selecting an au pair

The Most Successful Au Pair Picker in all of New Jersey

by cv harquail January 31, 2014
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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!” […]

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Your Family’s Au Pair Selection Process: Checking references

by cv harquail May 20, 2011

In a perfect world, we’d check the references supplied by each au pair candidate. It’s just too easy for someone who was untrustworthy to create references that make him or her look better than reality, especially when the reference givers do not speak English fluently. But, I must admit, in all of the times that […]

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Your Au Pair Selection Process: What’s your “Information Style”? (poll)

by cv harquail May 16, 2011

How do you “position” your family when you make your initial contacts with prospective Au Pairs? Do you like to lay all the cards out on the table, tough expectations and all, in the hopes that only the strongest will pursue a match with you? (Dare ‘Ya) Do you like to start sunny and light, […]

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Finding Good Au Pair Candidates 1: Best Practices for the “1 at a time” system

by cv harquail July 21, 2009
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How do you manage the process of interviewing candidates one at a time? What can you do to make sure that the candidates you are sent are a pretty good match to begin with, so that you don’t have to weed out girls who surely wouldn’t fit with your family?

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Advice Wanted: Young marriage, young mommy, in Hawaii

by cv harquail May 11, 2009
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I am thinking of hiring an au pair for my baby (I am actually pregnant, but I will need help from Jan 2010). Unfortunately, we cannot afford a local nanny, and I find it hard to trust a high school kid to be with my little one…is having an au pair a good idea? The […]

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