Hi! I have only received one application for a sit that begins in six days. She seems great and has a reference, but hasn’t done any sits yet and no reviews. Any recommendations for what I should ask or look out for to be extra careful in vetting this application?
@YourfriendJP I suggest a video call or a meet up if the sitter is local .
Then you can chat about the sit, their previous experience, what your expectations are from a sitter, care of your pet etc.
A conversation Face to face will either reassure you or raise concerns. If they are local and can meet up, you can see how they interact with your pet.
I would suggest this for all sitters , even if they have lots of good reviews. You still need to connect and see if they are a fit for you.
We joined THS this year , with only a couple of references and are very grateful to the first four hosts who took a chance on us , by confirming sits before we had any reviews. ( we had video calls or at least a phone call with all of them before we agreed to sit) All of the sits went well, all gave us 5⭐️reviews after the sit and all invited us back.
Just to add that if you don’t connect with this sitter after the video call - you can post your listing in the last minute section of the forum and or ask member services to promote it on social media that way you may attract more applications.
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Go with your intuition, video chat and you’ll know if she feels right or not. Ask her why she’s doing this (if her profile doesn’t cover it), is she doing this simply to travel, or because she adores animals, you’ll be able to tell.
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As someone who worked so so soo hard to get my first sit, I feel you should give this sitter a chance. If she seems nice on video call, through messages, has a great external review, there’s really no reason not to. Every sitter just needs that first chance, and if anything I feel like every sitter’s first sit is the BEST sit they ever do, because they’re working so hard for that 5 Star review. If you only have one applicant, there is also no need to be too fussy - it works both ways.
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I would say, don’t feel pressured to go with this sitter since they’re your only applicant and the sit starts in six days. If you don’t feel completely comfortable don’t try to talk yourself into it.
You can post your listing here on the forum since it starts in less than seven days. Create a new topic and put your listing in the body of your post. Forum members will then be able to give you helpful feedback to help you attract good sitters.
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Hi I understand how it feels to consider a sitter with no reviews but I agree to speaking to them over the phone and establishing some appropriate boundaries and rapport. At least I believe that’s what I would do as brand new sitter on here.
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Hi @Thebubblyrn and a very warm welcome to the Community Forum and thank you for joining in with this thread 
For reference, as a member, you can also add your TrustedHousesitters profile on to your Forum profile by following the attached link, should you wish. This will then enable others to offer you helpful advice and feedback.
If you are unsure how to do this, or if you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to ask, we are all more than happy to help.
Also, remember you can use the spyglass symbol at the top of the page next to the TrustedHousesitters logo and search for any questions that you may have as they have most likely already been answered on here and of course if not then please just ask! 
As an update…I was going to consider this person as I really didn’t have any other options. We were scheduling a time to meet in person. Then they wrote and said that they decided to change their travel plans last minute and wouldn’t be in my city after all.
So frustrated!! This is the THIRD person to apply and inquire and then bail because they changed plans or accepted another sit and my sit begins in five days. I’ve had successful sits arranged other times. These dates seem to be doomed!
Hi @YourfriendJP I am sorry to hear that.
Would it be possible for you to add your TrustedHousesitters profile on to your Forum profile by following the attached link? This will then enable others on here to offer you helpful advice and feedback for your listing and will also give it extra exposure on here.
Also if you give @Angela_L permission on here, by replying to this thread, she can also promote your sit on other social media platforms.
If you are unsure how to do this, or if you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to ask, we are all more than happy to help.
Update to post. I have just seen that your listing is showing under the last minute sits. I would still suggest if you could give permission for your listing to be posted on other social media platforms.
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Yes I added to my profile. Thank you. Would love any feedback.
I definitely give permission!! I messages the help team a few days ago asking for that but no response. Yes please!!!
Hi @YourfriendJP I will tag @Angela_L so that she can then see you have given permission for your sit to be listed via other social media channels.
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Thanks @Angela_L but we just decided to pay a friend who is a house sitter so we can stop worrying about this. So we are removing the listing. Thanks!