When to start looking for September start date

[roses2]

My current au pair will be leaving mid August and we will need our next au pair to arrive 1st September. We've got a fixed start date with no lack of flexibility due to us going on holiday & me returning to work 2 days after we get back which is a bit of a bugger however because of this I am willing to consider a short term au pair if I don't manage to find a long term au pair.

I plan to use aupairworld which is where I have found my previous au pairs. I'm aware September is a very busy month for families looking. We're in London Zone 2 which helps a lot.

Does anyone else need an au pair to start September? Have you started looking yet? If not when do you plan to start?

Will start looking mid-June: need to factor in time for browsing profiles, communication, breaks in communication because either we are the potential au pair going on holiday in summer period and then once chosen a little cooling off time and then sign contracts. Afterwards I keep up communication in order to forage a rapport which also helps settling in time. I also take about 3-5 days of leave when AP arrives to help them settle in, show them round town, bus route etc.

When we had au pairs I would start looking from end of April/ beginning of May for an end of August start date.

I’d look now. I’ve always found September starts the most difficult to recruit for.

I start looking as soon as I know I will need someone, sometimes up to a year in advance. Why would you wait?