This post was revised in December 2024 by other contributors.
Image courtesy of Patricia
When you apply through InterExchange Au Pair USA, you will use our online matching and application platform, Passport, which provides access to all au pair profiles that are available – showing all of their experiences and how many hours they have worked each childcare-related job. Au Pair USA performs a background check and double checks all of their previous experience and references during our rigorous au pair screening process.
Au pair profiles will also contain pictures, videos, and letters that allow candidates to tell you about themselves. You can search for au pairs with a wide variety of all kinds of skills, talents, or lifestyles. For example, au pairs interested in dance or sports, au pairs who swim, or those with extensive driving experience. You can request certain things that you know will fit your family; even qualities such as someone who is a vegetarian, speaks certain languages, or is from a specific country.
Au Pair USA also has amazing Program Specialists who are familiar with all available au pairs. These matching experts will talk to you about what you are looking for and what your needs are to suggest au pair candidates to interview. They are extremely helpful!
Once you’ve narrowed down your search, it’s time to start the interview process. Interviewing your potential au pair can be exciting and nerve-wracking, but there’s no need to sweat! Check out these top tips for interviewing and matching with your au pair.
Start with the basics about your family.
Begin your conversation with a smile, and tell your au pair all about your family. Your potential au pair will be interested to know the unique personalities of your little ones, what your town is like, and how a typical day in your household goes. Keep things light, demographic, and informative. Don’t forget to cover any special circumstances your household may have like dietary requirements or unique schedules. This is also a good opportunity to discuss any family pets and the au pair candidate’s experience and comfort level interacting with them.
Ask about the au pair’s lifestyle.
Now that you’ve introduced yourselves, it’s time to find out a little more about the personality of your au pair. Your au pair will not only be your childcare provider, they’ll also be living with you as a member of your household. Ask questions to see how your daily patterns will fit together.
Try the following questions:
- Do you tend to stay up late or are you a morning person?
- What are your favorite hobbies and interests?
- How often do you spend time with friends? How often do you relax on your own?
These types of questions will give you an idea of what it will be like to live with your au pair on a day-to-day basis, which is important when you hire a live-in childcare provider.
Discover the au pair’s motivations.
Now that you’ve warmed up to one another, it’s time to move on to the formal part of the interview. The question “Why are you interested in becoming an au pair?” is good but digging into past experience is even better. Ask your potential au pair about their previous childcare work. What was exciting about working with children? What was the best part when you took care of children? What was the most challenging part? This will give you some authentic insights into how your potential au pair feels about working with children and why they want to be an au pair.
In this section, you can also ask your potential au pair how much they’ve traveled outside of their home country or lived outside of the home before. These questions serve as an indicator of how your au pair may adjust to the adventure of moving overseas and how independent they may already be.
Learn about past experience.
From there, you can ask the more typical questions about childcare experience. Try to avoid yes and no answers, opting for descriptive questions instead. Not only will this provide richer information, it will also give you a better idea of your au pair’s English abilities.
Examples include:
- What types of activities do you enjoy doing with children?
- How old were the children you worked with?
- How much driving have you done with children before?
It’s also important to ask situational questions. Ultimately, you are vetting your potential au pair on whether they can perform a job. Situational questions help you explore your potential au pair’s problem-solving style.
Go for pointed questions like:
- Describe a time you had to handle a child who was not listening to you and was misbehaving. What did you do?
- Describe a time when your activities for the children didn’t go as planned. How did you adjust and adapt?
The Au Pair Interview and Matching Process
Interviewing your au pair is the first step in your relationship together! It’s important to interview au pairs several times to fully understand who they are. Doing the interviews over video allows you to see potential au pairs face-to-face and better get to know them. You have exclusive access to the au pairs you interview through InterExchange Au Pair USA, so there is no competition with other families to match with someone, and you can extend your access to them so you feel confident about your decision. During your interviews, you’ll want to ask questions (just as you would any caregiver) and be sure to let them know what you expect of them and what they should expect of you. Transparency is key during the interview phase!
After you narrow down your au pair selection, it’s nice to bring your kids into the interview. Kids love to meet their au pairs and can usually give you great feedback if you’re having trouble deciding. You can also see how the au pair talks and responds to your kids, letting you know if they are a good fit. Your Local Coordinator is also available to help talk through any concerns or questions you may have while matching and throughout your time together. For more helpful information on the au pair interview process, read our complete Host Family Interviewing Guide.