Becoming an Au Pair: What's the Process?

Having my childhood dreams, and not finding a job in France (because I don't have enough experience), I decided to become an Au pair.

Before anything, to become an au pair, you have to be patient. And if you're not, don't worry, you'll learn to be. You'll have to do a lot of paperwork, too! And of course, you have to enjoy being with children.

Firstly, you have to register yourself on the organization's website (depending on the organization, the steps won't be the same). For me, it's AuPairCare.

You will answer questions to see if you already have experience with children, what age range, and so on. After, there is an interview by phone to see if they have all the information right and to have an idea of your English level. Thereafter, there is an other interview, but this time it's with an ex Au pair. They are going to ask questions like these ones: Can you describe your ideal host family?

What would you do if the child hurt himself at the park? What would you do if the kids don't want to share a toy? What activities would you do with them? And this interview is done in English.

Finally, you have to do an online profile and make a video introducing yourself, your family, your hobbies, your studies, etc. Host families will see it and can choose it according to their selections criteria.

When host families choose your profile, you will have to have Skype interviews with them. This means you have to prepare questions in advance. (I will do a post about the interviews for more details.) If you don't ask anything, the families will think you're not motivated enough and won't choose you.

To choose your host family, between two and three interviews will be useful to get to know them better and to ask a lot of questions. This period of time was stressful for me because I was about to talk with strangers in a language that isn't my native language. For several months, I did interviews on interviews, without seeing the end. I thought I wouldn't find my host family... but luckily, I found it three months later!

You also have to think about getting your international driver's licence, and if you can, put it on emergency, because they take 11 weeks minimum to do it! Beware, because the international driver's licence doesn't work in all of the states... Right now, I'm in California and my international driver's licence doesn't work here, so I'll have to get the Californian one.

After finding a host family, you have to get an appointment at the US Embassy to get your visa. You have to get the appointment by their website, and then go the embassy. For me, it was in Paris. The visa interview is done in two parts. First, you have to show your papers (Ds2019, Sevis I90, I think it's called) and your passport. The second part is an interview in English. This interview wasn't difficult at all! The man asked me questions about my host family, what I'm going to do in the USA, and what I'm going to do when I come back in France. This person is going to validate or deny your visa. If your visa is approved, this person is going to keep your passport to put your visa inside, and you'll be able to get it a few days later by mail.

While doing all of this, AuPairCare is going to ask you to do a Pre-Departure Project, where you're going to do a report on everything about children and childcare. Examples of things I had to put in my report were the age range, behaviour, activities, snacks, skills, myths and legends, lullabies, games... You will have to introduce your host family and yourself in a different part of your report. And this is going to be a gift for your host family.

Paperwork is finally done! It's time to pack everything! AuPairCare took care of my flight tickets, so now that all of this is done, I can enjoy my time with my family, pets, and my friends.

What I forgot to mention earlier is that you have to pay the organization, once before putting your profile online and another time before the visa appointment. The sums are not very big compared to other organizations. That's why I chose to go with AuPairCare. You will sign contracts with them, and you'll have to do a personality test. The test will determine your behaviour towards life situations.

Now, some of you might ask yourselves: Why? Why would you go to the other side of the world just to take care of kids?

Well, let me tell you! I wanted to be an Au pair because it was the only opportunity in terms of jobs that appeal to me. I did interim jobs in France, and it wasn't great. I also tried to get other jobs, but with my Applied Art diploma, I don't have enough experience to be a cashier or other...

Then, the fact that I am able to travel and see another country and culture and new people got to me. My dream is to see and do the most things possible around the world.

By being an Au pair, you learn, or in my case improve, your English, and there is no better way to learn a language than being immersed in it.

And finally, this year I will be able to be alone and learn more about myself and how I function. I will be able to concentrate more on my hobbies and crafts, and why not make a business out of it?

This year will be full of unforgettable experiences and I hope that some people will go out of their comfort zone because it's worth it!