Hello THS Community!
I am new to THS and I have applied to some sits but have been turned down. I want to be sure that my profile isn’t turning away potential pet owners so I am hoping to get some feedback on my profile.
I am super excited to start this journey!
Thank you so much!!!
Edited to add profile to forum profile
You look and sound like a lovely family. Great photos. Something perfect will match up for you, keep applying and good luck.
Your profile is superb and the pics are lovely. With all your experience with a variety of animals, large and small, caring natures and passion you’ll be snapped up! Good that you can sit as a couple or with your youngest also as that opens up even more possibilities for you. Owners will like the fact that you’ve built your own home and enjoy gardening. All the very best!
Great profile and photos @Jami. You have a wealth of experience and a true love of animals. We all have been where you’re at when we first joined THS. Just keep applying. If possible, apply for local sits, last minute sits, short sits or low applications sits who are more likely to take a chance on you. You’re looking for THS reviews to go on your profile and this is the quickest way to get them, even though the sit might not be ideal. Christmas/New Year sits are always plentiful with not the number of sitters available for the number of listings advertised.
You have a large number of pets/animals yourselves. As an owner, I would perhaps want to know who would be caring for them in your absence and how would you handle it if you were on a sit and one of your pets required emergency care. What would your Plan B be? As sitters, we ask this of prospective owners but an owner could well ask you this as well.
All the very best as I’m sure it won’t be long and you’ll be on your first THS sit!
To me as a HO your profile is great and if you were looking to come to France we would accept you. But we have loads of room and your daughters are the right age for our place ( which is not suitable for very young children). I would try applying to some local, last minute sits without your daughters. Maybe a weekend sit with just one adult. Then another similar sit with the other adult. With a short sit, a HO would worry less about the whole family turnng up after they’ve left. Be up front about your reason for taking these sits individually, that you’re new and trying to build reviews so that eventually you can do them as a family. Some HOs don’t believe they have enough room for 4 people or worry about wear and tear. It will just take time to build up trust.
We’d be thrilled to have you two stay here on our little farmlet in Northern CA. I think you’d enjoy it too! We don’t have a trip planned until spring but if ours looks good to you please favorite it so you’ll get notified when we list 
I do think you could pare down your profile as they are quite long and repeat a bit. Also I’d be curious to know how long you’d be looking to travel as you’ve got all those animals and a 13 yr old at home. Our trips are usually 2-3 weeks. Good luck and welcome, I think you’ll do well here once you settle in.
@Jami Wonderful profile! I am a fellow sitter but if I was a host I’d snap you up!! 
Very nice profile Jamie!
Your profile looks great and with all that animal experience, I would assume you will get sits soon. If you’re applying to high tourist areas, it’s hard to get sits accepted especially as a new sitter to the platform. We sit as a family and it’s always nice to meet other families on this platform. Welcome!
Hello @Jami we are sitters and home owners and this thought popped into my mind when I read about all your animals. You might want to cover off on your plan be in your profile, something like “We have great family and friends nearby who step in to care for our pets when we are away pet sitting”
Thank you so much! I will definitely favorite you!
Thank you for the encouragement! We will try to do some local sits with the two of us to start!
That is a great point! Our 20 year old son lives on our property so he would be caring for our pets, I will be sure to add that in somewhere. Thank you!
I will definitely add that! Thank you!
Hi @Jami and welcome to the forum from another family of Scouting housesitters! We are in the UK and I sit mostly with my 2 teenage boys (15 and 13) and occasionally also my husband.
Your profile looks great - you look a lovely family and I am sure you will soon secure some great sits. You have so much relevant experience and you clearly are very sensitive to pets needs.
It’s great that you can be flexible and do sits as a twosome or a trio. Make sure you make it very obvious in your application how many of you intend to sit as some hosts may assume it is all of you, especially if they don’t read carefully.
If you are able to secure a few last minute sits in less popular locations, that will help you build reviews, and once you have some good reviews, you are more likely to be chosen to sit. Most of our sits have been rural, and many of our early sits had a higher number of pets than most solo or couple sitters would typically be comfortable with, but were easily manageable for a family. I think this combination helped us build reviews as a family.
By the end of the year we will be on our 40th sit (we only sit during school holidays and weekends).
I’m looking forward to seeing you post on here that you have secured your first sit. I love to see other families enjoying house and pet sitting.
I am a sitter but if I was a homeowner I would shy away from your profile and pick another. You are trying too hard to display a picture perfect profile of you and your family and your profile is way too lengthy. I don’t need to know detailed information about your kids or all your volunteer work unrelated to animal care.
Also, you have lots of animals and a 13 year old. Who takes care of your animals and child when you are traveling? What happens if you are needed back at home with all that responsibility. Does one of you stay to take care of the homeowners pets and the other one returns home?
I would make your profile much shorter. Just talk about your animal experience because that’s what they are interested in.
I would disagree @Peri .
Being a Scout Leader shows a level of responsibility, and that they are likely to have undergone a background check. The same for being a sports coach.
Being firefighters demonstrates responsibility, the ability to keep calm and manage an emergency, community spirit and a level of medical knowledge.
All of the above attributes are relevant to housesitting.
Providing information about children allows hosts to decide if they are comfortable having housesitters with children. Information about hobbies (adult and children) allows hosts to identify with the sitters . If they have interests in common, they are more likely to feel a connection and choose them to sit for them. We have done many sits where we have similar jobs or hobbies to the host and their family. One host responded to our application with “Your family sounds just like our family!”. Who better to replace them in caring for the pets than another family just like them?
You obviously don’t feel a connection or common ground with this family. If you were a host, they would not be a good match for you. On the other hand. I feel that my family have things in common with them. If I were a host. I’'d be arranging a video call as they would be a good match for me!
You’re right, I don’t feel a connection to them and they would not be a good fit for me. I usually find that people that boast about themselves are the complete opposite in person. There is a difference between putting yourself in a good light and going completely overboard. I also can’t see their 20 year old taking care of all those animals and child by himself when they are in another country. He must work or goes to school himself. If they have other helpers as well they should mention it. Everyone telling them their profile is perfect is not helpful if they are not getting offers. Maybe they should post their first correspondence to potential homeowners.
I also think they should start locally being a couple hours from home. Stay away for the length of time they wanted to spend in another country. See how many times their daughter calls them for help. See how their son is handling all that responsibility.
It’s so interesting how different people can view the same written words @Peri . I just reread their profile and I don’t see boasting, just lots of information about themselves. I guess we all express ourselves, and respond to language differently, depending on our experiences.
I think your comment about their 20 year old is precisely why families need to talk about their children in their profile. Hosts don’t know their children and may make assumptions about their behaviour and abilities. It is quite likely that this young man is already looking after all those animals when his parents go away. I’m sure we all took holidays before discovering house sitting!
I am also not sure that they are planning to sit abroad immediately, I don’t see that mentioned, but maybe I missed it? They have actually said they are going to look for short local sits.
I don’t think any sitter is going to appeal to every single host, and vice versa. It looks as if this family do appeal to at least 2 experienced hosts on this forum, as well as a number of super experienced sitters, who are known for giving sound advice.
You are absolutely right and your words are wise. We all have different experiences in
life that form our opinions . My prejudice is leaving a 13 year old home with a 20 year old who may have parties with other 20 year olds. They say you don’t even form complete cognitive skills till you are 25. I am just concerned for the 13 year old without a real adult in the house. Their profile states they want to travel to foreign places and they list the places they are seeking. Would feel better if Grandparents also stayed at the house.