This post is a guest article by Joshua Cary the creator of PetSittingOlogy.com

It’s perhaps a pet sitter’s worst nightmare.

The time has come to bring on additional pet sitters who you must trust 100%.  You must figure out where to find the potential candidates, what to write as the job description, how to properly interview them and, most importantly, decide who is the best for your team.

Frightening, exciting and a challenge, no doubt.

Let’s break down each component into smaller, less frightening chunks.

In order to attract the best pet sitting employees to join your team, ask yourself these 3 questions:

-What am I posting?

-Where am I posting?

-How am I qualifying each applicant?

1) What am I posting?

The very words you use to write up your job offer makes all the difference in the world.  If you find yourself attracting the less than ideal, and those wasting your time or unqualified, go back to your job listing.

What you say and how you say it will determine who applies.

Think of it like a two way street.  If I am searching for a new job, for example, I will only be applying to the jobs that seem to fit my lifestyle, personality and goals.

If I read a job posting that is not exciting, or is confusing, or has spelling and grammatical errors in it, I’ll continue looking.

If you want to get the attention of the excellent candidates, your job posting must be excellent.

2) Where are you posting?

Are you hanging up fliers around town?  Are you posting on Craigslist?  On other suitable websites?

The only place I’ve ever posted to find pet sitting employees has been on Craigslist.  Some have had mixed luck with posting there, but coupled with a nicely written offer and a good weeding out process, you should get your fair share of solid submissions to work with.

When choosing a physical location or online website to list your job offer, consider what crowd is most likely to respond.

Think about who your absolute ideal candidate would be (what type of person) and search for forums or job listing sites where that person is likely to spend time.

Are you searching for work from home moms looking for extra income, college students to work part time, or creative artists needing extra cash?

Define your ideal candidate and post where they are going to see your ad.

3) How are you receiving potential applicant submissions?

No matter where you post your search for pet sitting employees, you can easily find yourself bombarded with hundreds of applicants.

This will quickly prove to be a waste of everyone’s time.  If you are asking interested folks to email a cover letter and a resume along with why they are perfect for the job, you will find yourself drowning in work.

Plus, how can you distinguish the good from the not so good?  You’ll need a quick and easy system in place that can do some of the weeding out process for you upfront.

Targeting The Best

Here’s a story about how one company implements a perfect weeding out process.

A cousin of mine was recently on the hunt for a new job.  He went from store to store filling out applications and was stopped short when he arrived at Target.

After asking for an application, he was lead to a computer terminal where he could submit his application electronically.

The catch?  The application process takes 45 minutes just to fill out.  Think that’s crazy?  It’s brilliant, actually.

Target understands that they are looking for a certain level of commitment from their employees, and how better to test ones commitment than upfront during the application process?

If a potential employee takes the 45 minutes to apply for the job, do you think they’ll also exhibit additional character traits that would become an asset to the Target team?  Certainly.

Now think about how many would-be applicants see that 45-minute process and run the other way.  Saves time for both parties involved, doesn’t it?

A Similar Approach For The Pet Sitting World

To me, personality is an important element when looking to hire pet sitters to join my team.  The first step in my application process begins with a short questionnaire that I developed specifically to determine one’s personality.

I don’t ask for a resume and I don’t ask for a cover letter.

Questions like “How would you feel if you were a goldfish?” and “What constitutes the perfect Sunday morning?” tell me all I need to know upfront.

If you received a bunch of one and two word answers, for example, would that tell you plenty about someone?

I then have a much more manageable number of applicants to take through the hiring process (which is followed up by a phone interview, background check and in-home interview).

You can read the pet sitter hiring questionnaire I created along with some of my favorite responses at http://petsittingology.com/blog/hiring-pet-sitters-the-12-most-fun-direct-and-eye-opening-questions-you-must-ask/

Getting It Right

As you can see, the hiring process is a two-way street.  Potential applicants are going to decide if they want to work with you just as much as you are considering them for your team.

It all starts with the content and style of your job offer, followed by the places you are searching for your next superstar pet sitter.

Finally, make your life easier by implementing a good weeding out process so you do not become overwhelmed with applicants.

Once you have a good system in place, you’ll have no problem finding the perfect pet sitter employees to join you on the road to success.

Joshua Cary is the creator of PetSittingOlogy, an online training course dedicated to all aspects of running a successful pet sitting business.  He is available for private coaching – including crafting your job posting, fielding job submissions and interviewing potential employees while you listen in.  Contact him through http://petsittingology.com/blog