"An Aupair is a domestic assistant from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as somehousework, and receive a monetary allowance for personal use."
So, you might know that I've recently quit my Apprenticeship at a college to become an Aupair. The career choice was quite random and out of the blue, or so it might seem to most of my family and friends.
I had been looking at other career lifestyles and what I would be interested in for quite a few months before hand. I'm extremely passionate about travel and I wish to build my career upon this one day and so I started to hunt the internet to find ideas and job directions I could follow.
The internet can be the most interesting thing sometimes. I researched into many career paths and I found many jobs that acquired my attention, however, being only 17 can often become a downfall.
You see, most of the jobs I was interested in required years of experience or an age limit. I looked into boarding a Cruise ship to work and fulfill my travel wishes whilst doing so, but it came to my attention that most cruise ships travel to America, where the alcohol limit is 21 or so. My aunt also happens to work on cruise ships. I often score her Facebook profile enticed into her photo albums from all of the countries and cities she has visited and I turn green with envy, but in time I know that working on a cruise ship is definitely something I would like to do.
Then I happened to stumble upon "Nanny/Aupair" jobs and it stole my attention. I had never quite heard about it before, other than a young girl I knew who had traveled to Italy to work with a family. It turns out, she had been their Aupair for the 3 months of her Italy stay and she couldn't recommend it enough. She told me it was one of the best experiences of her life... and that alone made me more encouraged to find out about becoming an Aupair!
As I read more and more into Aupair websites and reviews, my interest grew further and I found that there was so much to offer with the whole experience.
Not only does an Aupair travel to their chosen Host family, from all different countries available. They also get to see the city they stay in as a travel opportunity, it's often known that the host family will give their Aupair a travel pass which helps a lot. Aupairs also get a weekly allowance. As this is often pretty low in expense, it covers the cost of labour and childcare which is also included in the job description.
It might sound daunting. Traveling to another family in a different counrty, looking after their children and generally being away from home at months at a time - but in reality, it's the perfect way for a travel obsessed young adult to gather their funds whilst working and sight seeing. It's great really!
I immediately made myself a profile. out of curiosity at first, on a very common website called "Aupair World" - click here for the link. The website described the type of pocket money which would be expected in each country, it gave me an idea of how to interact with families from all types of countries and it really encouraged me to consider becoming an Aupair. I added some photographs, it always helps if they involve children, I wrote a little letter to future host families to read on my profile and I gave my age, the country I live in, etc.
My first reaction to signing up was amazing. I had so many families getting in touch with me after reading my profile and texts, it was crazy. I was so involved ever since that point. I had really considered traveling to these families - they were all so lovely! Of course, you have to be careful as to who you are talking to, but I soon learned that part was easy.
Most families asked to Skype or video call to meet and greet and talk about what they expect, why I'd like to be an Aupair and to introduce each other in more depth. I was pretty nervous for this, as I don't often find it comfortable to go ahead and call somebody - especially somebody I'd never met before. I guess it's kind of like an interview, but I gave it a go and it was fine. In fact, it made me feel better and totally changed my aspect!
The families often talk very good or fluent English, they often wish for you to teach their children English, help with homework, cook on occasion and walk to school. A little bit of housework is sometimes required. That's it! Simple and easy, as long as you are committed to their culture and lifestyle, it's a great experience to take.
I mentioned about making my profile on Aupair World, right? Well, there are a lot of Aupairs, experienced or completely new, that are registered on each site you might find, so it's a good idea to make your profile stand out as much as possible.
Here are my top 6 tips to creating a bold and trustworthy Aupair profile - newbie or experienced:
- Tip 1 - always add clear photographs. It really does help if you add photos of yourself with children, engaging in your hobbies, with family or on holidays and please make them suitable - these families are completely normal and are looking for a sensible person.
- Tip 2 - It's always great to write about yourself in detail, but try and keep your profile short and sweet. I learned this from Host Family profiles - I read the first 20 or so no matter how lengthy they were, but you get fed up after a while and end up skipping past the big texts which could include vital info.
- Tip 3 - Do some searching of your own. Not all families will add you into their favourites or begin a conversation, they often receive many applications to respond to and so it's often a good idea to be the first to approach the families you like. A brief but intreging message to get them to look at your profile would be the first big step.
- Tip 4 - The dates of arrival and length of stay are important. You may be flexible with these, however your searches and the Host Family searches are mainly based on this information. IT helps to match two profiles together. Try and be as exact as you can.
