Au Pair recruitment. Can you please bear with me while I just SCREEEEAAAAMMMMM

[squiffy]

I had forgotten how soul destroying it all is. There I was, chatting to my fab live-out nanny about the upcoming holidays and like a fool I suggested that, if she wanted, I would get an AP in to give her a hand as she has a lot more work....

What was I thinking of?

I have tried all those fab recommendations that people have made on here for agencies (am too late of course) and am now trawling through those websites (we all know them - 400,000 AP's world-wide but none of them manage to achieve the holy trinity of right to work in UK, willingness to work outside of London, and the vaguest interest in actually doing an AP role for an AP salary).

I now have an inbox full of people who said they can drive, but can't; said they don't smoke, but do; who hope very much that I don't mind their (very tidy) boyfriend coming along, and who are definately definately keen but can they please arrive on 6th July and leave on 2nd August....

I have managed to hold it together until just now, when I opened another application and - for the third time this morning - came across that marvellous English phrase "I wanna..."

Straw. Back. Camel, I know, but aaaarggggghhhhh.

good point. Maybe I should interview him though...

what I've been advertissing says the following:-

We would like our au-pair to work for 3 hours a day during the week, plus 1 or 2 nights baby-sitting per week. The main duty is to help in tidying the house (for example, loading the dishwasher, helping with laundry, ironing) and on some days to help our nanny with teas and baths and playtime. We have a weekly cleaner so there is no heavy housework required. We will want someone who is willing to to help out for a few hours at the weekend (but not every weekend of course - it will be flexible depending on what the AP's plans are). The total weekly hours will be around 25, and we can be flexible if for example our AP needs to study on certain days during the week.

Which sounds pretty clear to me. From what I can tell it couldn't be any more bog-standard in terms of an Au Pair?

I have had tons of interest, but they fade when they realise that I am living 10 minutes walk from a village, and the village itself is 15 minutes on a bus from anywhere.... this seems to be the killer.

imananny - students wouldn't work because there is already a nanny there for much of the time, so the students would definately not get the experience they are looking for, the nanny herself would have her nose put out of joint a little, and I would end up paying more for extra skills I don't need....

Saying that, I seem to be doing OK-ish in chats with a German girl at the moment..... wish me luck. She's the only one left....

I'll join you on the au pair hunt ..... as I am sick to the back teeth of "I have lots of experience" (babysat twice), "confident cook (microwave food) and I dont smoke (very much...). A big aaahhhhhhhhh from here too!

Crossed fingers we have found someone who wants to come to rural Essex (far more isolated than Canterbury and without a beautiful cathedral!)

Good luck everyone

Mind you, Athene, that chap would certainly look good in the jacuzzi.

Is there an advanced search function you use to find these hunks?

"Is there an advanced search function you use to find these hunks? " And how do I apply this search function to my life?

oh i see

you want more a mothers help/ap then

or maybe someone to clean/iron

def DONT want to put nannies nose out of joint

good luck

have you thought of advertising locally for a mothers help?

last night dh was saying that we might need an AP in October and I said NO WAY. A few weeks ago he said we should try a Male AP and I said NO WAY. After seeing AT's link, I've just rang dh up and told him I've changed my mind (a woman's perogative) off to CAT hunk and offer him mega bucks to become my next AP. KC - I can see if he is available for babysitting.

squiffy - I'd put hours in (if your German doesn't materialise) eg "proposed working hours are 3 to 6 pm daily, with two evenings babysitting, and Saturday mornings from 9am to 1pm" (times may be negotiated).

or mummysitting...

..absolutely KC but dd1 would object as he is defnitely her type.

we wouldn't be ladies after hiring him

not really a lady now so no qualms there.

Squiffy. Tell the Aupairs you will provide a bike. Less than £200 in Halfords, free travel for AP, and you get to keep the bike for the next one!
Have you thought about polish au pairs? Without being ethinically impaired, I favour the polish au pair. No nonsens attitude, admirable work ethics, and they are not scared of blood, poo and puke. (I learnt this when the Norovirus was ravaging SW15 two years ago, and both my kids got it twice, and au pair ended up sleeping on the floor next to ONE sick child and helped him puke throughout the night, while I was with the other. She then got it, but smiled through gritted teeth and said, "I am ok really.")

Waves at Jura, KC and owl

oh! MrsR hi to you too!

I would say kazkah au pairs would probably pretty unfussy too - but not many of them around!

Hi QS.

i personally think that the aps get either confused of put off by the hours as it says 3hrs a day, help out at weekend and total 25 hours. which gives the impression that unless they have a trip planned they will be working all the week through. but i am still amazed you dont get applications as there seems to be a milion of girls wanting summer jobs.
dont know where you advertise, i can recommend gumtree.com, greataupair.com, aupairworld.net and nannyjob.co.uk good luck

hi to you QS as well!

Thanks ladies for adding suggestions and don't get me wrong, there are hundreds that apply (but I must admit, no Kazhaks yet..).

Once you remove those who can't get a visa or can't stay for 3 months or who won't do housework, or who specify that they want to live in a city, or who don't eat meat, or who don't want to be in a house with pets, or who don't want to work with under 2 yr olds, or who want more than $200.... then you get down to maybe 50 (around 40 last week when I tried). So you email them....

And maybe 10 respond. Then they all go cold when they realise (as is pointed out in big bold caps in details about job) that it really really is the country and not the end of zone 4. And then you are back at square 1

could be time to shoot the dog and go vegan I guess.

Can't you be really upfront about the location?

My sister was (10km from the nearest boulangerie, no public transport and nowhere to go for 20km). She got an Australian who was really keen to see rural France (with fixed hours ).

^^

I'll have you all know that the hunky male aupairs have been contacting me. No idea why!

oh I recognise that pattern Squiffy - 10% response rate. I'm so glad I'm out of that loop now. But when I was searching, I used to explicitely state in my profile that 1) I was not in the Centre of London; 2) I could only pay Au Pair rates and not Nanny rates; 3) that we need someone who has experience of babies. But I guess you've probably done this anyway.

I did hear that there are some aupair websites that are a front for men looking for other women to fulfil their needs and get paid for it (if you get my drift) and sometimes, when I see that some APs have had over 100 families apply to them, I begin to believe this rumour. It does make you wonder doesn't it?

Oh MrsR, what a fab idea. I can send DH out to work then.