A world of opportunity! (aupair-world.net)

Member Name: louanna8

Product:	aupair-world.net
Date:	12/06/09 (115 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clearly laid out, easy to use

Disadvantages: Paying for premium membership

I first started using Aupair World last April after looking at various sites offering similar services. Aupair World is NOT an aupair agency but an internet database of au pairs and host families.
Before you join the website you can view the profiles for families or au pairs but no contact information is available. There is also information about au-pairing in various countries. This includes age and visa requirements and the average pay.

~How it Works~
This is pretty simple to be honest. Essentially all you need to do is create a profile, whether aupair or family. This will be available for everyone to view but only members can view your contact details.

For aupairs:
You will need to put in required information such as name, contact information,age, nationality, country of residence, whether you are a smoker and whether or not you can drive.
It also asks for information regarding your language skills i.e which languages you speak fluently and which you have a basic knowledge of.
After this there is an opportunity to put in information regarding the kind of family you would like to work for. For example:
Their country of residence
Number of children in the family
Age range of children
Willingness to work for single parent families/ families with disabled children.
Finally, you can write a brief self description, a "dear family" letter and state why you would like to work as an aupair.

Helpful Hints for aupairs
Do not lie, if your french stretches to Bonjour and merci say so. Otherwise you will be faced with huge problems when you arrive and your host family find it impossible to communicate with you. Similarly for driving, if you can't or are unwilling to in a foreign country say so.
Secondly, if you have said you have a good understanding of a foreign language it's a good idea to write your Dear Family letter etc in both english and this language.
Finally, when asked "why would you like to become an aupair" don't just mention a love of travel. This is good but many families are obviously looking for someone who loves children as well (hint,hint.)

For families:
The profile for families is very similar and also includes lots of general information as before.
After this you can input criteria you would like your aupair to meet such as:
An age range (e.g. 18-24)
Languages you require they speak
The country you would like them to be a national of
And the date you wish them to start.
Also available to fill in is a "dear aupair " letter, information on the family and what the aupair will be expected to do.

Helpful Hints for families
Do not lie. I'll use my own experience as an example here, I was going to Austria to live with a family with a 3 year old son. After deciding to go for a few days to visit before I started I discovered the "3 year old son" was unborn. The mother was due to give birth a week before I would arrive. Needless to say I didn't return.
Talk about your families/childrens interests so the aupair knows what to expect and if you have the same hobbies all the better!

There is an option to upload a photo and this is a very good idea. Many people don't visit a profile without a photograph (I didn't) as it suggests you have something to hide.

~Finding a family/aupair~
There are two options here. Firstly you can look at the list, called Easyfind, that aupair world presents you with. This is of people who meet your requirements or whose requirements you meet. However, sometimes this didn't work too well. I was shown a lot of families who wanted an aupair with a driving license which I don't have. Generally though it was very useful and is clearly laid out with the Name, start date and length of stay shown as well as a photograph.
You can also perform a simple search. In this case you choose the country you live in and the country you wish to visit/wish your aupair to come from.
Again the profiles meeting these requirements are shown. This is less reliable as depending on your country of choice there can be hundreds of results.

~Making Contact~
To make contact either the aupair or family will have to be a Premium Member. This costs 39 euros for 90 days and can be paid for via paypal, cheque, credit card or Western Union. This is just the cost of accessing the contact details and I would again stress that Aupair World is not an agency and so provides no insurance or visa's.
It is the families who tend to purchase the Premium Membership and is very the aupairs'. This is made clear on the information case of the website. I didn't buy Premium Membership and never came across a family who did not have it.

~My Experience~
In case, you can't tell I used Aupair World myself and was very pleased with the service it offered. Unlike many aupair websites it is well-laid out and easy to use. There is a lot of information available and the profiles are created to be concise but still informative. Other websites of this kind could ask up to 50 questions ranging from How do you rate your fitness to How much do you weigh(I still can't think how this is of any use.) I easily made contact with several families through the website and was informed clearly whether they were interested in my application.
It was also easy to delete my profile after I had found a family and no longer wanted to be contacted by prospective families. Trying to do this on some other websites was a nightmare and I still get the occasional email from aupairsearch etc informing me of a "perfect family.
Messages can be sent through the website and I prefer this to giving my email address out to people I don't know. The idea is you exchange first emails before telephone calls and occasionally a preliminary visit.
I paid nothing and found a great family who I've spent the last 10 months with. It has been a great experience and I can actually speak french now! I've met some amazing people from all walks of life and many nationalities. I really recommend aupairing and if you decide to give it a go aupair world is the best option.

Summary: The best aupair website on the market