Thanks CatsandDog - you’ve answered my question and that’s exactly what happened - as we were offered the sit tonight! So looking forward to it 
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Hello everyone,
I’m a newbie sitter on THS and I’m trying to secure my first sit. I’ve been reading through this forum and everyone is so nice on there.
So far, I’ve sent my application for, at least, 10 sits I think. I was excited to sit cute cats and dogs (and even other small animals, figured it would be the ideal opportunity). But I’ve been getting rejections or left on read. It’s just a bit disheartening.
Do you have any advice ? I’ve listed my THS profile in my bio and i’ll take any tips, thank you !
except for the US, all of the countries you have as your preferred countries don’t get many/any sits. for US sits, without any THS references, you’ll need to convince them you’ll already be going to the US as otherwise they might worry that you’ll cancel. I would recommend starting closer to home in the UK as there are a bajillion sits there so it should be easier to get some under your belt and get some good reviews on your profile.
I’d also make sure you’re writing a good application letter that talks a bit about you and why you are choosing to apply for that sit and what you’re looking forward to.
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Great advice from @CreatureCuddler - add some easier and more plentiful places to sit that are closer to home and not SE Asia. Would also change your title to something like “Animal loving, experienced pet sitter looking for new furry friends” (don’t put the 25 thing as age sometimes goes against sitters & it’s a waste of your title characters). Your pics are fab and descriptor all good. Best of luck @Orianeuh #sittingfunstartsnow
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Thanks a lot @CreatureCuddler and @Cuttlefish for your responses and advises, i’m writing them down 
I’ve had experiences outside THS so i thought the references would do the job but dully noted on everything.
I’ve seen sitters explaining they include their personal contact infos, what do you think about that ? I’m not specially comfortable with the idea but if that’s a must
#anxioustomeetnewfurbabies
I’ve been writing individualised application letters but i guess it takes time
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You’re going to need to exchange your details at some point to do a call but it’s not required to do it in the application. I don’t. References and reviews do not carry the same weight so you’ll want to get some on-site reviews too. Where are you applying. Realistically if it’s anywhere other than the UK, you’ll almost certainly not get it due to either being super high in demand or concerns about distance from HOs.
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Hi @Orianeuh Your profile content looks good and your photos are great.
It can take a lot of applications to get your first sit. Once you have a review as well as references it becomes much easier. Also you are in France where there are a lower number of housesits that often receive 5 applicants very quickly, as I realised when looking for a housesit in France during the summer. The more rural housesits in France, where a car would be required receive less applications, but maybe you would be using public transport so they wouldn’t be suitable?
The advice from @CreatureCuddler and @Cuttlefish to consider applying for sits in the UK is good. There are often more sits than available sitters in the UK, so you have more chance of securing a sit without having to compete with sitters with lots of good reviews. I see that you have availability to sit in October. UK schools have a week’s holiday in late October - In my area the last day of school is Friday 25th October and we return to school on Monday 4th November. Some areas may have their holiday the week before this. So there are likely to be more people wanting housesitters in the UK over this period.
We did our first housesit over a UK Bank Holiday weekend, when demand for sitters would have been high. We chose to apply for a sit in an ordinary family home (we sit as a family of 3 or 4). We will always be grateful to the family who took a chance on us as new members with neither reviews nor references.
Good luck and keep applying. I hope to hear that you have secured your first sit before too long. Bonne chance!
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