Finding an au pair online

[Francezinha]

Hello everybody!
I just signed up to this site, hoping to get some input on this topic, and also to hopefully find some other working moms here :-) As you can probably tell, I am from the US, we moved to England recently, so everything is still really new to me.
As both, me and my husband work full time, we are looking into hiring an au pair to help us out. I worked as an au pair myself many years ago, so I am really excited about the idea of now having an au pair myself. Here's my question - we have found a couple of online sites where you can contact the potential au pairs directly and it seems like a great idea. We've already signed up for two sites that we liked (aupair world and aupair village), and now I was wondering if any of you have some experience with this. Have you used online sites to find au pairs? How were your experiences? Would you recommend it? I am looking forward to your answers!

I've recruited six au pairs via au pair world and have been pretty happy with it. Don't fall too much into the trap of trying to sell yourself.

Be honest about what's involved and be clear what you will offer in terms of perks, involvement with the family etc. It needs to be a two way street - as you'll remember. Definitely do skype interviews!

I love the idea of a trial weekend, that's really good to see if it works out or not. Do you usually have more than one au pair coming or how do you work it out?
Definitely Skype interviews, and it's a good idea too to write down all the questions we have first. I think you're right, it's important to make sure WE know what we want and can be clear about it to the au pair.
Thanks for your input, I think we'll try it with au pair world and au pair village then!
I'll let you know how it worked out.

We used au pair world. Have a really good think about what requirements are essential to you (level of English speaking ability, driving licence, if they've lived by themselves before and can cook, etc) and also what type of person would suit you and your family (energetic and outgoing or more chilled). Be honest in your advert and state your needs clearly.

Be harsh in your filtering process. I got hundreds of initial emails of interested au pairs and just chose the ones who had written a nice personal message who I thought might be a good match. We then sent a couple of emails before Skype interviews.

Go with your gut, if someone seems a fantastic fit for your family then take up contact with them.

I also recommend a trial few days if you're recruiting someone from Europe.

Great advice, thanks so much. I feel a lot better about the whole idea now!!!
Did you also maybe have bad experiences, that somebody seemed really like a great fit after the emails and Skype interviews and then turned out to be awful?

Hi

I hope this isn't a daft question. What sort of references should I be asking for from potential Spanish au pairs, who contact me through Au pair World? Most of them are teachers or other graduates. Many of them just disappear when I ask, or sound very confused about what this means.

One - who I like already and will be Skyping on Sunday - is providing a letter from the hotel where she babysits and has already sent the name and phone number of a UK couple whose son she babysits for when they are at their holiday home in Spain. She is the exception.

Any advice?