Choosing an Au Pair

Choosing an Au Pair from Her Video: An example for your feedback

by cv harquail January 14, 2017

A prospective Au Pair from South America emailed last week– she has applied to be an Au Pair with Cultural Care, but hasn’t found a family.   She’s wondering — is there anything about her video that might be turning families off? Is there anything she could do to improve her video? I don’t want to […]

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Finding an Au Pair: Too Much Detail in Our Host Family Letter?

by cv harquail January 3, 2017
choosing an au pair

When it comes to writing the materials you use to find and match with an Au Pair, I’m all for being comprehensive. I’d much rather lay it all out for a candidate (and for myself) so that s/he can make an informed choice about whether or not to pursue an interview with us. I’d prefer […]

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How Should an Au Pair Decide Which Family to Match With?

by cv harquail October 13, 2016
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A PopularAuPair candidate faces an embarrassment of riches. Lots and lots of  families are contacting her via the website where she’s posted her application.  She’s got many to choose from as she accepts or declines invitations for interviews.  But she’s not 100% sure of the criteria she should use. She explains: I’m a 20 year old American […]

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Is An Au Pair Right For Your Family? Not if you need a Housekeeper …

by cv harquail August 22, 2016
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When people ask me whether an Au Pair might be right for them, I sometimes forget to ask them what kinds of help they *already* have, that they are aiming to replace. If a family currently uses a childcare center or a home-based center, then switching to an Au Pair offers more schedule flexibility, care […]

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Interviewing Rematch Au Pairs: Special Questions?

by cv harquail August 3, 2016
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How to Interview Au Pair Candidates is the #1 topic that people search for on AuPairMom. This week, I’ve been hard at work on an eBook that can offer all the ideas in one place and one package.  It’s insane, trying to pull together (as much as is humanly possible) the wisdom that’s accumulated here […]

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Choosing an Au Pair: The Serious One or The Fun One?

by cv harquail July 25, 2016
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“There’s a lid for every pot”, we often say here on Au Pair Mom. No matter how weird your situation, or how picky you are, there is an au pair out there for you. Sometimes you’re lucky and you discover TWO au pairs who seem to fit your needs. So, how do you choose? The […]

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When to Disclose Host Parent Illness During Au Pair Match

by cv harquail July 18, 2016
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Recently we’ve discusses Au Pair illnesses, when an Au Pair ought to share this information with Host Parents, and how / when Host Parents can best respond. Now, the shoe’s on the other foot, with this email from HostMomWithGoodPrognosis. Should this information be shared before matching with an au pair? Or later, once the au pair […]

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How Long is Too Long to Hold an Au Pair Candidate’s File?

by cv harquail April 7, 2016
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I don’t know anything about baseball, but even so, the question raised in this post is a little “inside baseball”.  I think that means, you have to know a good bit already to even have an opinion about it. Briefly, the situation: — A mom writes that she’s having a hard time finding candidates, and she […]

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What Makes an Au Pair a “Rock Star”?

by cv harquail February 25, 2016

… asks a Host Mom who thinks hopes she has one. I think I’ve always assumed that, like quality and pr0n, “you know it when you see it” if you’ve got a Rock Star Au Pair. And, I’ve probably also assumed that what makes some one a Rock Star Au Pair really depends on what […]

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What’s Luck Got To Do With It?

by cv harquail February 20, 2016
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Absolutely, luck plays a role in the Host Parent – Au Pair Relationship. There’s all sorts of random in the timing of applicants’ availability, in the ways their portfolios get served up by Agencies, in their mention of that one little fact that makes us pay attention, and in the friends they make (or don’t) their […]

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