interviewing an au pair

Interviewing Au Pairs: How do you screen for Maturity?

by cv harquail March 17, 2014
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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. […]

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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 […]

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When Au Pairs Prioritize Location

by cv harquail April 23, 2011
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“Location, location, location” — that’s all that matter in real estate. And for some au pairs, that’s all that matters in their match. I understand that au pairs have ideas about where in the USA they’d like to live (e.g., California, Florida, and New York), and that they want to maximize the adventure of the […]

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Au Pair Asks: How should I expect to act around my Host Family?

by cv harquail November 6, 2010
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Dear Au Pair Moms, What is an acceptable way to act around the host family? is it more like a work environment, or would, for instance, an au pair treat the host mom like a real mom, and tell her most things about her social life outside of the au-pairing job? Is it common for […]

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Interviewing Au Pair Candidates: Every Question You’ve Ever Recommended We Ask

by cv harquail March 23, 2010
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Host Mom Melinda sent us all a wonderful present. Melinda went through many, many posts on AuPairMom where we’ve recommended interview questions — AND she put them all together! This will be a huge, long list. It includes some questions you’ll see on agency sites, plus several questions *exclusive* to all of us here. Thank […]

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How to Assess an Au Pair Candidate’s Driving Experience

by cv harquail March 23, 2010
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Our second au pair had a lot of driving experience back in her Eastern European country. She’d been driving for 3 years, almost every day. Sounded great. This, along with her other great qualities, lead us to match with her. Zoom ahead three months, as we settle her into the Toyota to go out for […]

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Matching: What should a potential au pair tell you about herself?

by cv harquail October 23, 2009
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Coordinating with the previous posts about questions an Au Pair should ask a potential host family, what would you like an au pair to tell you about herself? There are perhaps 4,387 categories of things that an au pair could tell you about, so challenge yourself to offer maybe the top 2 or 3… This […]

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Finding Good Au Pair Candidates 2: Best Practices for the “they give me a group to look at” system

by cv harquail July 21, 2009
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Okay, so you’ve set your basic preferences and sent them to the agency. The agency’s computers churn a bit, and out come 4 recommended candidates, right into your online family folder. Now what? How can you make this process really work well for you?

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11 Tips for Considering an Au Pair in Rematch

by cv harquail May 4, 2009
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Oh dear. You’re in rematch. Maybe you were horrible. Maybe your au pair was horrible. Maybe you should have decided sooner, then again maybe you both could have tried harder. Whatever, it’s been a bad experience. The decision to rematch has been made, and now… you need childcare, and you don’t have much time to […]

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Extension Candidates: How to interview, what to look for

by cv harquail April 20, 2009
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Extension candidates are a tough bunch. These au pairs already know the score… they know what it takes to be an au pair, they have already improved their English a bit, they know how hard it can be to take care of children, and they know the wide range of material situations that host families […]

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