Hey all,
I just found this community and love the idea of becoming a sitter! I’m just hesitant to sink $100-200 into an account just so that I can apply, however.
As a 33 yo male with no pets, some petsitting experience (dogs and cats), references for that experience, and a professional Linkedin profile, what do y’all think my would be for landing the 1 week position in Vermont that I found?
Hello @theCottageCheese and a warm welcome to the Community Forum 
To answer your question, you sound like you will already have a reference that you can add once you join which will certainly help and if you could obtain a couple more that would be great as you are just starting out and it’s a great way for owners to see what sort of a person you are. You have as good a chance as anyone else and you won’t know for sure until you apply.
I have attached a video for you to explain how it all works.
For reference once you are a member, and once your listing is completed 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.
I have also attached another thread you should find helpful
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!
Remember everyone has to start somewhere.
Happy house sitting! 
If you are thinking to join trusted house sitters to get one, very specific sit that you have seen, honestly, your chances are very, very slim.
However, don’t despair, there are always literally thousands of sitting opportunities listed to tempt you. Be warned - trawling through them to find sits you fancy can become addictive
Hand on heart, as a single man it is slightly more difficult to get started but once you have a couple of decent reviews to add to your profile it will get much easier.
To get those all-important first few reviews look out for the not-so-popular sits - they will be clearly marked ‘low applicants’ - preferably any that are not too far from you to save on your travel costs.
For inspiration, click on ‘looking for a sitter’ - look out for any with a picture of a single male and then check out their reviews. The lovely @toml is a great example!!
You are not the first to have had the same concern, here is a thread from a while ago that you may find interesting reading.
Go for it! - Good Luck!
I signed up for this service because I saw a listing and thought, “yeah we can petsit at this house” It didn’t occur to me that they would decline. I wouldn’t sign up for 1 specific house.
Welcome @theCottageCheese - we joined THS this year and have 9 house sits confirmed so far.
Popular locations have lots of experience sitters applying . Most sitters have started with some local sits or last minute sits to get some reviews on THS before they get accepted for the more popular sits.
If the 1 week in Vermont is a last minute request you may stand more chance of being accepted .
By joining you will get to see lots of listings that you can save as favourites .
We just registered with THS in March 2023, and we loved it so much we decided to do it full time after our first sit. By mid Jun, we were pretty much fully booked until Sep 2024. We didn’t have any reviews to begin with (none… not even friends!).
Now all of our reviews so far have been 5*, we’ve had 2 home owners schedule their own holidays around us after our first sit with them, and all of the owners we sat for have all said they would love us to return when they next go away.
Our lives are totally different now… and we only joined in late March, with our first sit taking place in May. So give it time.
I hope so. I’ve just joined today and have no experience of sitting although I do have a great relationship with my hairdresser’s Yorkies :). For that reason I’ve decided for the moment to limit my applications to the UK and possibly Ireland if the dates are good for me.
Every sitter was once in your position.
We start at zero point and then move to one….
Go for it.
No matter any thing, just go.
@theCottageCheese Listen to all the great advice you have received in this conversation.
The best piece is be flexible. Joining for that sit you think is the perfect one is a mistake as @Colin says your chances of getting it, especially if it’s in a really desirable location are very slim, possible of course but unlikely.
As for being new without reviews that’s where we all began and that message goes to all new members, sitters and pet parents, because new is not the sitter story, it’s about intent, commitment, purpose and the WHY!!
Like every good sitter the way I approach sits now after 13 years of sitting, is no different than for the first in fact I probably tried even harder to get it exactly right for that first glowing review … but even after numerous additions the importance of each review doesn’t diminish.
Every sit we commit to deserves the best because at the heart of what we do and why we do it are beloved animals, family homes, some great people and many brilliant travel experiences
So in the words of that company selling shoes … “Just do it!” 
We accepted two first timers and a newbie after meeting and all three were wonderful. Yes, it is a bit scary when someone has no reviews, but we didn’t have any as HO either.
I recommend being available to FaceTime, being communicative and foremost, being honest when you apply.
We all have to start somewhere!