Hiring Au Pair Tips

Hiring Au Pair Tips

Regardless of your household’s budget hiring an au pair is a great experience that lets you broaden horizons and get some help with your children. If you feel like it could put a strain on your wallet, try going online to such websites as Discountrue.com and check the coupons – there are plenty of popular shops such as Kohl’s or Sears so you can save on practically everything. Other than the financial aspects, there are a number of important considerations to be made before taking this step. This person is going to be responsible for the upbringing of your children, so you should take the process of choosing them with the utmost seriousness. By following these helpful tips, you can make the choice a simple one!

Use Research Agencies

While there are other sources such as pamphlets, research agencies can also provide you with the help you need. There are larger ones, such as goAUPAIR, that offer a big picture view, while some families may prefer a smaller agency that allows for a more hands on experience. A larger agency offers a much wider selection of au pairs to choose from, whereas a smaller agency usually gives you more assistance during the selection process, so there are pros and cons to everything.

Do Your Homework on Countries and Cultures

Each au pair is different, depending on their home country, nationality and culture, so it is crucial for host families to do their homework before deciding. Are there cultures that are particularly interesting to you or your family? What characteristics are you looking for in your au pair? An interesting trivia might be that surveys have shown that large and boisterous families have a good rapport with South Americans, German au pairs tend to fit in well with All-American families, while the Japanese are well suited to quiet and low key households.

Conducting Interviews

While most au pairs are typically hired over the phone, more and more agencies are offering the use of Skype to their clientele. This gives families a chance to have a face to face meeting before they make the final selection. During the phone interview or the video chat, all of the basic information needs to be covered. The au pair’s child care experience should be discussed, as well as their reasons for becoming an au pair.

Ask Direct Questions

During the aforementioned interviews, host families often forget to ask direct questions and find out whether the au pair that they are interviewing is interested in the job. Offer the applicant the position directly and make plans for when they will arrive during the application process. This is a great way to ensure that you are both on the same page and that there are no problems when the au pair starts to work for you.

Getting Ready

You will want to have the au pair’s room ready by the time they arrive at your home so don’t forget to empty a closet and give them some personal area. In most instances, you will want to have a cell phone plan prepared as well. Ensuring cable television and wireless Internet for your au pair’s living space is also a standard procedure in modern society.