Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If one of your agencies is Cultural Care, it is everyone this year, not just you. I don't think many au pairs want to come to the DC area at this point from that agency.

I do think a lot of au pairs would prefer a private bathroom, so if its between you and another family and everything is about even, they are going to pick the private bathroom.

You don't interact with and live with and eat with a bathroom. Ya gotta skip those princesses!

Interacting with a family and a private bath are not mutually exclusive.

Anonymous wrote:I agree on the photos. My sister is a professional photographer and we already have professional pictures of our vacation home for the rental site. My sister came over and did professional photos our our home as well (we have 8 home pictures posted). Along with a detailed description of the perks and the great photos, we have never had a rejection. As a matter of fact last 2 matches were on the closed CCAP Facebook groups. We only match with northern Europeans and yes, they are accustomed to living in larger homes with ample bathroom space. I dont match with oeiplrneith poor English.

Anonymous wrote:If one of your agencies is Cultural Care, it is everyone this year, not just you. I don't think many au pairs want to come to the DC area at this point from that agency.

I do think a lot of au pairs would prefer a private bathroom, so if its between you and another family and everything is about even, they are going to pick the private bathroom.

You don't interact with and live with and eat with a bathroom. Ya gotta skip those princesses!

I have loved loved my 3 Brazilian APs. 1 kid, no perks. Just lots and lots of freedom. No nights, no weekends. Single mom here.

Other APs liked hanging out at our house -- no tension, no high-powered moms not parenting their own kids.

I agree on the photos. My sister is a professional photographer and we already have professional pictures of our vacation home for the rental site. My sister came over and did professional photos our our home as well (we have 8 home pictures posted). Along with a detailed description of the perks and the great photos, we have never had a rejection. As a matter of fact last 2 matches were on the closed CCAP Facebook groups. We only match with northern Europeans and yes, they are accustomed to living in larger homes with ample bathroom space. I dont match with oeiplrneith poor English.

Anonymous wrote:If one of your agencies is Cultural Care, it is everyone this year, not just you. I don't think many au pairs want to come to the DC area at this point from that agency.

I do think a lot of au pairs would prefer a private bathroom, so if its between you and another family and everything is about even, they are going to pick the private bathroom.

Why not?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of photos are you taking? We have a few family photos, pictures of each kid individually and in groups, a Halloween shot, a picture of our house and our country house. I never thought of putting pictures of food.

I'm the longtime HM (on year 12) who has no problem matching while not advertising perks. We have one photo of our house with all the flowers in bloom, a couple of family pics (this year's holiday card, last year's holiday card), a couple of pics of the children individually, and a pic each of our three pets. We do not stage anything, and I spend literally no time curating an image. I don't want someone who is IG-obsessed anyway. Our APs say they are attracted to our family because of our warm and real vibe. I'd make sure your intro note (the one you use for connecting in CCAP and for introducing yourselves in the other agency matching approaches) is very warm, expresses interest in the person coming, says something personal about why you liked their application and why they might like your family, and then projects a sense of who you really are. The right AP will come along - remember, you only need one!

Year 8 HM.

This post is spot on.
I put pics of real life and reality on my profile, explain how it is and what our life is like
Try different agencies. This upcoming match/year, I split from CCAP after 6 years because of their matching and had no trouble connecting on APC...so giving that a shot!
Hang in there!

3rd time HM here. All this. I have had great luck matching with my choice AP on AuPairCare. Candidates like pix of cute kids and happy parents.

If one of your agencies is Cultural Care, it is everyone this year, not just you. I don't think many au pairs want to come to the DC area at this point from that agency.

I do think a lot of au pairs would prefer a private bathroom, so if its between you and another family and everything is about even, they are going to pick the private bathroom.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of photos are you taking? We have a few family photos, pictures of each kid individually and in groups, a Halloween shot, a picture of our house and our country house. I never thought of putting pictures of food.

I'm the longtime HM (on year 12) who has no problem matching while not advertising perks. We have one photo of our house with all the flowers in bloom, a couple of family pics (this year's holiday card, last year's holiday card), a couple of pics of the children individually, and a pic each of our three pets. We do not stage anything, and I spend literally no time curating an image. I don't want someone who is IG-obsessed anyway. Our APs say they are attracted to our family because of our warm and real vibe. I'd make sure your intro note (the one you use for connecting in CCAP and for introducing yourselves in the other agency matching approaches) is very warm, expresses interest in the person coming, says something personal about why you liked their application and why they might like your family, and then projects a sense of who you really are. The right AP will come along - remember, you only need one!

Year 8 HM.

This post is spot on.
I put pics of real life and reality on my profile, explain how it is and what our life is like
Try different agencies. This upcoming match/year, I split from CCAP after 6 years because of their matching and had no trouble connecting on APC...so giving that a shot!
Hang in there!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of photos are you taking? We have a few family photos, pictures of each kid individually and in groups, a Halloween shot, a picture of our house and our country house. I never thought of putting pictures of food.

