Experienced HF: How many months in advance do you match?

[Anonymous]

I'm very early in the process (need someone to start in June 2019). Am I crazy for possibly matching 9 months in advance? Should I wait for a few months as there may be more candidates to choose?

[Anonymous]

Definitely WAY too early.

Look after the new year.

[Anonymous]

4 months in advance. that's the deadline for the early match discount with my agency, and also when the bulk of Au Pairs seem to sign up- meaning the biggest pool to choose from.

[Anonymous]

I've matched at the end of February for early August arrival, and even that seems early to me, because it's a long time to maintain a relationship by phone. But it's when there's a large pool of candidates to choose from.

[Anonymous]

I usually match in March or April for a June arrival. I'd previously tried matching earlier but the pool was pretty small.

[Anonymous]

I’ve usually matched in Feb for late August arrival.

[Anonymous]

I’m in my 6th year of hosting. I agree, matching four months ahead of the arrival seems to the sweet spot.

[Anonymous]

On AP 5, 3-4 months out is when we match.

[Anonymous]

Late winter for August arrival. Many more APs to choose from from January-March.

[Anonymous]

I think it also depends on what type of candidate you are looking for and start date time of year. We look for gap year Europeans and find that there are a lot of candidates in the system by January. Our start date is mid-August, but I wouldn't wait until 4 months out to match, I think that is waiting too long. If you are not looking for a gap year candidate or are looking for a different start time of year, YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Op here - thanks everyone- this is so incredibly helpful to me!

[Anonymous]

There are some great candidates who try to match a year out. I wouldn’t be afraid to browse now.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I am wondering if it's possible to find an au pair that can start in an off-month like January or February?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I am wondering if it's possible to find an au pair that can start in an off-month like January or February?

We've mostly done summer/fall matches, but I'd say yes, the pool might be thinner, but it is possible to match in winter. Some au pairs aren't students, so they're not tied to the school calendar. Some countries have different school calendars. Some students might graduate in December or January. There could be some great au pairs who didn't get picked up as a fall match but are still looking. Our au pair group mostly turns over in summer, but there are definitely new APs coming all year round.