Interviewing an au pair tomorrow - need advice for questions

Why do you think you have wimped out by having an aupair. If you can afford it/have space/want help, what is the problem? Personally I would have loved someone to help me out. I am assumeing you say you don't 'need' her as you are a SAHM. Actually in some ways that is better, it means yu won't expect too much of her, but at the same time she should be able to amsue the baby while you help your older one to homework for instance. It will help you have one on one time with both children as well as someone to look after them while you are cooking their dinner or whatever.

I think it is a perfect choice in some ways, I know plenty of nannies who work for mums who don't work outside the home. The mums spend all their time shopping or lunching. I would love an aupair right now but I don't have a spare room. I work but someone to collect the kids form school and to be around until I got home would be great.

GG, I don't need an au pair, but I have one anyway. It's a very handy set-up

Sounds like you handled the interview really well. The 2-week wait gives her a great opportunity to back out if she doesn't feel the job's for her but was too nice to say to you at the time. And the 6-week notice means that you are not tied down to anything if you feel that having an au pair is not for you, or if the girl doesn't click with your family.

Let fate decide it

If it is meant to be then it will IYSWIM

Thank you for telling me/us

She sounds great

Especially playing with your baby

really glad she could speak English etc.

am stalking you

please tell me

am very nosey

What happened?

Run a mile, with a 9 month old. You can do better. One big problem with AP I've had with crap english, kids are a bit off color after a few days illness and you don't dare send them back to school/nursery, but you need to get back to work, but can't be sure she understands how or when to call you if they relapse, or to give them cough medicine correctly. Or what if they fall ill while you're not there out of the blue? And if you decided to give her a try, don't keep struggling on like I did thinking she will suddenly wise up. Now thanks to my stupid contract lifted from a website, I am obliged to give 4 weeks pay if I want to kick her out without notice and she hasn't got drunk or tried to kill anyone. Could have kicked her out after 3 weeks and 6 days for free! It was clear with hindsight she is daft as a brush. (donning asbestos suit)

what lang do they learn in spain

Then it probably is a little bit concerning (but not a complete write-off) that a young Spanish woman says that she has no English.

My Polish au pair couldn't speak a word of English, and with time, the penny did drop that she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Would be interesting to know what her "marketing" job is. I have come across lots of marketing folks in various European countries in my previous life (and through DH's job), and most of them did use an au pair placement in either the US or UK to perfect their English. But they did it either immediately before or immediately after their four years at a top university.

I asked DH to ask the Language teachers at his school

He asked the Head of Spanish what is the 2nd Language that children learn in Spain

He was told English

So anyway how did the interview go

I bet when you speak to her you will find out she does speak and understand far more English than you think. At 26 and in a marketing job she probably speaks as much English as I do German (I did it for a year or two at school but not O level) which means I can understand a bit, read the odd signpost (or work it out) and say a few phrases. With family nearby you have a huge advantage too as she won't be so lonely. Good luck and fingers crossed.

Sorry, forgot the link

Questionaire

I may be too late, but here are some questions I posted a while ago (although some are geared towards a nanny more than an au pair). But you may find something useful in here.

Feel free to CAT me if you wish to know more. My first au pair was a bad experience. So I'd more than glad to help someone else avoid the problems I had.

I can not stress enough the importance of THOROUGH interview questions and following up on the references.

I would also recommend a book called "The Good NAnny Guide", which you can find at Waterstones.

True enough about 2nd language in Spain but not much help to you if you don't speak French or Portuguese, eh?

It's good that her relatives are on hand to help out with translation - but they won't be there every time.

It's a good idea for you to put as much in writing as possible and she can go through this with her dictionary to figure it out. A ring-binder as a sort of au pair manual could work well (with nice things, such as local maps and bus timetables, as well as job instructions).

I would not pay her £40 even if they have suggested this - your instinct to pay her £60 is spot-on. As soon as she meets other au pairs at language school, they'll all start to compare how much they get.

Agree with skeptic... no flame throwing from me!

Good point about French and Portuguese, Kanga. Arrogantly thought only of English as being the language to learn . I suppose Basque would be up there too.

This may be a completely non-PC thing to say, but it is based on very good advice that I received from a seasoned au pair employer:

If she has got to the grand old age of 26 and she doesn't speak any English at all, then it may reveal something about her overall intelligence or education level. It is worrying and she may not have as much initiative and common sense as you might be hoping for.

Just something for you to watch out for.

/donning flame-proof clothes now

I know this is a side issue but what language do they learn in spain as a secound lang if not english?

french or portugese?