I'm the longtime HM (on year 12) who has no problem matching while not advertising perks. We have one photo of our house with all the flowers in bloom, a couple of family pics (this year's holiday card, last year's holiday card), a couple of pics of the children individually, and a pic each of our three pets. We do not stage anything, and I spend literally no time curating an image. I don't want someone who is IG-obsessed anyway. Our APs say they are attracted to our family because of our warm and real vibe. I'd make sure your intro note (the one you use for connecting in CCAP and for introducing yourselves in the other agency matching approaches) is very warm, expresses interest in the person coming, says something personal about why you liked their application and why they might like your family, and then projects a sense of who you really are. The right AP will come along - remember, you only need one!

This. We've declined to match with APs when we had the vibe that they would match with us in a heartbeat. Our APs have declined other families for their own reasons, but been excited to match with us. It took forever this year, but partially because our requirements changed, so I basically did two sets of searches/interviews since February. I'm glad we waited to find one we got excited about instead of taking, "meh, she seems fine."

Anonymous wrote:What kind of photos are you taking? We have a few family photos, pictures of each kid individually and in groups, a Halloween shot, a picture of our house and our country house. I never thought of putting pictures of food.

I'm the longtime HM (on year 12) who has no problem matching while not advertising perks. We have one photo of our house with all the flowers in bloom, a couple of family pics (this year's holiday card, last year's holiday card), a couple of pics of the children individually, and a pic each of our three pets. We do not stage anything, and I spend literally no time curating an image. I don't want someone who is IG-obsessed anyway. Our APs say they are attracted to our family because of our warm and real vibe. I'd make sure your intro note (the one you use for connecting in CCAP and for introducing yourselves in the other agency matching approaches) is very warm, expresses interest in the person coming, says something personal about why you liked their application and why they might like your family, and then projects a sense of who you really are. The right AP will come along - remember, you only need one!

Anonymous wrote:What kind of photos are you taking? We have a few family photos, pictures of each kid individually and in groups, a Halloween shot, a picture of our house and our country house. I never thought of putting pictures of food.

Look at instagram and how people build the image of they want the world to believe they live in.

That (sad) reality is the AP's lens they see the world through.

So if you are going to post a family dinner post the one you have the lobster and steak meal.

If you are going to post a DC sports photo post the cool solo action shot, not the team picture.

If you are going to post a photo of your home - do not post the same one from Google street view - post the one when you go all out for Christmas or Halloween.

It is not rocket science, just basic marketing.

You can try with more agencies, too. If you are not getting selected or have hard time finding the right fit for your family. English level can always be fixed, I am also new host family and currently hosting thai aupair, we sent her to english course every weekend for 6 months straight and her english has improved drastically in 4 months, we never have issue to communicate, I ordered magazine for her to read and also we spent every night dinner together. One more thing I think it will help is the true intention of treating them as part of family instead of employee-employer relationship.

What kind of photos are you taking? We have a few family photos, pictures of each kid individually and in groups, a Halloween shot, a picture of our house and our country house. I never thought of putting pictures of food.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are you located?
The bathroom shouldnt be an issue as most au pairs have shared bathrooms at home.
Are you giving weekends off, do you provide a car?

Not usually the Noerhern Europeans, who also happen to be the grrst English speakers. Our last AP laws from Sweden, had a large 4br house, a swimming pool and his own car. He also slept in a king sized bed at home and mentioned how different it was sleeping in a Full.

FWIW, as someone who only picks Northern Europeans for language. Ediaction, and driving, it is very competitive to atEducation, we have an en suite bathroom, dedicated car, and treat the stipend as a minimum and make sure to always track hours and pay federal minimum wage. This seems to make it easier to get out pick of the candidates and have the choice when it comes to the pool of candidates.

We have been hosting a very long time and also host only Germans. We do not have trouble getting APs or BPs to connect or to want to come to us. We do not have en suite or private bath. We do not pay more than stipend. We do not advertise any bonus. I make sure candidates understand that we do not take our APs on vacation with us or offer a fancy car to drive. What we do offer is a very reasonable job, no curfew, a sincere interest in the cultural exchange, and a truly supportive host family. We welcome candidates to speak to our previous APs and learn the good, bad, and ugly of us so that there are no surprises. We have never wanted to match wirh a candidate and not been picked.

Op, I’d be clear in your intro note why you’re interested in the candidate (something personal as to why they might enjoy your family) and then be warm, welcoming, and interested. Down the road when you’ve made a real connection and are starting to think about matching, offer to have them talk to previous nannies or babysitters so they can get a “reference” for you. This should alleviate the issue of not having previous APs to talk to. You don’t have to keep up with the Joneses to win good candidates.