Has anyone used Au Pair World?

[lovely123]

Hi There,

I am an experienced au pair host but usually go through agencies or personal recommendation from my au pair who is leaving.
However I have just discovered au pair world and wondered if anyone could share advice, experiences, tips etc

Thanks

I used it to find a family when I was an au pair. The first family I found where amazing but I had to leave then the second family was a disgrace. They lied about the child's age he was only 1 and they told me 2.5. I got there on a Sunday they went to work on the Monday morning and I didn't see them again until the Thursday when I told them straight away that I was leaving as they did not stick to the hours. I think agency's are better as anyone can be on au pair world

The agencies do not necessarily vet the aupairs and you shell out for nothing IMO you could not get off aupair world which has much greater choice.

But you will have to do the checks and references yourself on the candidates you find on aupairworld, which I prefer frankly as I get a better feel for the girls and their enthusiasm for the role I make them jump through a few hoops which sorts out the timewasters and half-hearted.

Hi Blueshoes,

Thanks for responding.
What questions etc do you ask?

I agree that au pair world is better than agencies as you have a big pool of candidates to pick from, and you do the vetting yourself meaning you can rely on it more than if it is done by someone else.

I do initial screening questions by message, then schedule a Skype interview if I like them.

Aupair world is great, agree with previous posters. Lots of choice, you can narrow down criteria and find lots of experienced aupairs. I wouldnt recommend sgencies.

Hi lovely, I have just PM-ed you my questions.

As you will see, it is quite a long list. If the aupair is not interested or her English is not up to scratch (I require aupairs who have decent English), then she will not answer, which acts as a natural screening device.

If I am satisfied with the answers, I will arrange for a skype, largely to test her conversational and spoken English. But as all the heavy lifting will already be done, I can offer the role to her over skype if it goes well.

You should ask for references. The aupair should at least be able to provide written references from their school, previous employers (such as nurseries or holiday clubs at which they worked) or babysitting families. The best is if they have previous aupair experience. I will try to call up the host family and chat to them about the aupair.

One tip about using aupairworld. You should respond via the site to aupairs as often as you can, even if it is to send them the standard message that you are not interested. Each time you respond, it bumps up your profile in the search results and keeps your profile hot.

Once you put your profile up, you will start getting interest from aupairs. Bear in mind many of them will not have even read your profile properly. Therefore, you still have to look at their anticipated start date, length of stay, even preferred country etc to make sure it matches your requirements.

Some of them may come from countries you don't have much hope of getting a visa for, such as Mexico or such like. I only hire girls from the EU to spare myself any issues with the visa.

Hi Pink, I have just PM-ed you my questions. Good luck with it.

Blueshoes,

Appreciate all the tips.

I am always very nervous when a new girl starts with us and give about 2 weeks before I leave her alone with the children.
Would be good to know what you do and how you handle the "fear" of leaving your children with a new person.

lovely, how old are your children?

11, 7 and 4

As regards leaving my children with a new aupair, I guess you have to trust your vetting process and instincts. You are an experienced aupair employer so must have some idea of whether someone will work out? I think you pretty much have a feel for the person within the first 1-2 weeks.

I asked how old your children were. They are all clearly verbal and so you can ask them how their day went and what the aupair did. There is also safety in numbers: them against her.

I only have one day where I show the aupair the school run and then if she is comfortable, she flies solo from day 2. I do have a detailed timetable and my children 11 and 8 are old enough to fill in any gaps, if she forgets.

I guess I might be quite blase!

My aupair is not required to drive. I would be very nervous if she did and had my children in the car with her.

Blueshoes would you mind PMing me your list aswell please? New to this :)

Thanks very much.

I was just about to post the same question so thanks for starting this thread op.

This is my first time using aupair world and I have had numerous applications however the 2 girls that I've interviewed have wanted around 150-200 quid a week?? I'm an experienced host and have had many aupairs and fully qualified nannies over the years but this is the first time I've had aupairs asking for this, especially since they had no real experience to speak of. I need someone to help get the kids to and from school, keep their rooms tidy and clean up the kitchen. approx 30 hours a week. I'm offering 5 weeks holiday, 100 pounds pocket money, a cinema pass, gym membership and access to a car for personal use.

Do you put what you are offering in the ad? I haven't but looking at the other profiles not many do. I'm only going through au pair world as I'm sick to death of paying massive agency fees for not the best candidates.

Any thoughts welcomed.

Hi Ang69

I am in the same boat, sick of paying agency fees and some girls have left way before the agreed time frame, hence leaving me to pay more fees.
I have had about 30+ girls respond to me but I am finding it really hard to communicate with alot of them.
I actually thought I had found someone, she spoke to my current au pair and was very happy, she told me she is booking her flight and canceled on me last night without reason!

I also find that by the time you go back and fourth on the au pair world email, you are losing time, they then send their skype ID's but do not accept your request...

Anyone else have these issues? or just me?

Had the same problems with au pair world and have ended up going back to agency, but with Australian candidates and have had much more success. I wonder if it is because they're coming such a long way; that they've got to be committed and absolutely sure.

I've found some European girls to be slightly flakey if I'm totally honest.

Blueshoes, could I possibly have your list pm'd as well? I just joined AP world and have had nearly 100 applications in less than 24 hours so am feeling a bit overwhelmed by the screening process!

Sorry to hijack thread but I am also on AP world and been a bit overwhelmed by response. I am also a bit unsure about pocket money. How do you work out what to offer. I need no more 25 hours? No driving required as we are in London. Is £80 too little?

cake £80 is OK, but if you can I would offer a bit more or a perk like gym membership to attract the best candidates. A lot of families will be paying £100 /week for 25 hours.

Agree the going rate is nearer to £100 per week plus some kind of 'perk'. It does attract the best candidates I think. Especially in London.

Also consider holidays, and whether the pay will go up, also consider whether you will allow them to take them out and about; cinema, lunch, swimming etc and to plan activities; this will add up! What are you doing about travel costs, Oyster? How about a phone? As they will need to keep in touch with you throughout the day.

That's really helpful thank you.