Thoughts on follow up submissions

Hi Everyone,

Do people normally follow up with the HO after they’ve submitted to check in? Just a “Hey, I hope everything is going well with the process, hoping to hear from you soon.” ? It’s generally something I would do, but want to make sure it’s a thing here or if I would be weird. :slight_smile:

Thanks!

No, we don’t. We submit a detailed application, it is then up to the HO to review and decide if they want to continue chatting with us. I feel it might be overloading their inbox if we send follow-up messages. There is another thread currently going about how long to wait for a response before moving on to other applications…it seems 3 days is an acceptable time. Of course it depends on how desperate you are for the sit :laughing:

hi @dana_sitter ,

My opinion may not be very popular here but I LOVE when applicants reach back out with a “hey, just checking in” follow up message. I’m a new parent and while I really try to get back to applicants in a timely manner and nail down a time to schedule a video call sometimes it just gets missed and a follow up message is very much appreciated. I would say most applicants don’t do this but when it does get sent it really stands out to me in a positive way and is not weird at all. Hope this helps!

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We follow up after 2 - 3 days with a simple note asking if the HO has any questions of us or if they would like to chat further about us caring for their pet(S).

The two or three times I’ve followed up, I’ve gotten the sit. So I highly recommend it. (I usually wait about two days for a response before my follow-up.)

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Hi all,

I applied to a sit 9 days ago which I’m extremely keen on, however the home owner has read my application -which was a very short quick message to make sure I got my application in in time before I sent a full application message 5 mins later- but they have not read nor responded to that message at all.

Do you guys send follow up messages at all? I can imagine that this sit was very popular as it is in a good location and over the holiday period, so I do not want to hassle them, but I would really love to get this sit. Applications closed, then reopened which is when I managed to quickly get my application in, then they closed again straight after whilst the owner ‘reviews applications’.

Do I wait before reaching out? Do I not reach out again at all? My application is still live, it has not been declined, and applications have not reopened either.

Any advice welcome.

Thanks!

Since you are very interested in the sit and you have not heard anything in 9 days, it seems reasonable for you to send them a quick message to ask if they have an update on their decision making process, re-emphasizing your interest in the position and offering to do a video interview. You have nothing to loose at this point. It seems like you are still in the running, since you have not been declined. Good luck!

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Yes, I would send another message mentioning that you have noticed that your second message has not been read and has it got missed during the pausing process.

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This has been discussed before on the forum. One of the moderators might link it to that. Otherwise search for the topic

Hello @otto,

Welcome to the forum we’re happy you’re here!

Here are a couple of threads that have discussed your topic about following up with the HO. I’m going to merge your post into this thread so that other members when coming here can easily find suggestions from the largest group of our members. I hope this helps!

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Hi @otto
Interested to know whether you followed up with the HOs and if you heard back. A similar thing happened to me recently, though I decided to cancel my application. When I did, the HOs apologised and said they’d received over 50 responses to their ad, which I didn’t think was possible given the new 5 application system. Anyway, best of luck with yours!

Hi, I did send a follow up message asking if there were any updates but they have now read the message and again not responded nor declined the application so I’m still left in the dark.

Oh no really? I thought the new system would prevent the amount of applications being an issue but maybe it’s still happening like you experienced and that’s the issue in this case!

I don’t.

I give a few days maximum like 1-3 and if I do not hear anything, especially after seeing my lengthy, detailed application has been read, I withdraw my application with a note to the HO.

I move forward and chuck the application in a folder where I don’t think even twice about it unless it reaches my inbox. If I get a decline, I don’t have to read it and sits unread.

I have seen two home owners that I applied for at the start of the year with new house sits who never contacted me.

With the glitch issue at the moment, I am giving more time for one application I put forward.

@Otto I’m really sorry to hear this. It’s a shame people don’t take the time to acknowledge your effort with a response. To me, it shows a lack of respect, unless they have a good reason. I hope you are able to find a sit that is more suitable, and the home owners are more communicative. With the HOs that claimed they’d had 50+ responses, I’m not sure how true this was as the system was still saying 0-3 then 4-7. I withdrew my application with a simple ‘No response/ acknowledgement from home owner. Application withdrawn’ after a couple of days. That is my approach from now on as I’ve been disappointed by a lack of response before.

Totally agree with your approach @anon27523372 You live and learn! It takes time and consideration to write an application adhered to a sit, and to receive nothing in response or an automated ‘decline’ is disheartening, if not just plain rude.

I have done this twice with totally mixed results. First sit both messages were read and never responded to even though the sit was starting the following day (I was already in the area and even offered to come meet them.) The second one was the complete opposite experience, the owner wrote back right away apologized that she had been inundated with things going on, immediately set up a phone call and I ended up getting the very desirable sit. I would say keep applying for other sits that interest you, but it certainly can’t hurt to send a follow up, especially if it’s a sit you’re particularly interested in knowing you may or may not get any response.

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I agree.
With the latest “glitch” inconveniencing us all I have allowed more time but I am cancelling with a similar message to yours…
and moving forward.

I would say- if you really want the Sit send a follow up note- what have you got to lose?!
The HO may ignore you OR they may be happy you reached out again as it shows your real interest!
I can offer two examples where a follow up note was very effective.
One was a Sit in Kuala Lumpur that we really wanted. We applied when there were 4-7 applicants & the HO wrote back she was considering applications and would get back to us. A week or two later she was at 25+ applicants & still no decision. So we wrote again saying she must be feeling quite overwhelmed with so many applicants so…why not just choose us?!! She would not regret it & we’d all be sorted! She replied straight away that she loved our ‘cheekiness’ & after a little dialogue we got the Sit! This was only our 3rd Sit- how bold we were! And it was a great sit!
And just last week we thought we’d missed the boat on a sit we’d had our eye on as it got paused very quickly. Fortunately the host had other dates listed so we applied via those dates with an explantion etc a couple of days later our msg got read but no reply. 2 days later we wrote asking if they were considering us for the other dates? If not we would move on. Unread & no reply. The next day the original dates popped up again! and, since we had nothing to lose, we applied again! This time we got an immediate reply, a 1st time host -very happy we’d reached out again, - turned out the hubby had paused the listing by accident! Anyway after a lovely video call we confirmed the Sit and it starts Saturday!
Sometimes you just have to follow your intuition if its worth persuing a Sit or not!

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