AP world- how long does it take you to recruit?

[SnailWhaleTail]

Further to my thread below on needing a new AP;

I have been sending lots of messages on au pair world and getting positive responses, I then follow up with an email giving more details on our family and the job. I have only had 1 email back!

Now, either we are awful/too demanding or this is just how it works! Which is it?

Tbf the job is ap+ and necessitates getting up at 7 am which I guess limits candidates but I am offering 3 days off pw, use of car etc.

DH thinks people look at their mail then want to draft a response so maybe a few might reply at the weekend.

I've also tried Abacus who were very helpful but pointed out that as I am looking for someone to come in may, there were lots of summer girls about but not so many longer term.

Sigh.

APW really is a numbers game. it can take over 100 initial contacts to get down the one, so don't despair - yet.

You say you are looking for May, so it is not time to panic yet, are shortest first contact to arrival time has been about 10 days.

So hang on in there - the one for you is out there.

Thanks DIOM,

I've always been a bit impatient and this time it's tinged with panic at the though of AP1 going and not having a replacement.

I will adopt an attitude of zen-like calm and quiet confidence.

Wow- 10 days though! Good work.

Our first and current one was sorted fairly quickly - but we wanted someone who could start in February and we only started searching around the middle of January.

This is a trial for us - she can only stay for 3 months.

We will have to start looking again soon for either a May start or else we could struggle through the summer and get someone for September.

Good luck

I would be looking now for May. I generally start (i.e. reactivate the profile) about 3 months before I want them to start, I stay reactive for about a month (i.e. responding but not sending) and then go proactive two months out unless I see somebody who I think would be perfect for us. The more they have thought about it the more committed they will be and the earlier they will put there profile up.

That is a generalisation obviously, our mad Dutch girl decided to be an AP in a bar, put up a profile while still drunk, we contacted next day, and she was with us 10 days later. Obviously we only found this out later. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happend but worked out really well. So you can never tell.

I agree that you may have contact with 100 au pairs on apw in order to get 2or3 on a shortlist. I tend to let them contact me...at least for the first month or so. This means you get contacted by a lot of aps who have not read your profile and are totally unsuitable but also by a few who really are interested in your family before you've taken it any further.
If I don't get any decent aps after a few weeks then I start searching for suitable types to contact but try to stick to those with less than 10 contacts in previous 30 days... Some of them have 250+ contacts in 1 month so will be swamped!

I agree with previous posts its quite normal ...you get lots of initial enquires and then when you follow up with a few questions no one responds!!! I am currently recruiting for the end of June. I have had 42 respondents of which about 8 look OK and none have answered my questions.. You have plenty of time yet and will be able to get a dialogue going with one or two suitable candidates. Failing that nearer the time you could consider Gumtree? I have recruited from there before the advantage is you can interview face to face, the disadvantage is that they almost all want an immediate start

These scenarios are the reason I turned to an agency in the end. However, the fee is feeling high this time around (have a bunch of other expenses to pay).

Have people experienced fewer time wasters on Great Au Pair?! Sorry for the mini hijack but thought it might not be irrelevant to Snail anyway.

Harriet - anything that takes the pain away!

I'd gladly defect if I thought it would help.

We are recruiting for May and it's creeping ever closer.

I am feeling swamped,have had over 200applications in 3days and my brain has shut down.Usually i send out my question and info sheet and it whittles down very quickly,but no i have had 37 responses all from very good candidates.Usually i have about 3 to choose from.
However i only need a summer aupair so this is no doubt why im swamped.
Snail, its quite hard to recruit in May,June is easier as most girls have finished exams by then.Also some of the best girls i have had are when i have been in a panic an just thought 'ok you will do'. All the ones i take time over have been a bit pants really