agencies

Host Parent Wish: That Rematch would fix things, not send problems to another family

by cv harquail August 25, 2011
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If host families could change the au pair ‘system’, there are many things we would improve. Chief among these would be how au pairing is advertised, how au pairs are recruited and interviewed, how au pairs fulfill education requirements, and most of all, how au pair rematches are handled. Rematch and transition processes are the […]

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When Agencies Reward Au Pairs Who Lack Commitment

by cv harquail February 9, 2011
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Like most customers, I want to believe that the company selling me things has my best interest in mind. I should know better– after all, I’ve taught in business schools for over 15 years. But still, I hope that even when a company exists to make money  they believe that they also exist to serve […]

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Choosing an Au Pair Agency: Two questions that might make a difference

by cv harquail July 28, 2010
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We haven’t talked in much detail about how to choose an agency — I’ve steered clear of that topic because I haven’t wanted anyone to think that I’m some kind of au pair agency secret agent, sent out to lure unsuspecting host families onto the rosters of agencies for an unspecified but generous kickback. Also, […]

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When you initiate rematch, can you ask your Au Pair to leave immediately?

by cv harquail July 22, 2010
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When you initiate rematch, can you ask your Au Pair to leave immediately? When this question popped up over the weekend, I shuddered. It brought me back instantly to our flame-out au pair, the one who announced on the last day of school that she wanted a rematch because she didn’t want to work weekends […]

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Do Au Pairs need a ‘bill of rights’?

by cv harquail April 30, 2010
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A reader sent me a link to an article in Slate, about a proposed ‘Bill of Rights” for domestic workers in New York State. (You can read the article in detail, here.) The proposed legislation would guarantee New York’s 200,000 domestic workers sick days, overtime, a day of rest, protection under discrimination laws, and notice […]

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3 Qualities of a Great Local Community Counselor

by cv harquail February 24, 2010
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We’ve got quite a backlog of posts waiting to go up about LCCs (Local Community Counselor)  — those agency employees who are in charge of your local cluster of au pairs and host families. If you use an agency, your LCC can make or break your au pair experience. She is the link between the […]

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How to stay happy as a Lame Duck host parent

by cv harquail December 28, 2009
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There comes a time in your relationship with your au pair where your ability to influence her behavior vanishes- just vanishes. This usually happens as she is getting ready to leave, either to go back home or to go on to an extension with another family. [When this happens during rematch, it’s an entirely different […]

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Good Bye, Good Luck from exAuPairMom

by cv harquail October 13, 2009
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I always wonder about “the rest of the story” when I get a notice that someone has unsubscribed from the email newsletter .. for the reason that “the content is no longer valid”. I usually take that to mean “we don’t have an au pair anymore”. Over the weekend we got this letter from a […]

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Finding Good Au Pair Candidates: Best Practices for each system

by cv harquail July 21, 2009
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How about we sort out our advice to each other, based on the kind of system that our agencies/sites use? I’ve set up 3 posts, one each for: Finding Good Au Pair Candidates 1: Best Practices for the "1 at a time" system Finding Good Au Pair Candidates 2: Best Practices for the "they give […]

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Finding Good Au Pair Candidates 3: Best Practices for the “Searching their whole data base” system

by cv harquail July 21, 2009
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No! Not the needle in the haystack image! Okay, here’s something different. These girls are all delicious, all delightful, all of them clever smart and kind. But really, with all those cute photos and similar profiles, how do you find the one(s) who are right for you?

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