How to get your first house sit with no reviews

Every house sitter starts with no reviews. Hosts read reviews because they want to know whether they can trust you with their home and pets, but reviews aren't the only way to show them. Here is how to win your first sit before you have any.

1. Get your checks done first

A host looking at a sitter with no reviews looks harder at everything else. Confirm your email and phone number, verify your photo ID, and pass House Sitting Basics. You need all of these before you can apply anyway, and each one shows on your profile. The qualification matters most: it tells a host you know what a sit involves, from the handover to when to phone the vet, which is exactly what they can't yet tell from reviews.

2. Ask people who know you for references

You've almost certainly looked after someone's pets or home before: a neighbour's cat, a friend's dog while they were away, your parents' house, or animals at work. Ask those people to vouch for you. In your profile, under References, enter their name and email and we'll send them a link to write a reference. You can have up to five.

References show on your profile, marked as coming from outside Home Tales, until you have reviews of your own. Choose people who can say something specific, such as what they trusted you with and how it went, rather than people who will only say you're lovely.

3. Link reviews you've earned elsewhere

If you've sat through another site, link your profile there from the same References section, so hosts can read the reviews you already have.

4. Make your profile specific

"I love animals" is on every profile, so it tells a host nothing. Say which animals you've cared for, how long for, and what it involved: walking a reactive dog, giving a cat tablets, mucking out, or feeding chickens. Mention the homes you're used to, whether you work from home, and whether you drive. Add a clear, friendly photo of your face, and if you have them, photos of you with animals.

5. Apply for the sits you're most likely to get

Your first sit is about earning a review, not finding the perfect trip. You'll do better with:

• sits close to where you live, where you can meet the host and their pets beforehand;
• shorter sits, a weekend or a few days, which feel like less of a risk to a host;
• pets you've plenty of experience with;
• dates fewer people want, such as midweek or outside school holidays;
• sits that have only just been listed, before the host has chosen someone.

To hear about new sits early, set the places and dates you want on Find a house sit and tap the bell to save a sit alert.

6. Write each application to that host

Hosts can tell a copied message straight away. Read the listing properly, then write about their home and their pets: use the pets' names, say what you'd do about anything they mention, like a dog who pulls on the lead or a cat on medication, and why the dates suit you. Be honest that this would be your first Home Tales sit, and say what you've done instead. A short, specific message beats a long, general one.

7. Offer to talk, and to meet

Offer a video call before the host has to ask, and if you live nearby, offer to meet them and the pets. It's the quickest way for a host to trust someone they don't know yet. Come with questions of your own about the pets' routines, who else has a key, what to do if you can't reach them, and how much you may spend if a pet needs the vet. Those are the questions we tell hosts a good sitter asks, so asking them shows you're taking the sit seriously.

8. Make the first sit count

Once you have the sit, the review comes from doing it well. Read the welcome pack before you arrive, send the updates you agreed, tell the host promptly if anything goes wrong, and leave the home as you found it. See what a house sitter does for the whole sit, start to finish. One good review makes the second sit much easier to get than the first.

What to avoid

• Applying for every sit with the same message.
• Saying yes to pets or tasks you haven't done before, just to get a review.
• Agreeing details outside Home Tales messages, where there's no record of what you both agreed.