for me I guessed at the time.”
But you had the opportunity to apply.
Yes not getting picked for one sit led me to other wonderful sits. there are fantastic, super, fabulous sits out there. This is strictly about being blocked from applying . That there are tons of great sits I can get shouldn’t (I don’t think it should be) be looked at as a consolation
for not being able to apply for ALL . I don’t just voice my opposition here. I also continue to send my concerns to the help site. I feel very strongly about this.
I would like to edit to " I dont think it should be from it shouldn’t be. " to respect the other opinions and different experiences.
The way that I use THS in my life is not the same as other members and my experiences influence my ideas .
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@ExploreDreamDiscover Thank you for sharing your perspective, it may be different from mine but that is the great thing we all get to share our experience here.
As mentioned I shared as a sitter myself and fully understand as with everything in life we will not all have the same experiences. I can definitely pass all of the feedback on this thread onto the product team.
Best wishes Carla.
@Aristocat I see @Carla’s position differently to you. I don’t see their experience as being the major factor in being chosen for a sit.
It appears as though those who are quick enough to get into the first five are most likely to have an edge over others most of the time.
A new member in a group of five is more likely to be selected than had they applied under the former system, where in Carla’s example, 30 applications were received.
I agree that experience may count in some instances, where all other factors are equal. However, we’ve seen so many times that why owners select sitters varies considerably. I well remember an owner who would not select a sitter with long hair. The reasons are as varied as the sitters. 
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How the 5 limit rule affects you will depend on the types of sit you are looking for. If you are only looking for cat sits in London, Paris, Barcelona, NY etc your choices will be limited and the need to be one of the first 5 will be vital to be in with a chance of being considered.
The problem with that is that it doesn’t give you the chance to read the homeowner’s requirements thoroughly, do any research on the area etc. Many sitters will be pressured into submitting a very quick application which is of no benefit to anyone.
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@Carla
I would like to edit to " I dont think it should be from it shouldn’t be. " to respect the other opinions and different experiences.
The way that I use THS in my life is not the same as other members and my experiences influence my ideas .
I appreciate what you do for us on the forum .
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Hi @ExploreDreamDiscover @Carla is now offline, I see that you have edited your original post.
Thank you for showing respect for other members and expressing appreciation for the help our team provides to the community, it’s what we are here for.
Carla,
If you were applying in a different time zone this would not be the result. Especially if you wanted London or European cities and were applying from the USA.
Every day I am disheartened to be unable to even send an application to sits that were exactly where we wanted to be. I could go online now and easily confirm seven sits but not in the locations I want to travel to. Every morning when I wake sits are paused because of the time difference. All sits are not available to everyone. Anyone applying to a different time zone is at a major disadvantage.[quote=“Carla-Moderator, post:29, topic:28917, full:true”]
Thank you for calling me up on that one, to clarify my husband and I both work and I meant to use it as an example of a time span, we did not spend the whole week applying. We applied to 7 sits in the evenings, around things we were doing. I do have saved searches on my App so tend to apply via the App for ease and quickness. But that was around our normal lifestyle and we fit the video calls in with the owners on lunch breaks and after work if we were free.
[/quote]
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@Aristocat @Carla has now gone off line.
There is no guarantee of success when applying for any sit and joining the site to apply for a specific sit, in a specific location, for specific dates can lead to disappointment of expectations regardless of the new functionality, especially if those expectations are focussed on highly popular locations. Our advice for all new members is to start locally where possible, to build up reviews and trust levels, the more flexible you are, the more opportunities you’ll have.
It’s not uncommon for new members to struggle getting started pre and post the new system of pausing applications there are many variables, being one of the first five doesn’t guarantee success either and full time sitters are in the minority, the majority use the platform in a similar way as you intend to.
Our community are helpful and supportive and Carla suggested uploading the link to your profile to your forum profile which is an excellent suggestion because we have found when new members receive valuable feedback on their profiles from other members it helps set them up for success when applying and having profiles viewed by pet parents/owners.
There is much help available and we would really like to support you in achieving success
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Hi Carla, Congratulations on securing some sits in NY and Washington. It’s great being in the spot to apply when new sits appear. It’s another story if you’re in a different time zone. We’re is Sydney looking for potential sits in Italy and Portugal. When we wake up in the morning all the ‘new’ sits seem to be paused while reviewing applicants. So no chance to get an application in. Can you suggest any strategies we can use to overcome this problem?
FYI We’ve been with THS for seven years with 30+ five star sits.
Cheers
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Admin Notice: We do understand the concerns of members and assure you that all of your feedback is passed on to the Product Team.
We closed the Pausing Applications Topic because of repetition, the topic had been discussed in depth and from every perspective including the points raised throughout this thread.
Another compelling reason for closing a topic is when other members request us to do so as this forum is a space for all of our members.
Thank you everyone, the team will connect with this thread and see your comments.
Post Closed
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