- Tip 5 - Most families need somebody who is flexible and reliable. For example, a lot of families will ask for 1 or 2 nights of babysitting a week. Most of all of them aquire you to cook for the children, a lot of them need you to drive but not all. Try and include or enhance these skills as much as possible in order to tick the boxes for families and you'll have a better chance at standing out!
- Tip 6 - Finally, it's always a good trait to respond as promptly as you can. From experience, I know how frustrating it can be to wait upon replies from families, so it must be the same for families waiting on Aupairs. A lot of the time, families will have many applications to view and so they can take a little time to get back to you, but as long as you do your bit - you show that you are committed and eager to work with them.
Another site I recommend is Great Aupair. This website offers a more advanced search. It gives you the opportunity to apply to be a Mothers Help, which is similar to Aupair, a Personal Assistant, the option of Cleaning paths or property cleaning and much more.
Great Aupair is a great website, to view please simply click here.
I have spoken with many families on each website and I have found that they are very different to one another. For example, unless you are a paid member on Great Aupair, you cannot simply message any family as you would be able to on Aupair World. In stead, you have to add them into your favourites and await for them to in return approve they are interested in you. I suppose it cuts down the applications for families and allows them to cut down the amount of possible applications.
Where as on Aupair World, you are free to message families first, add them to your favourites and be a little more free. However, there are still boundaries of how many messages you can send per "days" which can all be found on the website. Another difference is the appearance. Aupair World is very light and airy, and I personally find this website a lot easier and nicer to view and use. However, Great Aupair is straight to the point, it's often that families from the UK are listed on here with higher salaries and you are able to find more types of work vacancies through the website.
I used both websites frequently over the couple of months of my search. I met quite a number of families, all of which were absolutely lovely, and all of which had me interested at some point of our conversations. I've had a lot of offers across the world in countries such as Italy, Spain, America, Australia, Germany and Austria and I'm sure that one day in the next few years I will most definitely take the experience on.
For now... I have opted to join a lovely family of 5 in the UK. This family caught my eye, not only for the reasoning that they lived in the UK, but for the fact that they seemed such lovely people and from then on I have decided to take my first experience and share it with the Callaghans.
A little bit about the Callaghans:
Consisting of 5 members, this lovely family are warming and welcoming to the extreme. The father of 3 young children works in the army and is often away in Canada for work. In fact, he is never usually home. The mother, who lives with the small children is now needing some help as she also works full time. This is where I step in... it's not only a great environment of which consists of friendship and warmth, it's a great challenge for me to try something new and work with children.
I'm really excited to join the Callaghans and I've even chosen my moving date... I move on the 21st of November! I'll be moving to a little place called Bexhill-On-Sea, just a short hour and 15 minutes from the busy capital of London. Plenty of places to explore and visit, and I'll also be helping Christie and the children move into a bigger home.
Christie and I have phone called, FaceTimed and emailed on many many occasions. At first, we emailed every day, asking about each other and what we liked, what we didn't like, generally getting to know each other. Then it was time for the mini interview Face Time call. As mentioned, I was nervous but I pulled my weight and done it. It turns out, we ended up chatting away for an hour and a half - laughing and giggling all the way through!
From that moment, I realised how alike we were and how well I could see this going and so I decided to join the Callaghans, just 3 and a half weeks time until I met them face to face. Since that Face Time, we have phone called and text on numerous occasions. Christie and I can just call each other without warning, it's so relaxed which I like. We often call each other for hours at a time, it's a great feeling. Although my family aren't too pleased that I will be moving from home at just 17, they are quite clearly upset, but I'm happy to be moving on into a different path.
Often families will draw up a contract, as most Aupairs to British homes and need the guidance, things are set out and put into writing so both Employee and employer agree and follow the rules. Some families can expect too much and you can hear terrible stories about how much labour the aupairs have to do, but it's not all like that. It's honestly a great opportunity which I'm glad I've found.
I don't have a contract, which just explains how flexible and laid back my employment is. I now receive a good wage, but half of my previous apprenticeship earnings - but I don't mind, I just want to see the world as much as I can.
Recommended websites for the best results:
- https://www.aupair-world.co.uk/
- http://www.greataupair.com/
- http://www.findaupair.com/
- http://www.aupair.com/
- http://www.aupairamerica.co.uk/ - you must drive to sign up on Aupair America.
- http://www.gap360.com/work-au-pair-america?gclid=Cj0KEQiA-aujBRDqj772vpGfgooBEiQAzWAZUoT7_b8pjNt7cwCw6dCGCvLI8YWyt5hY1mMuUY4_mqoaAl6T8P8HAQ#h?source=google - this is the same website of which I have booked my Australia trip - they are totally reliable and they have the best service to find what you need!
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