How to win that House Sitting position

Written by Susan Saturday, 11 July 2009 15:51

When a home owner contacts you, you can be sure you are not the only house sitter they have approached. In fact, we know that a home owner in need of a sitter will look at many candidates before making a decision. This means you need to do everything possible to increase your chance of being the one they choose.

We all know of the importance of making a great first impression and for the house sitter, that first impression is your profile page.

Below we explain how to make the most of this first impression opportunity. 

 
TALK ABOUT YOURSELF
Home owners are looking for someone they feel they can trust their home, possessions and maybe their furry friends too - someone honest, reliable, conscientious and clean. Your profile should be used to create a feeling of confidence towards you.

Your 'first impression' profile should include some of the following information:

• How long have you been house sitting? If you are an experienced House Sitter, list some of your experiences; no need for pages of information, just a few highlights and things about house sitting that you enjoy.
  
  
• What are your reasons for choosing to be a house sitter?
  
  • you may be saving for a house
  • waiting for your house to be built
  • or just enjoy travelling and have no particular time schedule
• Are you happy to pet sit or do you prefer to house sit only? Many house sits are actually pet sitting positions, offered because the owners love their pets and do not want to put them in kennels or catteries. If you have experience with different pets, include them in your profile, point out the fact that you own/owned a dog and some of the tasks that entailed such as worming, grooming, etc.
• What are your interests, skills or hobbies? If you love gardening, lawn mowing or have home maintenance skills, these are important and should be mentioned.
• What is your current employment? If you are retired, what was your career? This helps the home owner to know bit more about you.
• What you have been doing during the last 12 months? This could be house sitting assignments, travelling or just spending time with your family.
• Do you own, or have you owned, your own home? Home ownership itself is a plus. It is the training ground for house sitting someone else’s valued possessions.
• Are you single, a couple or a family and do you come with pets?
• Do you have references available, and/or a police check?
• Are you a smoker or non-smoker?

THE ICING ON THE CAKE

One of the things to attract the attention of a home owner is a profile with a photograph. The eye is drawn to a colourful image and this is the profile they will read first.

You do not have to use a picture of yourself; a good alternative would be a pet you have owned or house you have sat. If you love gardening, something associated with the garden or if you are a caravan traveler looking forward to a break from the rigors of the road, then perhaps a photograph of your caravan or something from your travels. 

YOUR PROFILE PAGE CAN ALSO BE YOUR HOME PAGE

Keep in mind that once you have your profile page set up you can use it in other ways. You do not need to keep writing about yourself when contacting home owners, just refer people to your profile page by putting the URL (web address) in your messages.