concern about the available pool for this summer

[Anonymous]

Have you already matched for a new year beginning in summer? Or looked at the pool yet? I am with CC, and I have been looking casually for a couple of weeks--not quite ready to jump full-on into matching. I am VERY concerned about the available pool I see. We have matched with male APs the past couple of years, and there are far fewer choices just in terms of numbers. And what is there. . .

I normally have several easy sorting criteria--age, English level, driving experience, active in a sport that gets me a manageable list. But this year as soon as I try to apply that criteria, the list dwindles to virtually nothing.

Coupled with my concerns about the AP program in general, I think this might be the end of our time hosting. I am sad about that. I have enjoyed hosting APs for nearly 9 years.

[Anonymous]

We have matched with a BP from CC already. The pool seemed pretty good to me, although I found very few with "Advanced English" language skills. That said, all of the candidates that we interviewed over Skype spoke pretty good English.

We tend to match for summer arrivals starting in early January, though, so maybe it is getting a little too late in the year and the good BPs are being snatched up already?

[Anonymous]

We are in the process of matching now and I think the pool is pretty typical. Maybe I am not as picky

[Anonymous]

I'm also with CC and have already matched with a BP for a late July start. This is our fifth year of hosting. This is the first year that I couldn't sort by "Advanced English" - it left us with almost no one, so we did match with someone with Intermediate English skills for the first time ever. Also, in terms of currently available candidates, I'll note that almost half of the 20 or so candidates that I had initially "liked" are now listed as "Unavailable," which I believe means that they've already matched. Maybe people are just matching earlier?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for your comments--some validating, some not.

As I said, I have been hosting for nearly 9 years, and I am comparing my own past matching experience here. I do simply think the available pool is smaller. But maybe I am too picky. I am going to give it a go, and if I don't find someone I think will be great, I will leave the program. Here's hoping new profiles will still pop up!

[Anonymous]

I was with CC for 7 years and then last year even though CC's pool was bigger, I signed up with Au Pair Care and ended up matching a BP through them. I'm not particularly advocating one agency or another, but that you consider the others as well. Also note that if you say you are coming from another agency, most will probably give you a discount similar to that of a repeat family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for your comments--some validating, some not.

As I said, I have been hosting for nearly 9 years, and I am comparing my own past matching experience here. I do simply think the available pool is smaller. But maybe I am too picky. I am going to give it a go, and if I don't find someone I think will be great, I will leave the program. Here's hoping new profiles will still pop up!

Longtime HM here on year 12 now. I started searching today for next year’s BP and it’s a very different pool than usual. Normally I have 70 BPs who on the surface fit my screening and then I weed down. This year I had 30 and only favorited four. Ccap has a much smaller pool of
German speaking 2+ year driving males than usual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was with CC for 7 years and then last year even though CC's pool was bigger, I signed up with Au Pair Care and ended up matching a BP through them. I'm not particularly advocating one agency or another, but that you consider the others as well. Also note that if you say you are coming from another agency, most will probably give you a discount similar to that of a repeat family.

I’ve been with cc for 5 years and signed up with APC this year too, but I haven’t had any more luck matching with them. I don’t like that they don’t have any metric for measuring English level and they seem to have about 1/4 the number of au pairs from the countries we look at. I think I’m close to matching with an extension from cc who I found in a roundabout way, but I do agree that the general pool this year is poor.

[Anonymous]

when I put in my typical filers I get 13 possibilities. just 13. and several of these are "maxed out" on connections, and others don't fit for us on paper for one reason or another.

I have seen at least 3 new ones pop up in the last week or so, though, so they must still be putting out new ones.

Incidentally, I don't like the new profile style. I had my methods for reviewing the old one, and the new one doesn't show all I need. I wonder whether the new profile style slowed things down. For example, it seems to require a video component, as opposed to it being optional like before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for your comments--some validating, some not.

As I said, I have been hosting for nearly 9 years, and I am comparing my own past matching experience here. I do simply think the available pool is smaller. But maybe I am too picky. I am going to give it a go, and if I don't find someone I think will be great, I will leave the program. Here's hoping new profiles will still pop up!

Longtime HM here on year 12 now. I started searching today for next year’s BP and it’s a very different pool than usual. Normally I have 70 BPs who on the surface fit my screening and then I weed down. This year I had 30 and only favorited four. Ccap has a much smaller pool of
German speaking 2+ year driving males than usual.

We almost always match with gap year German BPs and I think that requiring 2+ years of driving experience if what is causing you issues. Many 18/19 year olds won't have their license for 2 years when they apply to be an AP, since you can't get a license to drive a car until 17 and even then you have to drive with a parent until you are 18.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for your comments--some validating, some not.

As I said, I have been hosting for nearly 9 years, and I am comparing my own past matching experience here. I do simply think the available pool is smaller. But maybe I am too picky. I am going to give it a go, and if I don't find someone I think will be great, I will leave the program. Here's hoping new profiles will still pop up!

Longtime HM here on year 12 now. I started searching today for next year’s BP and it’s a very different pool than usual. Normally I have 70 BPs who on the surface fit my screening and then I weed down. This year I had 30 and only favorited four. Ccap has a much smaller pool of
German speaking 2+ year driving males than usual.

We almost always match with gap year German BPs and I think that requiring 2+ years of driving experience if what is causing you issues. Many 18/19 year olds won't have their license for 2 years when they apply to be an AP, since you can't get a license to drive a car until 17 and even then you have to drive with a parent until you are 18.

Yes I know this but my point is that I’ve been successful for the past six years but not this year. We will not reduce this requirement as our insurance doubles if our AP/BP has been driving less than three years.

[Anonymous]

Drat

After 6 years we are not matching.

Best of luck!
,retired hf

[Anonymous]

It’s not a good time to host or be an AP. Those who usually complain about the clingers should be grateful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not a good time to host or be an AP. Those who usually complain about the clingers should be grateful.

+1 Clingers are more likely to comply congenially with social distancing or quarantine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not a good time to host or be an AP. Those who usually complain about the clingers should be grateful.

+1 Clingers are more likely to comply congenially with social distancing or quarantine.

No. I would die if I was stuck in quarantine with a clinger and no way to get away.