Angela, you are wonderful, thank you for reviewing my profile and giving some great tips 
@anutaa_i , having good external references, I recommend five, are very important to secure your first sit. It’s especially good to have them written by people who have known you for a long time. In your application, I would focus on the pets and not so much their location. I don’t think HOs are especially interested in people who want to be there for the travel and sightseeing aspects. I also recommend going local, last minute and short duration, especially sits that don’t seem to be drawing much interest from other sitters. And offer to meet them in person before confirming- to make sure you are comfortable there and so the HO to can feel comfortable with you. Good luck.
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Hello @anutaa_i
I can tell you what triggers me as a HO when a new sitter applies.
At the moment, during these difficult times, I look for someone who is located not too far away, which means I would not accept someone traveling from another continent. People from EU countries are fine, because there aren’t any travel restrictions to be expected anymore with vaccines available everywhere.
This leads me to the next important thing to us and that is for the sitter to be vaccinated. Not only because we feel it’s important and we ourselves are vaccinated as well, but also because there are no or not many restrictions for fully vaccinated people concerning travel, shopping and eating out.
Of course above all our two cats are most important, and I decline an application right away when I have the impression that the applicant hasn’t read a word of my listing.
I had an applicant traveling from the US only mention her love for travel and to see new places and I missed the part where she should have mentioned that the care for our cats is her foremost motivation to apply. So this was a big NO for me.
Of course I also read references and reviews. What’s important to me is not the number of reviews but the quality. I know what leaving a bad review means for a sitter, so if another HO mentions that the house was not left reasonably clean and that important things like medication for the pets were forgotten to give, these are big red flags for me and I would not consider this sitter.
Age of the sitter is of minor priority, because we have experienced very responsibly behaving young people and an older sitter, who wasn’t reliable in the past, so age obviously doesn’t mean anything.
I base my final decision on a video call before I confirm so if you have made it this far (from my side) you’re almost the one chosen as long as the chat goes well.
Good luck for finally getting your first sit! All fingers crossed 
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Dear Heike and Harald,
Thank you very much for your feedback.
I will make sure to apply all the great things you mentioned above to my house sitting requests.
Hopefully you are staying safe & healthy!
Best regards,
Anna & Mads
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We just booked our first sit and it is close to my home town, not where we currently live. I do think that helped seal the deal for us. Best of luck!
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Hi @deardrush thank you for sharing your success and why you think it happened, apart from the fact that you are great TrustedHousesitters because while a degree of luck, being in the right place at the right time and circumstance contribute to the success you had to be the sitters that were right for the sit otherwise you would not be the owner’s right choice.
Congratulations and yes we always advise starting locally when and if you can, not always possible we know, having a great profile, good images, all the verifications and references and applying with a really well thought out well written application all helps to create the right impression for the owner looking for not just a sitter but the right sitter.
Welcome again and have a great first sit, we look forward to sharing in your new THS journey.
Angela and the Team
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A post was merged into an existing topic: Hello From California & TX
Hi Andrew, Look at the sits that are needing someone last minute…you might get one this way…and then build from there. Also try going for sits that are more local to you first. If there is a last minute/local to you sit going, then this might be the one that gets you started. Good luck and don’t lose heart!
If you have dog experience and are free over Xmas 2021, get in touch!
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Hi everyone. A potential sitter just told me that people are posting in the forum to say they are getting rejected because they’re new to the site. If you have dog experience and are free over Christmas 2021, please check my profile. I will grab you with both hands!
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Hi Thank you for being open to new sitters. I can’t find your profile so don’t know where you are located. Warm regards Caroline
Hello @Vicki64Vito20 and welcome to the community forum! And thank-you for your generous offer to newcomer sitters… we always say that everyone has had to start somewhere and there are many instances of sitters quickly getting onboard with their first sits, while for some others they do find it a little harder depending on their requirements. I’m sure your offer will be most welcome… and to help people find you, it is possible to add your listing link to your forum profile… You’ll find the instructions on how to do that here on this link. We don’t permit links in the comments, but you can direct people to your forum profile Thanks again! Vanessa
I assumed my name would come with thumbnail photo to click. I can’t find a profile page outside my own dashboard.
Try searching ‘Vicki Harris, Dedham’ or search owners in the Colchester area.
Are you interested in sitting for me?
Thanks
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@Vicki64Vito20 We are not allowed to post direct links to listings on this forum, but I had a quick look and your listing says ’ currently no sitter needed’ ? maybe @Vanessa_A can help
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Hi @Vicki64Vito20 … I think our comments may have crossed. As @Colin mentions we no longer allow links to listings in the topics and comments as it has become very confusing… as you are experiencing. I have replied to one of your earlier comments and put a link that will help you add the listing to your forum profile.
It does also seem that as Colin also mentions, you aren’t showing any available listing on the main TrustedHousesitters website. If you need help with this let us know, but that would be the first place to start with details of your upcoming sit. Hope that helps, Best, Vanessa
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Hi Vicki
I just wanted to thank you for being open to new sitters. We are not in the UK at the moment which is a shame because we would definitely apply.
I hope you have a very Happy Christmas and find a lovely sitter.
Kind regards
Caroline
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Hi Andrew, You may have found some great sits by now but if not from my own experience. I was very apprehensive at first, thinking nobody would want me as no reviews and others would be chosen. However I decided to start small and only apply for sits that only said 0-3 applicants. I also went for one in a not ideal location. Kind of treated it as getting a foot on the ladder. My very first was at Hemle Hemstead looking after a cat with a broken leg. The first sit I applied for and was confirmed immediately. Owner then enquired if I would be happy etc. as a previous sitter had walked out, saying they could not cope. Not a problem as kept in a cage so as not to damaged bandaged leg and just had to massage each day. Did entail a trip to the vets as medication caused diarrhea. A short stay of 5 nights I also applied for one at Lechlade a few days later for only 3 nights ,looking after 2 dogs, one aged 18 and one 12, which I also had. From those I had two good reviews, which then made it easier to apply for longer sits. So best advise I can give is to start small with short sits with the least applicants. Good luck and hope things have worked out for you.
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That may be because I have two listings, one filled and one unfilled. Thanks.
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I don’t know why the profile shows that, but it seems perhaps the dates got set up as private rather than public. I have deleted and redone. Fingers crossed.
Thanks
Vicki
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