How to get my first sit & profile feedback

Hi I am new to THS I joined last month after I lost my own kitty. I am looking for any tips /tricks to get my first sit. I’ve applied to 2 so far, one was local and the other was in the UK (I’m in the US).

I’m hoping people could take a look at my THS profile which is linked in forum profile. Any feedback is welcome!!!:heart_hands:

I’m also wondering how much to say in my initial message / application.

Examples:
Should it be short and sweet or longer?
should I talk about their pets or home?
Should I talk about capabilities?

I know they are able to view my profile, so I don’t want to be to repetitive, unless that’s a good approach.

I look forward to any help & feedback, as I am missing cuddling animals and hope to do it again soon :dog::heart_eyes_cat:

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I am a sitter but I think your profile looks really good! If I was the homeowner I would certainly offer you a sit. When I respond to homeowners I refer to their pets by their name. I make sure they know I carefully read their profile and maybe ask a question I may have that is pertinent to something they mentioned. I don’t think you will have problems getting sits.

Happy Travels!

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Welcome to forum @KerriL !

To get more sits it is important to have some THS-reviews. It will make a big difference to have some. See if you can apply for some local and/ or short sits to get reviews. For local sits you can for instance offer to come over or meet somewhere pre-confirmation or pre-sit which can be an advantage, and the short sits generally have fewer applicants. Some hosts will also regard local sitters a plus as it is a possibility to have repeat sits for the pet. You can also look for the Low application-mark.

But at the same time, consider if a sit is a right match for you. Good vetting give good sits and good reviews.

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I’m looking for a last minute, weekend sitter this coming weekend in Alexandria, VA. I’ve posted my sit, so if you’re interested, please apply. If you have trouble finding my listing, please message me here.

Welcome @KerriL
When I started on THS a few years ago it took me 23 local sit applications to get my first sit. I’m now on 23. Good luck

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First, and most importantly Welcome to THS!! It’s a great, interesting and diverse community of animal lovers.

I have written a pretty brutal critique here based SOLEY on the portion of your bio section “My Experience” …. That’s all I’d read when I started my diatribe here.

After writing this, I read your WHOLE bio and it’s like two different people wrote everything outside of the “My experience” section! That “My Experience” section needs work. It’s the first thing owners see. The later section(s) sounds like a mature, competent, level, professional, lovely person wrote it! … SO… take this with a grain of salt and consider rewriting your “My experience” sections with the care and maturity of the rest of it and with these (admittedly, rather harsh) thoughts in mind. (disclosure, I have both cats and dogs - the cat is easy, I “shop” mostly for dog sitters)

Okay….

At the beginning of your profile all I saw was cats, cats, cats… right away I thought, okay, she’s a “cat person - cool" but I questioned the extent of your experience with dogs.

“Since you were 16” is not especially impressive in this animal-centric community. Lifelong pet owners are more the norm for the truly experienced sitter. That’s not to say that there aren’t GREAT sitters who didn’t grow up with pets, but given a choice the “I grew up with animals” folks win. I’d delete that phrase “Since I was 16”.

I had to look up what the word “Wasband” was. Learning what it was did not add anything useful to your bio. I thought maybe I’d learn something interesting and Wasband was some kind of hip, new communal situation or something…lol. Nope. IMO - Delete that.

To be completely honest, I’d have stopped reading at this point and politely declined your application. I’d have missed the other sections which would have kept me on-board with at least interviewing you! First impressions matter a great deal - especially when one can be very selective.

It’s great that you eventually mention the dogs you’ve sat for. That means folks with easy dogs might feel comfortable with you as a sitter. (But why locking the dog in a bathroom? I don’t think that’s a universal calming action and, frankly, sounds a bit weird unless there’s a hurricane or maybe on fourth-of-July. Personally, I’d leave that out). Experience of #2 non-THS reviewed sits is not “extensive” experience.

Rather than a tale about cooing to Cruz for bedtime - maybe just say you’ve got experience with crate-trained dogs. (but mentioning someplace that you’re able-bodied and can carry a 40+ pound dog could be a plus!)

When you say “experience with medications,” what is the extent of that. Can you properly “pill” a cat? (Head back, drop pill, poke with finger?) or give SQ fluids? Clean wounds? How about “managing” health conditions - can you take a temperature? Give insulin injections? Put on an Elizabethan collar? You say you can “Handle any special needs…?” Really? Be honest.
(Okay, after reading your whole bio it’s clarified more a bit later with specific diseases, but do be specific about abilities if you have them)

You use the phrase “extensive experience” near the end. I’m sorry but that might be overselling. I’d just say “with my experience.”

