Being an au pair. A dream that often coincides with the desire to discover new realities, learn a foreign language, and test yourself. But also a dream that is sometimes set aside due to doubts, uncertainties, or the difficulty of wanting to make it happen through DIY. But does it really have to be given up? No, you just need to contact an agency specialized in finding and selecting au pairs.
Au Pair Agencies: How to Choose Them
Typing “au pair agencies” into Google yields quite a few results. But how do you choose the agency to trust? Here are some tips.
- Contact agencies with a verifiable physical location
- Check that the agency’s website includes contact information for its manager or owner
- Prefer an agency that has been active for many years
- Choose agencies with a good reputation or that you’ve already heard about
- Select agencies that are part of professional associations, such as IAPA (International Au Pair Association). IAPA has explained on its website why it’s important to contact its affiliated agencies.
Au Pair Agencies: Why Choose Them
Someone might tell you that to spend a few months abroad as an au pair, you just need to find a family willing to host you and you’re all set. Unfortunately, it’s not just about that.
Recent news has shown, in fact, how choosing a reliable family is truly the most important thing.
Contacting a specialized agency serves precisely to ensure that the host family has been selected and monitored. The selection is generally carried out by the agency through its partners in different countries. Specialized agencies work together to find and select both au pairs and families. Additionally, before departure, the agency ensures that the au pair and host family get to know each other by phone and through Skype meetings (so they can see each other too!). Only after they like each other can the exchange take place.
Au Pair Agencies: Security Before and During the Trip!
The right “match” between the au pair and the host family is only the first step an agency takes.
Before departure, in fact, agencies provide au pairs with information about the chosen destination, language courses they can attend, and the presence of other au pairs in that location.
Secondly, even during their experience abroad, au pairs can count on constant contact from the agency, which monitors the smooth progress of the exchange.
Additionally, the agency’s role is very important for au pairs who, after completing a first experience abroad, intend to leave for another destination. In this case, the agency will provide the new host family with the required references, which, if backed by a previous successful experience, certainly have greater value.
Finally, in case of serious problems between the au pair and the family, the agency will take charge of finding a solution to the problem, which may also include finding a new family for the au pair abroad.
All the Risks of DIY
Choosing a specialized agency to make your dream of spending a few months as an au pair abroad come true means, in short, playing it safe. Organizing everything online is quite different.
There are many portals where, in exchange for a few euros (or sometimes even nothing), aspiring au pairs can find profiles of host families. However, these are families on which no checks have been made regarding their reliability or their actual existence. And if during the stay the au pair has any problems with the family, they wouldn’t have anyone else to turn to.
In short, organizing your au pair stay online is like rolling the dice. But you’re not always lucky…
If, however, you don’t like risk and prefer your au pair dream to become reality, click on our application form and join us!
