House sitters can stay in people’s homes or just stop by every once in a while while the owners are away to take care of different chores. They pick up the mail for homeowners, fix up gardens and pools as needed, and make sure that homeowners’ homes are safe.
When interviewing house sitters, the most suitable candidate will demonstrate honesty, reliability, and the ability to follow instructions. Be wary of candidates who have low energy as well as poor organizational and communication skills. Special Offer.
Finding a responsible and trustworthy house sitter to care for your home and pets while you’re away can be challenging. Asking the right questions during the interview process is key to vetting candidates and choosing the ideal sitter for your needs. This comprehensive article provides tips and sample interview questions to help you hire the perfect house sitter.
Why Interviews Are Important
Conducting thorough interviews allows you to go beyond a candidate’s profile and references to gain insight into their experience, skills and personality. It helps assess if they would be a good fit for your specific requirements. Discussing expectations and scenarios that could arise while you’re away reduces surprises down the line. Interviews are your chance to find a sitter who will give you complete peace of mind.
Interview Location
If possible conduct interviews at your home. This allows candidates to view the spaces they’d be responsible for and meet any pets. It also provides you the chance to observe how they interact with your pets. For out-of-town applicants a video tour of your house can help familiarize them.
Key Areas to Assess
Use the interview to evaluate candidates on these aspects:
Experience – How many previous house sitting jobs have they completed? Do they have experience with pets. plants or specific home systems?
Reliability – Are they responsive and punctual? Do they have stable references?
Personality – Are they warm, calm and conscientious? Will they abide by your rules?
Skills – Are they capable of administering medications, handling emergencies etc?
Availability – Can they commit to the full duration and check-in/out times?
Safety – Do they have a clean background check? Can they provide verified references?
Top House Sitter Interview Questions
Here are some of the most important questions to ask potential sitters:
Tell me about your experience with house sitting and pet care.
This open-ended question allows candidates to describe their background. Find out number of jobs, types of homes, care provided and responsibilities handled.
Why do you want to become a house sitter?
The answer reveals motivations – whether it’s a passion for animals, desire to travel or just for extra income. Seek sitters who like caring for homes/pets.
What 3 qualities make you an excellent house sitter?
Gives insight into how they view themselves. Look for qualities like trustworthiness, attention to detail, love for animals and resourcefulness.
How would you handle an emergency like an injury to my pet?
Assesses their calmness under pressure and ability to make sound decisions. Ensure they know when to contact you vs directly contacting a vet.
Are you comfortable administering medications if required?
Determines experience handling medications and willingness to take on medical responsibilities. Review medication protocols together if needed.
**What is your availability for the dates I need covered? **
Confirm they can commit to the full house sitting duration you require without conflicts. Discuss check-in/check-out flexibility too.
Would you be willing to send photo updates while I’m away?
Gauges their understanding of the importance of regular communication and providing you peace of mind. Discuss ideal frequency and means of contact.
Do you have any questions for me about my home, pets or expectations?
Reveals how thoughtful and detail-oriented they are. Comprehensive questions demonstrate genuine interest and care.
Questions About Your Home
Discuss details about your home that the sitter should know:
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Do you have any security systems, smart home devices or pools? Provide operating instructions.
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Are there any quirks, recurrent issues or rules about certain areas? Ensure they understand clearly.
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Where are the water/electricity shut off points? Share emergency protocol.
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Do you have specific instructions for handling mail, trash, gardening, special diets?
Questions About Your Pets
Give candidates insight into your pets’ personalities and care routines:
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What are your pet’s typical schedules, habits and favorite activities? Maintaining routines will help minimize stress when you’re away.
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Are there any anxiety issues or techniques you use to calm them? Understanding triggers and soothing methods helps provide proper care.
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What are their food preferences? Detail type, feeding schedule, treats allowed and where supplies are kept.
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Do any of your pets require medication or have health issues? Review administering instructions thoroughly.
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Is there a dog walker or pet sitter who currently comes by? Decide if you want them to continue scheduled visits.
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Do your pets get along? Note any animals that need separated at times to prevent conflicts.
Follow Up Discussion
Before concluding an interview, recap the key requirements and responsibilities to verify the candidate feels fully comfortable with them. Offer to answer any remaining questions they may have.
Set clear next steps – whether it’s transitioning to a trial period or deciding to consider other candidates. Keep lines of communication open so you can easily reach out to discuss next steps.
Conduct Thorough Reference Checks
Speaking to past hosts provides invaluable insight that interviews alone cannot fully reveal. Ask about sitter reliability, strengths and weaknesses, demeanor and pet interaction. Verify facts presented in the interview too. Let the candidate know you’ll be contacting references as the next step in your process.
Trust Your Gut
If something feels off during the interview process, don’t hesitate to keep looking until you find someone who seems like the perfect fit. The safety and well-being of your home and pets should be the top priority. Take your time to evaluate candidates thoroughly until you find just the right house sitter.
The interview is the perfect time to be completely transparent about your expectations so that there are no surprises. Following the guidance in this article will help ensure you find a house sitter who you can trust fully and give you total peace of mind when you travel.
What would you do if a homeowner’s dog fell ill while you were housesitting?
Demonstrates the candidates communication skills and ability to follow instructions.
Interview Questions for House Sitters:
Demonstrates the candidates alertness and ability to act quickly.
Housesitting Interview Questions | Live Interview + Top Tips | Application Process for Petsitting
What questions should you ask a house sitter?
Describe your experience with pets. House sitters often care for pets while their owners are away. Employers ask this question to make sure you have experience caring for animals and can handle any potential issues that may arise.
Are You preparing for a house sitter?
If the answer to this question is ‘yes’, then there’s a few things to think about when you’re preparing for a house sitter. The first of these is ‘ reasonable use ‘. It’s worth clarifying up-front if you have any expectations about how far they can drive. Are you letting them have use of it to do the grocery shopping and see the local sites…
What does a house sitter do?
House sitters are responsible for the security of a home while owners are away. This question helps an employer understand your approach to maintaining a home’s security and safety during their absence. In your answer, explain how you plan to protect the house from intruders or other threats.
What should you expect from a house sitter?
Having friends or family come to check on the home or stay over. The house sitter to bring their own bedding and place to sleep. Or not providing the house sitter with clean bedding and living space. Now knowing what you should be providing and what you should expect from each homeowner.
