Hi, I’m new to the forum and to TH. My profile is live. I’m still working on fine-tuning it. I’m not great with things like writing a great headline, it’s kind of like choosing a title for a story, just not my strong point.
Can I get some advice from veterans on how to write an attention-grabbing headline that inspires confidence but also says something about me?
If I could get feedback on my profile, especially the About and Experience sections, that would be great too!
Thanks!
Are you planning to housesit in Florida? If so then be very careful when questioned on arrival by border officials! It’s unclear to me whether you have a US passport though as you have lived in the US. I would remove the fact you’re going to Florida from the heading.
Apologies, I haven’t read all your profile as the length put me off
We’re pet sitters. You’re headline “Caring, Responsible, Animal Lover” is a fantastic starting point, but you have no reviews with THS as yet and want to get a Florida sit straight away by the rest of your title, so that is likely to be a huge challenge, no matter what experience you have.
Without your first THS reviews, your profile is simply words, that can’t be proven, and your references could be from friends and family, who are naturally biased.
It will help you if you first get about 3 THS reviews first, by doing local sits or last minute sits, in Italy or the nearby countries, because you are more likely to get accepted for those sits given your location.
Pet owners just need a little proof that you will turn up when you say you will, etc, and proof that you are a caring, responsible, animal lover, and they naturally trust THS reviews more than outside references that are biased.
Then once you have a few reviews, you’ll stand a much better chance of getting accepted in other places.
We love our pet sitting life with THS, you’ll love it too!
@Smiley could you explain more about being very careful entering the US through Florida? Why Florida especially and what aspect are you referring to?
I do have a US passport and I am a US citizen living abroad. If it’s about the required address for your first night, I have two friends of the family in Florida, I gave one of their addresses though I will likely stay in a B&b when I arrive.
Bit of a cryptic message you left, please explain. Thanks!
@HappyDeb I appreciate the feedback, not sure I can squeeze in a local sit before my trip because I’m super busy preparing for my trip. I guess I’ll have to just hope that sometimes there are other things that count just as much as the reviews and that some HOs will be able to see this in my profile, and in a get to know you conversation. Any feedback on my profile would be helpful, whatever I can do to tweak it so I boost my credibility. Thank you!
If you have a US passport then no problem. It’s been a problem for non US passport holders entering the US & saying they’re housesitting when asked the purpose of their visit. There have been a lot of posts about this on the forum
I would change your first photo to be the one of you with the white cat. The most important element in a sitter’s profile is their comfort with animals.
I would add “US citizen” to the headline, Some homeowners are wary of using sitters from overseas in case they have immigration problems.
Your profile is definitely long, and would benefit from editing. Maybe ChatGPT could help if you have problems reducing. However, you probably don’t need AI if you are a writer!
Chat GPT in this incident is a great idea. Although I would only get ideas from it. Show you but a much shorter version of you.
I’m a sitter with THS for 10 years and I read your entire profile. It sounds like you have a lot of pet care experience but I think that can be conveyed to homeowners by condensing that experience into perhaps a few lines or one short paragraph. Also, it sounds like you absolutely adored your beloved pet Jessi and you are missing him a lot. I think I would just say that you lost your beloved Jessi and not go into so much detail as to how you are missing him. Not to sound harsh but some homeowners may think that you are not quite ready to look after their pets as your loss may be too “fresh” to move on. Just my thoughts. Best of luck!
@HappyDeb another thing I remembered is that there are very few sits in Italy on TH. Just now I checked and there are a total of three listings in the entire country, all of them too far away and/or dates that don’t work for me. I would have had to start doing this a year ago to get a couple of sits in before traveling to FLorida. But I only started planning this trip in December and only joined TH soon after so…send me some good luck wishes! 
THanks @Lassie, I am following your advice! Changed the photo, and the heading, and I’m working on shortening the about and experience sections. I don’t want to shorten them too much because they provide a good way for me to demonstrate my experience caring for animals and just giving people a sense of who I am. Do you have any specific feedback for the content, style or anything else regarding these sections?
