How to Write a Flatmate Profile That Attracts Great Matches

What Makes a Good Profile Photo

• Show your face clearly. This is not Instagram. Use a well-lit, front-facing photo where your face is clearly visible. Natural light works best. Potential flatmates want to know who they might be living with.
• Smile or look approachable. A friendly expression signals openness and agreeableness, two traits that make people want to reach out. Avoid overly serious or formal headshots.
• Solo photos work best. Group photos make it unclear who the profile belongs to. Crop if needed, but a solo shot is always better.
• Recent and authentic. Use a photo from the last year that looks like you on a normal day. If someone meets you and you look completely different from your photo, trust starts at a deficit.
• Context is a bonus. A photo that shows a bit of your personality (cooking, at a cafe, hiking, with a pet) gives potential flatmates a conversation starter and a glimpse into your lifestyle.

What to Avoid

• Sunglasses or heavy filters that obscure your face
• Party or nightclub photos (sends the wrong signal unless you are specifically looking for a party-friendly flat)
• Professional headshots that feel cold or corporate
• Photos from 5 years ago that no longer look like you
• No photo at all (this dramatically reduces profile views and sends a signal that you are not serious)

The 4-Part Bio Formula

An effective flatmate bio covers four areas in 3 to 5 sentences. Here is a structure that works.

• Who you are. A brief introduction: your name, where you are from, and what you do in Poland. Example: 'I am Maria, a 26-year-old UX designer from Portugal, working remotely for a tech company in Lisbon.'
• Your lifestyle in a few words. How do you spend your time? What does a typical week look like? Example: 'I work from home most days, go to the gym in the evenings, and love exploring new cafes and restaurants on weekends.'
• What you are like as a flatmate. The most important part. Be specific and honest. Example: 'I am clean and organized, keep the kitchen tidy after cooking, and prefer a quiet home environment on weekdays. I enjoy cooking together occasionally and am happy to share common spaces sociably.'
• What you are looking for. Give potential flatmates a clear picture of your ideal match. Example: 'Looking for a flat with 1-2 other professionals or students who are friendly but respect quiet time, ideally in Mokotow or Wola, available from March.'

Real Examples: Good vs Bad Bios

Here are examples of actual-style bios with honest assessments.

Why Honest Answers Produce Better Matches

The matching system compares your personality profile against those of potential flatmates to predict compatibility. If you answer as the person you want to be (highly organized, always calm, super social) rather than who you actually are (somewhat messy, occasionally stressed, selectively social), the system will match you with people who expect to live with the idealized version. When reality surfaces, conflict follows.

This is the core insight: personality-based matching only works if the input is honest. A messy person matched with another messy person will live harmoniously. A messy person pretending to be neat, matched with someone who genuinely is neat, will clash within weeks.

Tips for the Personality Questions

• Answer based on your typical behavior, not your best day. Everyone is organized after a big cleaning session. Are you organized on a random Wednesday?
• Think about how you actually live, not how you live when guests are coming. The guest-ready version of your apartment is not your real living standard.
• Consider past flatmate experiences. If previous flatmates complained about your noise level, you might score higher on extraversion and lower on consideration than you think.
• Do not overthink. The first answer that comes to mind is usually the most accurate. Deliberating too long leads to aspirational answers.
• There are no right or wrong answers. The assessment is not judging you. It is mapping your traits to find compatible matches. Being introverted, messy, or a night owl are not negatives. They are data points that help the system find people who will genuinely fit your lifestyle.

Sleep Schedule

Your sleep and wake pattern affects everything in a shared flat: shower timing, kitchen usage, noise levels, and even light in shared spaces. Be honest about whether you are an early riser (before 7 AM), a standard schedule person (7-8 AM), a late riser (after 9 AM), or a night owl (asleep well after midnight). If your schedule is irregular (shift work, freelance), say so.

Cleanliness Standards

This is the single most common source of flatmate conflict. The scale typically runs from 'relaxed' (dishes might sit for a day, cleaning weekly) to 'meticulous' (clean immediately after use, visible clutter causes stress). Most people fall somewhere in between, but knowing exactly where is critical for matching. Two 'relaxed' people will live happily in a state that would drive a 'meticulous' person to frustration.

Social Preferences

How often do you want to interact with your flatmates? Options range from 'minimal interaction, just polite and respectful' to 'would love to be friends, cook together, hang out.' Neither is wrong, but mismatches here create tension. Someone expecting a communal living experience will be disappointed by a flatmate who stays in their room, and vice versa.

Guests and Partners

State your preferences clearly. How often do you have guests? Do you have a partner who visits regularly? Are you comfortable with flatmates having frequent overnight guests? This is a frequent source of unspoken tension in flatshares, so addressing it upfront in your profile prevents awkward conversations later.

Deal-Breakers

List your genuine deal-breakers: smoking, pets, noise after certain hours, shared food policies, or anything else that would make a living situation unworkable for you. The matching system treats deal-breakers as hard constraints. If you say no smoking, you will not be matched with smokers. If you say pets are a deal-breaker, pet owners will not appear in your results. Be honest but not excessively restrictive. Too many deal-breakers narrow your pool unnecessarily.

Verification Options and Their Impact

If you are an international student, university email verification is particularly powerful. It instantly signals legitimacy and connects you with other verified students in your city.

Verification is especially important if you are searching from abroad before arriving in Poland. Without the option of an in-person meeting, potential flatmates rely heavily on verification badges to assess trustworthiness. A fully verified profile from someone arriving next month gets far more responses than an unverified profile from someone already in the city.

Mistake 1: The Empty Profile

A profile with just a name and 'looking for a room in Warsaw' tells potential flatmates nothing. Fix it by completing every section. Even 5 minutes of effort puts you ahead of 60 percent of profiles.

Mistake 2: The Generic Profile

'I am easy-going, clean, and respectful' appears on roughly half of all flatmate profiles. It says nothing because everyone says it. Fix it by replacing generic claims with specific behaviors: 'I do my dishes right after cooking, vacuum on Saturdays, and prefer the living room quiet after 10 PM on weeknights.'

Mistake 3: The Demand List

Profiles that read like a list of requirements ('Must be clean, must be quiet, must not have guests, must not cook smelly food, must not use the washing machine after 9 PM') repel potential flatmates even if the requirements are reasonable. Fix it by framing preferences positively: 'I thrive in a clean, quiet environment and am happiest with flatmates who feel the same way.'

Mistake 4: The Aspirational Profile

Writing the profile of the person you want to be rather than who you are. 'I love waking up early and going for a run, then meditating before a productive day of work' sounds great but if you actually hit snooze 4 times and barely make it to your laptop by 10, the mismatch will show. Fix it by being authentic. The matching system rewards honesty with better matches.

Mistake 5: No Photo or an Inappropriate Photo

Profiles without photos get 80 percent fewer views. Profiles with group photos, dark or blurry images, or heavily filtered selfies also underperform. Fix it by uploading a clear, friendly, recent solo photo in good lighting.