Is it me. or APIA's pool?

[Anonymous]

I have been trying to interview au pairs, and I can barely even get a response to an email! Emailed 14 au pairs. 1 emailed back to say she wasn't interested because she was planning to match with someone else. 4 emailed back and accepted Skype interview.

The first one said she wanted to be an au pair because, "I need a chance to get my sh*t together." Which, profanity aside, is not a sentiment one should voice in a job interview. Nevertheless, I invited her to do a second Skype interview. She didn't respond for over 24 hours, then (after the time I had suggested for the interview had already passed), she emailed to say she forgot to reply, and could we still talk now? I passed on this one. She was morbidly obese, had very thin childcare experience, and seemed lazy. And still didn't seem that interested.

The second one did her interview from the mall while shopping (!). She thought this was appropriate because "it's Black Friday" (to be fair, she is not the first au pair i have interviewed while she was at a shopping mall). She has a driver's license in her home country and an international license, but does not drive here (has been here for a year with APIA). I asked if she would be willing to learn to drive if I paid for lessons, and she said no. So that was the end of that (I live near Metro, so can tolerate a non-driver for now, but may need a driver by summer, when kids may be at summer camp somewhere far from Metro).

Third and fourth ones couldn't show up on time for Skype interview and tried to blame technical difficulties. I gave them both 10 minutes, but after that... no. You have to show up on time. Are you going to be able to pick up my kids on time?

The other nine didn't even respond to my email. They are all over the map-- ages 18-27, from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Germany, South Africa, Italy, etc. Some are extension au pairs running up against their deadline to match for 2nd year (and some of them rematched their first year, so I'm already a little suspicious of why). Some are still in their home country. I emailed non-drivers, a girl who had 2 car accidents with her first family, a couple of girls who were morbidly obese, a vegetarian (which we are not), all races and religions. A couple of extraordinaires, but mostly regular au pairs. No response. I could not possibly get less picky with my choices.

If you are wondering if the job of working for me is horrible, I'm a single mom with 2 preschool kids with mild special needs (think: has trouble holding a crayon or standing on one foot, but nothing that really makes taking care of them challenging, or is obvious to someone meeting them). They go to special ed preschool half the day, so we don't max out hours. We live in a townhouse near Metro in close-in VA suburb. Either car access or $$ for Metro is provided. One late evening a week and rare weekend work required, because my job also requires me to work evenings and weekends on occasion. Some of these girls worked for families with 3 kids under 5, so this sounds like an easier job, frankly. But also, some of them have lived in $2 million houses. Is that what they expect now?

Is this just what the quality of APIA's pool is? Because if this is what's out there, I am going to need to hire a real nanny.

[Anonymous]

registered with many agencies at the same time and see what works best. I am with APC and like it. I was registered with 4 agencies at the same time and ended up matching with the AP I liked the most and i didn't care what agencies it was with.

[Anonymous]

APIA passes on rematch au pairs with histories a la pedophile priests. You need to screen heavily against materialism, for good drivers, etc. If you have a handbook where you list out what you do provide and do not provide, send it to them. If they push back for more salary or benefits, use a standard line like "if you find a rich family in Hawaii, I would match with them, too" and stress what you do offer, which is a fixed, short-ish schedule with transportation. You will need to give a little, too. You might end up with a GF, vegetarian that only eats duck eggs. It's also a function of what types of people are matching this time of year, you would probably have better luck at the end of an academic year.

[Anonymous]

that’s way better than me. I have to ask 14 to interview to get 2 to respond.

[Anonymous]

The lack of replies is with all agencies. OP in your case I think working weekends are “issue” for au pairs especially 2nd year au pairs. Don’t give up! I more than understand the frustration. I would much rather get response Not interested, thank you than none...

[Anonymous]

If you register with CCAP, a bunch of APs will be hitting the rematch pool soon...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you register with CCAP, a bunch of APs will be hitting the rematch pool soon...

That’s not specific to CCAP. All MA host families need to comply with state regulations, so there will likely be a lot of MA families opting out. Not sure if the other agencies are making opting out easier, as CCAP is doing. (See the other related thread.)

[Anonymous]

I think the problem is getting extension au pairs. They can be super choosy. Instead of trying to compete for these seemingly desirable ones try to find ones that have less competition. We found an amazing male au pair that will be extending with us. I loved his profile and work ethic, large family, driver from Brazil and even an English teacher. We were one of the few families that reached out to him. Btw we have a son and 3 daughters. He is so great with kids. Our other au pair was from Thailand and she did 2 years also. Our llc told us not to get someone from Thailand bc of driving skills. We ignored her advice and she was a great and safe driver.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the problem is getting extension au pairs. They can be super choosy. Instead of trying to compete for these seemingly desirable ones try to find ones that have less competition. We found an amazing male au pair that will be extending with us. I loved his profile and work ethic, large family, driver from Brazil and even an English teacher. We were one of the few families that reached out to him. Btw we have a son and 3 daughters. He is so great with kids. Our other au pair was from Thailand and she did 2 years also. Our llc told us not to get someone from Thailand bc of driving skills. We ignored her advice and she was a great and safe driver.

I find this so funny. Our current AP is looking to extend (we said hell no) and boy will the new family be in for a rude awakening. We have been limping through this train wreck (including an actual car wreck) and cannot wait until she is someone else's problem. This is our last year and DH and I are taking bets that she won't last even 4 weeks with the new family. We are pathetically tolerant of her incompetence due to this being our last year and needing a driver at least through March.