There’s NOTHING wrong with presenting yourself as a clean, conscientious, motivated and honest person who wants more animal time. Some owners simply want someone mature, calm, self-sufficient, clean and level-headed to feed/water/hang out with their pets and watch over their home. Those with animals with special needs appreciate hearing specific examples of your abilities if you’re truly capable of offering them.

Keep it simple - don’t try to sell yourself as something you’re not! You never really know exactly who is evaluating your ability to care for their pets - (hint, hint) they might be a dog trainer or veterinarian or vet tech who has a pretty good idea of what “extensive experience” truly means. :wink:

Proofread your writing too - I think you intended to say “bedtime” but it was truncated.
Check spelling (though not in your bio, in your forum intro you mention “loosing” your cat - it’s “losing”). Unfortunately, things like spelling and grammatical errors can be dealbreakers if an owner gets tons of applications and something like that is in your bio. (You never know what little things bug people)

As an overall suggestion - be efficient and honest with your words. Don’t try to oversell yourself. Be concise but thorough and specific.

Owners are often looking at many applications and don’t appreciate wading through unnecessary fluff. In your initial private message to them be fairly brief. Let your general THS bio do the selling, but if relevant do say a thing or two to owners about why you’re a good fit. Don’t overdo it however if there’s a legitimate reason that it’s an exceptionally good fit for you share that. My next sitter has a sit north of me then wants to be at her aunt’s house (south of me) for Thanksgiving and I’m on the way - our dates align - she has tons of great reviews, etc. it’s a win/win so we both confirmed.

When you get to the interview let them ask you questions, but be prepared with a few of your own. Make your expectations clear. Will you need a car? How far is the vet? If you’re not bringing your own car will you rent one? Will you expect your owner to loan you their car? If so, ask them then and there. (That can make or break a sit). If they’re not offering their car in their bio, they’re probably not wild about the idea.

Sadly, many won’t even consider sitters who don’t have a bunch of THS sits under their belts all with five star reviews, especially if they live someplace that gets lots and lots of applicants. They can afford to be very selective.

For you, I would apply to lots of sits in places that might not draw lots of applicants. You know, the places you’d never want to live. Apply for sits with cats but take the sits that also have easy dogs when you can. Once you get some sits under your belt and start getting good reviews, you can get bolder about applying in the places you really want to visit. I’d also try to get some more experience with dogs outside of THS if I were you. A GREAT way to get some would be to volunteer at a local shelter to be a dog walker - get some experience walking reactive and anxious dogs - having something like that on your resumé would reflect very, very well.

Best of luck to you!
(and sorry for the brutality - just being honest!)

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Hi @KerriL and welcome to THS! I’m a HO with a dog, and I tend to agree with @DogMomster here.

Maybe it’s cultural (USA vs Nordic countries), but I do feel uncomfortable when there’s a vibe of overselling. That seems to be more common for sitters from the US in my limited experience.

Also, as @DogMomster mentioned, the part of putting a dog in the bathroom to calm them might have been a good and appropriate solution for that particular dog. But when I, as a dog owner, read that, I can’t help but to think you locking our poor frightened dog alone in the bathroom when she’s terrified by fireworks or loud thunder. You might not, but that how my mind works.

The story of carrying Cruz into his crate every night when he didn’t want to go there, also makes me feel not so nice. I know crating is a standard practice in some cultures, so in that situation you did nothing wrong. But for someone from a country where crating is banned, that still makes me feel like a lack of empathy from yuo’re side (which it’s most likely not in reality!).

I guess my main point is: if you are looking international sits, you might want to tweak your profile a bit. Now the tone is a bit too “artificial” and I find it hard to believe in the extensive experience you are writing about.

And a bonus: the thing that would put me off from going forward with your application would be your last pic with the snake. It looks like from a snake show or similar. They’re often not the most ethical places, so for me that type of pics (with snakes, elephants etc.) are kind of a red flag in a sitter profile.

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Thank you so much for taking the extensive time to look my profile :heart_hands: I’m truly appreciative at the details you have an the time it must’ve taken.

I plan to work my profile again tomorrow given yours and others feedback. I’m truly grateful about pointing out how the anecdotal parts I wrote about watching Cruz may have come off in a way I had not intended.

In case you have any suggestions on how to convey this (or if that’s even necessary) Cruz has very high anxiety, and unfortunately for my neighbors we only know it sound related, previously he had around 5 foster parents who returned him. It was only when my neighbors found him, did he have a a forever home.

We do live in Baltimore City and we have firework (on many holiday & I have watched him over the 4th of July as well as New Year’s), well as lots of popping noises that might sound like thunder
or gunfire to a pup with anxiety.

