Choosing an Au Pair

Interviewing Au Pairs: How do you screen for Maturity?

by cv harquail March 17, 2014
137192303_3a8f7cbc0f

On finding an Au Pair who can handle a bunch of kids, a complex household, or both,  TexasHM says: You have got to have someone that is bulletproof.  Patient, mature, sharp judgment, a jack of all trades and that’s very hard to find — period. There are things you can teach and things you can’t. […]

78 comments Read the full article →

Interviewing: When An Au Pair Has Special Experience To Offer

by cv harquail March 6, 2014
cat bird susie ghahremani

Every au pair has his or her ‘thing’ — a hobby, a life experience, a skill or two, a great sense of humor  — that sets them apart as an individual.   In most matches, this stuff is the icing on a cake. For some families though, these skill could help make that au pair […]

48 comments Read the full article →

The Most Successful Au Pair Picker in all of New Jersey

by cv harquail January 31, 2014
3972355907_c6a70cc0bc

Last weekend I had an insane conversation with a woman who was introduced to me as “The Most Successful Au Pair Picker in All of New Jersey!” Okay, so our mutual friend was exaggerating. But I spied an opportunity for you, dear readers. “How does she do it? What’s her secret? AuPairMoms demand to know!” […]

50 comments Read the full article →

Au Pair Candidate with Uncommon Medical Issue: Would you match with her?

by cv harquail January 30, 2014
ForMYDarling2-etsy.jpg

We get a lot of questions from au pair candidates who wonder whether anyone will match with them, given that they ______(fill in the blank here). For example, we just got an email (below) from an au pair with (non-swearing) Tourette’s Syndrome, who wonders whether host parents will consider her application. When you have an […]

14 comments Read the full article →

When Host Moms Need Support and Not Just Advice

by cv harquail November 23, 2013
3570063319_dd77cbf29e

AuPairMom gets two kinds of emails– emails asking for advice on how or what to do, and emails asking for support in just dealing with whatever is happening. Interestingly, every email we get is BOTH of those types. Sometimes we know what we need to do. For example, almost every email asking ‘Should we go […]

101 comments Read the full article →

Can’t seem to fill the Au Pair Educational Requirement. What to do?

by cv harquail October 10, 2013
hit the books

Help! We are having a serious issue with the educational component for our au pair. Dear AuPairMom– Our au pair came to us in early January of last year, too late to start classes for the semester. We had planned to get her registered in the summer, but my military duty unexpectedly took me away […]

31 comments Read the full article →

My Au Pair Application Isn’t Completely True. What should I do?

by cv harquail October 8, 2013
truth lies

We host parents absolutely depend on an au pair’s application to get an accurate and complete representation of that au pair’s background.   Part of the reason why we use Au Pair Agencies rather than websites or Craig’s List is to have a professional (usually, a field person hired by an Agency) interview the au […]

98 comments Read the full article →

Do Facebook Groups Really Help Au Pairs Find Host Families?

by cv harquail July 7, 2013
owl sunglasses

When it comes to looking for a new au pair, I’m a big fan of staying “inside the box”. Maybe it’s the cautious side of my nature, or the lazy side, but I’ve not been tempted to look beyond the official agencies. Meanwhile, unaccredited websites and facebook groups have sprung up all over the ‘net, offering […]

28 comments Read the full article →

The Best Time of Year to Choose an Au Pair Is …

by cv harquail March 31, 2013

… when, exactly? Is there really a “best time of year” for selecting an au pair, or is it just the “best time for you and your family”? We seem to want to believe that there is a best time. By ‘best’, we mean (I htink) when there are the most au pairs to choose […]

68 comments Read the full article →

Send an Excerpt from your Family Handbook to Prospective Au Pairs

by cv harquail March 19, 2013

In my house we have a saying: “Fewer, better things.” This advice is to keep me from buying those $2.00 sequined rabbit statues at Target when I already have ceramic bunnies that will make perfectly fine easter decorations thank you very much. This advice also works for the family handbook selections we send to prospective […]

9 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →