Finding the best au pair for you and your family
Based on our own experience, as well as
feedback from many families and au pairs, a successful au pair /
family relationship requires a match in personality and attitude as
well as the job duties required by the family being a match with
the job duties that the au pair is happy to do.
There is a real balance required between taking your time to
find the right au pair that is right for your family and acting
quickly when you do find a great au pair, as great au pairs can be
selected by other families very quickly.
TheBestAupair recommends you do your homework regarding
eligibility requirements an au pair must satisfy to enter your
country. Make sure the au pair meets all the requriements before
spending too much time getting to know them. Please refer to Visa &
Regulations for more information.
Below is a guide to the steps to follow in TheBestAupair website
to find the best au pair for you:
Search for an au pair and send them an "I'm
Interested Message"
The Find au
pair page provides comprehensive search criteria that
enables you to shortlist au pairs that are a match for the job
duties and personal preferences that you have entered.
* Note the FastSearch page automatically performs the
search based on the search criteria you have entered in your
profile. FastSearch is only available to registered
members.
TheBestAupair recommends that you read through each au pair's
profile, paying particular attention to their personal information
and message to the family. If you are interested in that au pair,
you can send them a message by pressing the 
button on their profile page.
The au pair will receive a message that you are interested in
them. Please note that you must be registered as a premium member
in order to see the au pair's email address and if they have
allowed it, you will also see their contact phone number and / or
Skype name.
If the au pair is a premium member, they will be able to see
your email and contact number and Skype name if you have allowed it
(your contact information can be changed in the My Account page
and then select the "Update My Account & Contact Details"
button).
Create a shortlist / add to favourites
You can add an au pair to your favourites by pressing the 
button in the search results page or when you
view their profile.
Interview
The personality match between your family and the au pair can
only really be determined through talking with the au pair.
TheBestAupair strongly recommends doing at least one (and
preferably multiple) webcam interviews / discussions as nothing
beats seeing each other and interacting face to face.
When you have short listed, TheBestAupair recommends performing
at least 2 reference checks. This can be done with a former teacher
or a former or current employer.
TheBestAupair has created several useful documents such as an
Interview Guide and Interview tips on how to help you find the best
au pair for you and your family. These documents can be found in
the Download
Centre, which is only available to Premium members.
Select your next au pair and create agreement /
contract
Once you have interviewed and short-listed, you can offer your
favourite au pair a position as your au pair!
TheBestAupair strongly recommends the family and au pair have an
Employment Agreement or contract. Some countries have an official
au pair Agreement and is required to be completed and signed by
law, see visa and regulations for further
information. TheBestAupair has created an Employment Agreement,
which can be used for those countries without an official
Employment Agreement. This is available to premium members via our
Download
Centre.
Don't get disheartened if your chosen au pair does not accept
the position. If you find that you are having trouble with
securing an au pair after a couple of months of being on our site,
Contact Us and
our support team will be able to give you some tips of what you
could possibly improve on your profile, your interviews or position
you are offering.
Update your profile status
If you have found an au pair, don't forget to update your
profile status by going to the My Account page and pressing the 
button so that you do not continue to receive
enquiries from au pairs. When you are ready to start looking for
your next au pair, you can reactivate your profile and choose the
appropriate membership and PowerSearch options. Unless you tell us
not to, we will maintain your profile information in our database
for at least 18 months after you deactivate your profile.
If you have any comments regarding this page, please
Email us - we value your feedback!