I’m not much of a Chat GPT user. I also prefer the feedback of human readers with experience in this very specialized area. I’m already in the process of shortening it, any specific feedback about what to leave out and what to include is great! Thanks @Seniorsitter!
This is what ChatGPT did whn i asked it to shorten the first section:
I’ve cared for many animals throughout my life, often as favors or exchanges, because it’s been easy and enjoyable for me. In New York, I looked after friends’ and neighbors’ cats while they were away. As a teenager, I cared for my aunt and uncle’s farm, which included four Maremma shepherds, chickens, eight horses, and numerous cats. In Greenwich, CT, I helped with a garden and cared for two German pointers who jumped three feet into the air when I arrived.
I also volunteered at two animal shelters in Westchester, NY, where I built trust with cats and dogs, often through play. I fostered two terrier mix pups and later adopted a Persian-Angora mix named Jessi, who had special emotional and health needs. Jessi and I lived on a beautiful estate in Katonah, NY, where I cared for two cats and an elderly beagle while also helping with the garden and general upkeep. My favorite moment from that job was sitting in the snow with an orange tabby in my lap, warming his paws.
After Jessi passed away, I moved to Italy to be close to family. I understand how hard it is to leave pets behind and will ensure your animals are well cared for and comfortable while you’re away. I’m experienced with giving simple medications and supplements to animals, like mixing them into food or wrapping pills in treats.
My ideal sit involves caring for a garden, house, and a few easy-care animals—up to three cats, a small or medium dog, or other small pets. I can also care for larger dogs with an enclosed outdoor space or if they’re calm on a leash. I’m skilled in caring for plants, including large gardens and birdfeeders, and I’ll follow specific instructions for each plant’s care.
When I wrote my profile I just thought if I was the pet parent what would I like to know about them to help make my decision. I would like a condensed version of their experience with house and pet sitting. Remember they have 5 applications to read plus a whole life outside of this. A lengthy profile on your life story or even personal goals is not necessary and can be a pass. I would pass on a very lengthy and dragged out profile. I also want to show my personality, sense of humor. I also would put in your profile if you were a homeowner showing you understand pride in ownership and will be respectful to their home. I would want to get a sense that they really love animals and will spend time with them and are not there for a free place to stay. Big difference between just feeding the pets to actually bonding with them and enjoying them. Each pet becomes my grandchild for the time I am there. They all have their own delightful personality. Good luck on your adventures.
Hi @Stefania 
Welcome to the Forum and to Trusted Housesitters!
You’ve had some brilliant advice here, and I can see you’ve been asking questions and making changes where needed, we love to see it!
Wishing you lots of happy sits ahead.
Ok, thanks Lassie, I will take into consideration these suggestions.
@Seniorsitter thank you for the feedback. I am not a homeowner.
May I ask, have your read through my profile? Does it not convey how much I love animals, how well I care for them and how much they enjoy being with me? If not, what specifically can you suggest for me to express this better? And does it not show my personality? If not, what is missing that would express this more?
I will act on the advice to condense. I have done some of this already, I will do more. Thanks again.
You definitely love cats as do I. You like dogs as well but seem to have had more opportunities caring for cats which is fine. I just think for me your profile is too long. If you are comfortable with it keep it. You can always change it around. I have changed up mine after I had a few sits here. I thought some things I wrote were no longer relevant and added some other information. You have to be happy with your profile. You can start sending in applications. If you get rejections and not getting any offers you may want to politely email one or two PP’s and tell them you are new to this and can they help you out by giving you an honest opinion if something about the profile could be approved . Only thank them for their honest reply but do not start a conversation with them about it. Their opinion which you asked for. Just digest it and think about some of the answers you get. I don’t think I have any other help for you so I hope you get to Florida on a pet sit as you want. Good Luck
@Lassie, I have made most of the chat gpt changes you suggested. Just one thing, we didn’t live only on an estate in Katonah, we first lived in our private (rented) home for several years with about an acre of garden and woods around it before moving to the Katonah estate where we lived for a little less than a year, and then we moved to Italy where she lived with me until she passed away at the age of 14.
So, how would I word all of that or should I include it at all?