OP here. Thank you for all your tips. I ended up interviewing 2 candidates, with 30 minutes each. The first one was a clear dud since she was doing it for the wrong reason. The 2nd one was more promising and we are going to do another interview with her that MH will participate in too.

Very longtime HM here - starting year 12 this summer. I have learned that if I don't click and fall into "easy conversation" with someone I am interviewing, then it's not a good fit. So either our first interviews last 10 min (not a good fit, take 10 min to try to coax someone into comfort) or an hour. The second interview, only with someone I clicked with the first time, is more structured and probably 30-45 min. Third interview is with DH and then one of the children, with me facilitating the hello/change to the next person/goodbye. Last is with the other child who the AP doesn't care for - just for them to be comfortable with the other but it's not really an interview. The final is my asking to match. Along the way, at the end of each skype or facetime interview, I ask the AP to consider how the convo went and to let me know if they would like to continue in the matching process. I do the same thinking before scheduling the next interview.

Being very quick with the first interview means that I waste less time on interviews now than i used to. Good luck, OP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would up going about an hour per Skype. You will want to do several interviews (3-4) with the AP that makes it past your initial interviews. Scenario questions can help you get a sense of judgement and maturity (e.g. the two kids are arguing over a toy they both want and the doorbell rings, what do you do? Or it's time to come in for dinner and one child does not want to come in and starts to get what do you do?).

This is waaaay more than we do and we have had two great AP's so far.

I'm glad it works for the PP but I run out of questions for the AP's after 15-20 minutes. Two skype calls is enough for me plus a few email exchanges (giving them the chance to ask questions they forgot during the skype), sending photos and sample schedules and giving them the Whatsapp of our current AP and encouraging them to ask anything they want. I also enlist the current AP and tell her to be completely honest so there are no surprises.

Just wanted to give a different perspective so the new HM doesn't think she is failing if she doesn't do 4 one hour skype sessions.

We also only do two Skype interviews. The interviews do tend to last 30min-1h through.

Anonymous wrote:I would up going about an hour per Skype. You will want to do several interviews (3-4) with the AP that makes it past your initial interviews. Scenario questions can help you get a sense of judgement and maturity (e.g. the two kids are arguing over a toy they both want and the doorbell rings, what do you do? Or it's time to come in for dinner and one child does not want to come in and starts to get what do you do?).

This is waaaay more than we do and we have had two great AP's so far.

I'm glad it works for the PP but I run out of questions for the AP's after 15-20 minutes. Two skype calls is enough for me plus a few email exchanges (giving them the chance to ask questions they forgot during the skype), sending photos and sample schedules and giving them the Whatsapp of our current AP and encouraging them to ask anything they want. I also enlist the current AP and tell her to be completely honest so there are no surprises.

Just wanted to give a different perspective so the new HM doesn't think she is failing if she doesn't do 4 one hour skype sessions.

Anonymous wrote:I also use it to screen for English, and to see how interested they really are in our family. I think twice about an AP who has zero questions for us.
I can also tell a lot about an AP in the first few minutes. One AP was late to our skype call and then appeared wearing what I will politely call a napkin as a shirt (some kind of extremely bare halter top). She's welcome to wear whatever she wants but this is about first impressions, and she did not make a good one.

I’d bet DH disagrees.

I would up going about an hour per Skype. You will want to do several interviews (3-4) with the AP that makes it past your initial interviews. Scenario questions can help you get a sense of judgement and maturity (e.g. the two kids are arguing over a toy they both want and the doorbell rings, what do you do? Or it's time to come in for dinner and one child does not want to come in and starts to get what do you do?).

I recommend you check the archives as AuPairMom.com - lots of good tips there on questions to ask.

So first of all I would start with adults only and then have the kids participate in the second call. It can be very distracting with the kids and you will realize quickly some au pairs are not for you.

I start with an open ended - why do you want to be an au pair? question to just get them talking.

Then I would ask for specific experiences with children of similar ages and what they liked/ disliked about it.

And finally I always ask if they have questions for us. There are some that will ask all about the children (a good sign) and then some that are more focused on the perks (will I get an iphone).

Definitely use it to screen for English and a personality match.

And I would always present the worst case scenario - we may need you to work evenings, weekends, etc so that you don't have any surprises.

I also use it to screen for English, and to see how interested they really are in our family. I think twice about an AP who has zero questions for us.
I can also tell a lot about an AP in the first few minutes. One AP was late to our skype call and then appeared wearing what I will politely call a napkin as a shirt (some kind of extremely bare halter top). She's welcome to wear whatever she wants but this is about first impressions, and she did not make a good one.

It is so like dating, but only the stressful parts of dating.

First interview, I just tell her about our family and ask her to tell me about herself. Most of what gets shared is already in the profiles. I use it as a screener for English language and personality fit. If we both want to take it further, we arrange a second interview which includes time talking to the kids. At every interview, I ask what questions she has for us. Her questions can be very telling.

I'm new to the process and have been using CCAP. After a ton of rejections finally made a connection and planning for our first skype interview.

Any pointers or tips are appreciated.

How long should we expect it to last?

Thanks.

I feel like dating all over again. Ugh.