London is a city of opportunities, however the cost of living is relatively high and many young people don’t want to risk being unemployed for a long time and so they choose to become au-pairs. An au-pair is a young person (17-30 years old) who lives with a host family in a foreign country to improve language skills, get to know the country and culture, meet new people and make lifelong friends. The host family provides free board and lodging and also pays some pocket money, in return the au pair looks after the host family’s children for some hours a day and also supports with light housework. Typically an au-pair lives with the family for the duration of the school term, however there are also summer au pairs, who stay with the family over summer holidays.

Finding an au-pair position might be quite difficult, time consuming and sometimes risky. Spending a year away from your country and family is already a daunting experience for that reason we suggest finding a reputable recruitment agency specialising in au-pair vacancies. This service is normally free of charge for the au-pair, it’s the host family who pays the agency to find the most suitable candidate. Once you register your interest and submit your CV on the agency’s website, you’ll receive suggestions of matching families, you should be able to communicate with the family via agency’s website and later via skype. The more personal the content of your messages, the better your chance to get an answer!  A well done profile will answer most of your questions, but still you should get in contact via skype / viewphone to make sure the family matches the description, a skype call is a great opportunity for you to learn more about parents and children. It’s crucial for you to get to know them as best as you can, and well in advance. Try to ask them some questions that will help you understand the vibes going on between parents and children. Quite often families that seek an au-pair are familiar with the process as they’ve already had an au-pair, if that’s the case you could ask about the old au-pair’s responsibilities and duties.