Homeowner Perceptions
One of the reasons for my new-found interest in the house sit process, is because I recently posted a homeowner advert on a Listing Site, and was surprised by some of the replies I received. Over the next couple of months I’ll post some examples for you to review, and also share my (tongue-in-cheek) perceptions of them with you in the Reading between the Lines sections.
All applications are shown in grey italics, and the content is posted verbatim; in its entirety; with no editing by me, except where noted with “XXX” to preserve anonymity.
1. Too Short:
“Hello, we can help you out with the house sit. If you are interested please let us know and we can give you all the info and ref. you need. Greetings”
I’m all for short and sweet, and I like people you get to the point, but I thought this was a little too brief, and it didn’t give me enough information to assess whether I was interested.
Reading between the lines:
“I really can’t be bothered to put much effort into this application, as this is the 15th ad. I’ve responded to today – so I’m just cutting-and-pasting my generic response into every application — one size fits all!”
2. Bad Grammar & Punctuation
“i would love to help with your house sit. i have lived in XXX for brief periods over the years and would be able to manage your apartments responsibly. in addition, i operated a hostel for many seasons so i understand the needs. i am a single, fit female, active gardener, quiet writer, so i would stay close to your property.”
I actually liked the sound of this applicant, but it bugged me that none of her sentences started with a capital letter. What’s ironic, is that she’s a writer! I know house sitting is not a paid job, but couldn’t it still be approached as a profession? I don’t want applications to look like text messages.
Reading between the Lines:
Option A: “I’m typing this from a mobile device and don’t know where the shift key is.” or
Option B: “I know where the shift key is, but I can’t be bothered to press it at the beginning of every sentence”
As auto-capitalize is a default feature on most devices, this can’t possibly be the reason, so I have to go with:
Option C: “I want to portray the image of being hip and young or non-conformist, so I’m making a personal statement by not using capital letters. I’m a writer, and I believe all letters should be created equal!”
3. All about me
“I’ve been to the Greek Islands many times, and I love that area of the world. I would really like to spend some extended time in XXX (particularly the area that you house is) during the time that you need a housesitter. I’m presently working on some creative projects, including photography and writing projects. I’m also taking time to enjoy my life and exploring the world one country at a time, and my dream is to stop in each country at least once.
I have many references attached to my profile. Here are iexerpts from a housesite that I completed last month in XXX …..”
Spelling mistakes aside (I’m a sucker for capital letters at the beginning of sentences, but everyone can get a pass on a typo or 2), what struck me about this was the focus on them, them, them. Although the tone of an application letter should be friendly, shouldn’t part of the focus be about the house sitter meeting the requirements I laid out in my ad? I’m all for a bit of self-promotion, and learning a bit about my house sitter, but can we cover that in the skype call during the interview process?
Reading between the Lines:
“Read about me, and learn all about my dreams and desires, and see how I spend my time. It’s important that you learn about me, because, let’s face it, it is all about me – so let’s discuss how your house sit assignment will fit my needs”
First Impressions Count
Some may think my interpretations are a little harsh, and I did mention at the beginning that my perceptions were tongue-in-cheek. But let’s be honest, how many times have you made snap judgements about people?
Here’s a quote I found on About.com :
“Snap judgments are, first of all, enormously quick: they rely on the thinnest slices of experience … they are also unconscious”©
As a homeowners, I was deluged by a large quantity of applications, and I knew I had to wheedle them down dramatically, so I made first-impression judgements based on what I read and how the content was presented.
Right or wrong, snap decisions are made when there is only the thinnest slice of experience to go from, and emails are pretty thin slices.
Quote © The Power of First Impressions