In these instances the owners told me how to calm him down, which on top of giving him anti anxiety meds (time permitting) is go into the bathroom (the most interior room), bring him with you, and turn on the fan. This so he can’t hear all the loud sounds surrounding the building I stay with him there, while holding him and sometimes sing him songs. This is all I a n effort to distract him as teb loud sounds pass (fireworks, storm, etc)

I realize now the way I wrote it it sounds as if I’m not in there with him holding him.

I know my profile now comes off a lot as cats cats cats, and I know that’s because I just lost my cat last month. I should however put more emphasis on how much I do love dogs and currently care for them regularly.

I’ll remove my term “wasband” (was my husband) which is how I affectionately refer to my ex, as we’re on good terms… (I thought it could be a conversation starter).

I’ll continue to make adjustments, and I hope I can reach back out for your opinion on my updates.

Also, if any additional information I’ve now provided gives you any ideas on how to better describe myself, I’m all ears!

Truly appreciative & grateful :call_me_hand:

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Cruz needs to be crated at night because otherwise his anxiety will overwhelm him, and he becomes very destructive. He is torn up carpets completely (like half of an apartment)… He will dig almost through a couch, he will lick himself raw, etc… so while all he wants to cuddle on the couch, and not go in the crate, due to his destructive tendencies, his parents have asked (very reasonably in my opinion) that I crate him overnight.

I’m not sure how to find the words to say that, I know how to pick him up even though he’s a very big dog, and carry him like a sad baby (his big eyes) and put him to bed. To which afterwards, I put on sleep sounds, and make him as comfortable as possible… In the morning he’s always fine and I realize he’s kind of playing maybe with his big adorable :eyes: :dog:

Regarding the snake was while I was out at an outdoor festival in my home city of Baltimore (fells point festival). These types of events happen often, and the snakes I’ve held (as far as I can tell) are very loved. If your wondering, I do believe this is a form of panhandling, but I don’t think any of what happens is cruel to the animals, butniw knowing that it can in anyway give that vibe, I will remove it, as that was not my intention, nor the way I feel about animals.

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I would say leave out the stories about Cruz all together and just state you do have experience about dogs with anxiety issues. No need to go into details on the listing, these things can be discussed with the HO on a video chat if relevant for their situation.

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I’m posting some screen shots of your listing to show how it looks to this homeowner when I scroll through and don’t click on any of the Read more links.



It’s all about cats and specifically Sophie. The experience you describe in the first paragraph seen is very generic. Put more specific information there about your skills with dogs as well as cats. Say you regularly look after a very energetic Doberman and an extremely anxious pit bull. No need to go into detail about them.

Then come the references: first one repeats cat mom and animal lover. If you can change the order of the references, I would put Camryn’s reference first as it’s much more specific and mentions your care of her dog. Next in order should be Kristen’s because she explains that you sit for many other people in your apartment complex.

About – my suggestion:

I work fully remotely as a Salesforce Consultant based on the east coast of the US [for those non-Americans who can’t immediately place Baltimore] who is passionate about animals. I recently lost my 22 year old cat and miss her terribly. I’m also a dedicated traveler and have explored [list places you’ve traveled to]. My current petless state means that I am free to work from anywhere and caring for pets at the same time would be a huge bonus/great joy/heal my heart, etc. [after this you can go on about yourself and list the health/medical care you’ve provided]

Why I want to house sit

Too long. As a HO, profile-fatigue sets in and for a long time I didn’t even notice this section after I’d gone through the reviews. You will have covered the essentials of Why in the About section. You can say you’d like to visit other parts of the US or certain countries/continents. That gives HOs not based in N. America an idea of where you’d actually be willing to go since you haven’t specified any Preferred countries.
You sound like you’d be an excellent sitter – you just need to be more concise and put the information the most relevant to a HO in the first paragraph of each section. Good luck!

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Thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback I will make adjustments based on your suggestions tomorrow.

Cheers!!!:call_me_hand:

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Hello Community!!! I have made several changes to my profile @KChev @CatsAndDog @DogMomster I am hoping you can take a look when you have time and let me know what you think. I sincerely appreciate the time you have already given me and my profile :hugs: As I hope to watch all types of animals in the US and abroad I hope I have made the right changes to get that message across :grinning:

Please let me know about any grammatical issues… with my ADHD I have tendency to misspell and/or overlook those errors, because I read it like its correct (even though it’s not).

The only thing I could not find a way to edit was the order of my references, I’m not actually sure how they are ordered, because it was not by the order in which I requested them. Which is unfortunate as my first requests were to my neighbors, as they would be the most relevant.

Thanks in advance!!!

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Much better, Kerri. Good luck!

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Well done @KerriL! In answer to your question re order of references, you have no control over that order. They will be listed according to which of your referees responded first to last.

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