4 months looking over the bay in Savusavu, Fiji, enjoying one of the world's finest views.
6 months at a villa on a football field sized property in Jimbaran, Bali.
6 weeks in a remote Costa Rican jungle.
2 months living by a national park in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
1 month in the world's wealthiest nation in Qatar.
2 months in beautiful Granada, Nicaragua.
1 month in exotic Cyprus.
We turned down sits in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Cahuita, Costa Rica; Saipan and Penang, Malaysia, jobs that we landed, because of family issues.
I am typing these words from an East Harlem house sit, right beside Central Park.
We had a 1-week house sit on the Upper West Side, 1 block from Central Park West and its $70 million dollar penthouses, celebrities and world famous apartments.
How in the heck do my wife Kelli and I consistently land some of the best housesitting gigs in the world? Especially when throngs of folks apply for these same house sits?
I'm about to reveal our secrets below.
Get clear on exactly what you want.
This is far and away the most important tip to follow.
Unless you clearly know what you want in a sit you will likely chase what you do not want.
95% of the time we zero in on house sits in the tropics. Other than that, we take jobs in exotic or off the beaten path spots like Qatar or Cyprus.
Be patient. Have posture. I swear; the best sits for you will eventually make a beeline for you if you don't panic.
We weren't interested at all in house sitting for 3 years after we registered on websites because only Europe sits seemed to be available and that wasn't our gig. When a house sit in Fiji popped up, we crunched some numbers, estimated flight costs and applied.
Yes; we had zero experience and no resume before landing a 4 month house sit on what some call the world's most peaceful island, Vanua Levu, Fiji. This shows you the miraculous power of clarity in knowing exactly what you want from a house sit.
The homeowner in Bali offered the job to us after a 2 minute phone call. Once she heard we knew Jimbaran well and had visited once in the past she wanted us for the house sit.
This is the power of clarity at work.
Spend no time chasing what you do not want.
We never would have landed a 6 month house sit at a villa in Bali or a 4 month sit in Fiji if we were tied up with the ever present, common Europe sits which pop up on a daily basis.
Kelli and I are adamant about never taking a job just to have a house sit lined up.
We are hyper clear on the sits we want. We spend zero energy chasing what we don't want.
Don't bother with sits that don't interest you. To land the best house sits let go of those that don't float your house sitting boat.
Create a transparent house sitter profile.
Our transparent house sitter profiles, on sites like trustedhousesitters.com, housecarers.com and nomador.com, helped us land some of the best house sitting jobs on earth.
Homeowners felt like they knew us without meeting us.
We use video, ample pictures and an open, transparent writing style to put homeowners at ease.
Craft your profile pages so homeowners can see what you are about even before they reach out to you.
Be accessible.
We can be reached via email, Skype, Facebook or phone.
Being accessible makes you more trustworthy and credible.
Homeowners tend to worry if you are a tough person to get ahold of. If you are dodgy before the house sit how will they reach you when they need to talk to you during the house sit?
Be open. Be accessible. Land the best house sits by keeping multiple channels of communication open between you and the homeowner.
Be timely in responding to interviews and job offers.
My wife responds to both interview and job offers quickly because the house sitting world loves speed.
Example: Many homeowners wait until a few weeks before their trips to hire sitters. More than a few noted how our quick response time nailed down the job offer. We acted in prompt, professional, responsible fashion, in essence acing the trial run for the house sit.
Check your email at least once every few hours. Or simply set up alerts on your phone to receive instant notification of interview requests or job offers.