If you’re interested in moving abroad, becoming an expat in Paris, or just exploring the world, I’d reccommend becoming an au pair. If you’re under a certain age (I believe it’s 30 for France but other countries are different), the au pair visa is one that’s easy to get and doesn’t involve needing any financial savings. If you’re interested in becomign an au pair, France is an amazing country to work in. Here’s what I learned while trying to become an au pair in Paris, and how it helped me find an amazing family wihtin a few weeks.
- First, either pick an au pair agency of your choice or join aupairworld.com to find your au pair family – you don’t need any other sites. I wasted my time joining probably 6 other au pair family finding sites, none of which were necessary or led to any results other than spam emails. Aupairworld.com is free (to the au pair) and amazing.
- Put ALL of your experience on your profile; babysitting, retail jobs, language skills, hobbies/talents, education, certifications, etc. Make it easily accessible to the potential host families. Something you might think is irrelevant could catch the eye of a family with similar hobbies or a similar background to you.
- Add good quality photos, like a school photo or headshot. Include pictures of you with the children you have babysat and photos of you and your family. This helps reassure families that you’re serious and will help you find au pair jobs in Paris.
- Be specific with location. If you want to be an au pair in Paris, put that on your profile. The suburbs can be nice, but the Paris metro closes at night, and if you end up living an hour subway trip away, that could mean you leaving the city at 10pm on your night off. As well, I’ve had many friends who ended up in the suburbs, and they tended to work much longer hours and have a worse work/life balance than au pairs living in central Paris.
- Don’t be afraid to reach out to families first. Make a basic first message and personalize it a bit for each family. This message should include a greeting, a bit about you and your background in childcare (highlighting any and all experience), your expectations, and why you think you could fit with this au pair host family.
- Know your profile weaknesses. If you’re under 21, not from the EU, or can’t drive, your options may be slightly more limited (from my experience). Play up your strengths. Also utilize the search option under the “for au pairs” tab – it allows you to search by country without limiting families by driving requirement, age requirement, and date/length of stay. If you are about to turn 20, use this search to find people looking for a 20 year old, as they currently can’t see your profile.
- Don’t get discouraged. I got a lot of rejections and few positive messages. It all depends on when you’re searching, when you’re available, etc.
- DO NOT GIVE UP. I am a very impatient person and was quick to get discouraged after a few days without responses. Just be patient, I promise someone will message you!
- After messaging with families, make sure to schedule a video call! This is how you make sure they are, in fact, real people. You can also see how you click with the parents and children. Treat this like a job interview; fix your hair, wear a nice shirt, and make sure your room is clean.
- Continue messaging families no matter how your first video conversation went. Keep your options open and get your mind off the perfect (or maybe not-so-perfect) family you chatted with. Video call with some other families if you so desire.
- Send the family (familes) that you called your references. These can be from family, friends, employers, or professors.
- Video call again. Yep, video call again before/when you say yes. Use this call to ask more about discipline in the household, if there’s more than one child you can ask how they get along, and ask about your role in the househild. For example, some families are looking for more of a babysitter/older sister figure, while others see this more as a nanny role.
- Video chat while you work out contract details. Make sure you read the entire contract and both parties are aware of everything. Good things to double check are working hours, what the family pays for (transportation pass, phone, wifi, language classes), paid holiday, and general holiday arrangements.
- Get to work on your visa! I might write another post about the visa process, so let me know if you’d be interested in that!
Most importantly during this search is that you do not settle for a mediocre, or worse, illegal, offer. Check that they’re at the very least offering the legal minimum in terms of pocket money and benefits, and make sure you won’t be working without weekends or holidays.
Hopefully this helps you with your search!
Celina Tolbert 