I love your photos!
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thanks so much @Timmy I appreciate it and yes we really do love them (often more than humans haha)
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thank you so much @Snowbird I appreciated the guidance (clear and confusing!) as to make this come across as we really do want sits.
I feel a little like I have unintentionally hijacked @ArtistDoug 's thread a little though - Doug do you feel you have received some advice on how to move forward?
@ArtistDoug this is the point I have made to @Vanessa_A - it does lead you that way doesn’t it? Hopefully they can add more to the suggested text
Hi Doug,
We are relatively new to THS and are both homeowners and sitters. We are so lucky to have begun to get sits (since January 2022) and have loved every sit so far. In that very short time, and from gleaning vital information from the THS forum about how to improve our listing, profile and service to HOs (when sitting), we have learned so much. I am also a visual artist, so please take the following suggestions in the spirit in which they are intended: to land you your first sit.
In your profile, you do not list whether you are a smoker or non-smoker. You do not list if you are vaccinated and boosted against COVID and can provide proof. And your listing is unclear whether you’ll be traveling alone or with members of your family. These are crucial starting points because, as a HO who has sitters come into my home, we need to know who is applying to be in our home. That’s part of our decision-making process.
Please understand that the FIRST priority of being a sitter is care of the home and care for the pets. Not anything else. Please think about how to adhere to these priorities once you are in someone’s home so you can decide if this really is the way to go.
I mentioned that I am an artist, too. I got my BA in the fine arts and painting in particular. As a HO, when I see that you want to paint, my first thought is the smell of linseed oil, mineral spirits, etc., and also the chance for spills or getting paint on my floors, carpets, etc. How do you mitigate these concerns of a potential HO?
There are other points that others have raised about your profile, but I just wanted to mention these items specifically that might help you land a sit.
From all the feddback on the forum, I hope you are beginning the see how serious a job it is to be a pet/home sitter.
Truly, the best of luck to you.
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It’s always hard getting started. I still have a hard time getting accepted after gathering 15+ five star reviews. I also agree that there should be a free trial period of maybe 3 months, and subscribers should be allowed to get their refund if they are not satisfied.
My suggestion for you is to apply for local sits, or sits that are not as popular, e.g. the ones in more remote areas. Spend some time to get a nice foundation by gathering good reviews from THS homeowners first, then things should get easier over time.
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These are some good suggestion! If you would make your profile more detailed and fill in some blanks, I’m sure you’ll get tons of further suggestions on how to improve your profile and how to accurately display your experience with animals. The only thing we don’t disclose and don’t think is necessary to know in our public profile is our vaccination status (or any other non-relevant medical information), but for some HOs it seems to be a must (obviously we don’t apply to those sits).
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Ok yeah…I kinda am overwhelmed and did not realize how many of these comments in my email box had nothing to do with me. But it’s all good. I am learning…
I don’t think anyone is suggesting not being honest. But if there are things in your profile that might kill your chances because you can’t explain them there, especially if they’re not applicable to EVERY sit, I think it’s fair to remove them and bring them up during the email exchange so you can at least get your foot in the door and have the chance to clarify if it’s something that would impact that sit.
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To tell you the truth, I was still typing but accidentally sent it. I really sincerely did not mean to end it abruptly like that.
What I was going to say is that you have to think of it from the owner’s perspective. You can still say that’s what you want to do. But for example, say something like you are an artist and you will be remotely working while at their house. A lot of owners prefer remote workers because the sitter will spend a lot of time with their pet. Explain how your work will allow you to do that. The way it reads now, you say you don’t want distractions and as someone else said, pets are distractions.
I really do not believe that anyone wants you or anyone to misrepresent yourselves or be generic. Ttransparency is a cornerstone of the program, after all. That doesn’t mean that you have to do full disclosure or hold back on information. It’s your profile to attract potential homeowners. Other details are what are worked out once they are considering you for their sit.
That a good reply, full of very sensible suggestions.
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Have you looked at some profiles of other house sitters? Try applying for some house sits on a local website to get some experience and some reviews. It takes some time to build up a good profile.
Raye Australia
I see you… we hadn’t registered yet but will and wouldn’t mind where our sitters come from. That makes. Indifference as they’d be drying here anyway! Hope you get a better response soon x
I have been looking for a sitter for end Sept beg October for Scotland UK with no success. There are many house owners looking for sitters but not having any luck so it is working/ not working both ways!
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Exactly, in some countries politicians openly talk about there going to be new measures starting around October (in the northern hemisphere). We have accepted sits from HOs that we already know for this time period but would not dream of applying to a sit so far ahead, especially not in a different country.
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It’s been a tuff time with covid, etc. … keep trying … best of luck.
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Also agree that sept/oct is too far ahead to plan for. The UK MAY be ok to book for since they’ve never really closed their borders yet, but way too much can change between now and then. Except for full timers, people seem to be booking weeks ahead these days vs months.
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Hmmm maybe we can help each other!
Hi Doug,
I went through the same thing at first. I just kept getting turned down, even when I applied for local sits. I am currently on my first sit (in another state) and my second sit will be in August (another country). No luck locally at all. I think I completed my background check and started applying in mid-March. I know how terrible it feels to get all excited and then either hear nothing at all or just get a cold “declined” email. That’s the worst part of applying for anything, really.
I think owners do have to be a little more considerate and stop ghosting sitters, especially when sitters are expected to write heartfelt, personalized application letters. The expectation should be the same for both sides. Treat us the way you expect us to treat you. You want to know that we care about your pets and your home, so please… let us know you care about us too.
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