Archive for the ‘Resources for Aupairs’ Category
Friday, May 17, 2013
If you’re over 30, and dream of working in another country, your visa options may be limited. However, there is still a chance of success.
Most childcare visa programs are limited to au pairs who are age 30 or below. Every country has different age limits for their designated visa programs which can be found on the GreatAuPair visa page.
There are other work opportunities outside of the au pair visa program that may be an option for you. Some countries have student visa programs without age limits. However, you are required to attend University classes and work just part-time in a family’s home. There are no restrictions to the type of work you do as a student, so look for jobs as a part-time tutor, language instructor, caregiver, housekeeper, or personal assistant. Be sure to check with the Consulate to inquire about the restrictions and make sure you’re not breaking any rules. For example, if you’re an American interested in studying in Italy, contact the Italian Embassy or Consulate in the US for the most up to date student visa information.
There are a number of jobs available in Canada, where there are no age limits as long as you have experience either caring for children or seniors. If you’re interested in immigrating to Canada, the Live-in Caregiver visa will allow you to become a permanent resident after you have worked three years on this visa program.
Greece and New Zealand have programs for candidates up to age 35. You can work as an au pair in Greece until you’re 35. New Zealand accepts 35 year olds into their working holiday programs and into their BUNAC student visa programs. Look for work/study and BUNAC study visas for your home country. Some of these are restricted by age, so, make sure to do some research before setting your sights on working in that special country.
Look into special arrangements between your country and other locations. There is a Japan-Philippine Economic partnership agreement that allows qualified nurses and certified caseworkers to live and work in Japan for 3-4 years after they complete Japanese language training.
Some countries have work permits that allow you to work at any age with family sponsorship. These open work permits are available in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.
Look for places where you could go to teach English as a second language. China is looking for English speakers so they’ve recently launched a number of programs. Type “China embassy” in your search engine to find links to programs available in your country. US citizens can click here.
If you want to teach English in a foreign country, you will need to be sponsored by a company, rather than an individual host family. GreatAuPair only works with individual host families. However, we wanted you to know that there are ways to work outside of your home country if you’re willing to get creative and do some research.
Teachers, nurses, occupational therapists and sometimes senior care providers can also find jobs in almost any country as long as they are licensed and submit applications to schools, hospitals and senior care companies. While you may not find these jobs through GreatAuPair, you can take the experience you earned working abroad or at home and expand your search to find these positions.
Start your search by looking into your visa options first. We don’t want you wasting your time looking for jobs in countries where you’re ineligible to work.
We wish you the best of luck on your search!
Tags: abroad, age limit, age restrictions, au pair, aupair, Canada, caregiver, china, citizens, Consulate, Egypt, eligible, Embassy, foreign, Japan-Philippine, language, Live-In Caregiver Program, New Zealand, nurses, opportunities, part-time, senior caregiver, sponsor, student visa, teachers, training, travel, Turkey, tutor, United Arab Emirates, university, Visa, work, working
Categories:
Articles, Aupair Visas, Resources for Aupairs, Resources for Families, Resources for Nannies, Tip for Nannies and Au Pairs, Uncategorized, Using GreatAupair, Visa Information
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
If you’re a US family looking to sponsor an international au pair for the J-1 au pair visa program, you can find information on requirements for sponsoring families and costs on our FAQ pages.
In order to qualify for the au pair program, candidates need to be between the ages of 18 and 26. You can review the au pair requirements here.
When you’ve found the perfect au pair, contact the GreatAuPair support staff to match you to the J-1 agencies who service your candidate’s country. All J-1 agencies give our families a “pre-match” discount that more than covers our subscription costs. There are fourteen agencies and their fees range between six and nine thousand dollars. Most are in the seven to eight thousand dollar range. Keep in mind that up to $6000 of your agency fee can be deducted from your taxes because this is a US Department of State sponsored visa program.
Agency fees include a background check and screening, the au pair’s round trip airfare to and from the US, a training course, and all visa and contract costs. The agency provides year round support to the family and au pair, and most agencies guarantee an additional placement if the original match doesn’t work out for some reason. The weekly stipend that the family is required to pay the au pair is $195.75 for 40-45 hours of childcare and help with light housekeeping.
If the cost of hiring an international au pair is overwhelming, consider restricting your search to American candidates and negotiate the salary, job duties, and benefits directly with the candidates. There are no age limits or job restrictions associated with hiring US citizens. You can also search locally for live-out positions, or across the country for live-in jobs. If you want to hire a more mature nanny, have an irregular work schedule, or require overnight care when you travel, a US candidate would be a better fit for your needs.
Tags: agency, au pair, aupair, Background Check, candidate, candidates, discounts, Great AuPair, GreatAupair, international, International Au Pair, J 1 Visa, J-1, j1, Match Discount, matches, Pre Match, screening, sponsor, Sponsor Visa, The Au Pair, training, US, USA, Visa
Categories:
Aupair Visas, Background Screening, Resources for Families, Tips for Nannies and Au Pairs, Uncategorized, Visa Information
Thursday, January 3, 2013
All of your hard work has finally paid off; you’ve been offered a great job and you can hardly contain your excitement! Before you start packing your bags and booking your tickets, take a look at these tips to ensure a successful match:
Email Us
Does the job sound too good to be true? Hopefully it’s not, but send an email just in case to or click the Give Feedback link to ask us a question. This way we can check the family’s account history to see if there have ever been any complaints. If you know how to send their email as an attachment or can forward it with the full header information, that will allow us to double-check their IP location.
References
The family will want a reference or two from you, so why not ask them for some as well? It can’t hurt to ask for contact information for some of their past au pairs, housekeepers or personal assistants. You can call their previous employees and ask them some basic questions to help ease your mind. We have a great interview questionnaire available to subscribed job seekers on the site that might assist you in the interview process. If you are not a paid member, you can create your own list of questions asking how the family treated their previous candidate, why she left the family, if she’d work for them again, how the family was to work for and anything else you are concerned about prior to your arrival.
Location
The last thing you want to happen is to show up in a new city and absolutely hate it! If you’re moving to a new place, make sure you research the city you’ll be moving to and find out if there are clubs in the area where you can continue your interests and hobbies. You’ll also want to double check and make sure you can handle any changes in weather! You can find unlimited information searching city names on any search engine. Don’t forget to search for networks of other au pairs to connect with ahead of time, and ask them questions about the area.
Google it
Ask for the family’s address and phone number and do some research on Google to see what comes up. You can also search their name in quotes “like this” to see if anything suspicious is found in your search. There’s no harm in a little detective work!
Background Check
You may want to purchase a background check on one or both of the parents, just to be safe. There’s nothing wrong with asking, especially if you’re going to live in their home or fly across the continent to meet them! Background checks can be ordered when viewing the family profile by clicking on the “Report” tab.
Communicate
Make sure to schedule a few phone calls or Skype chats before committing to a job. This will help you get to know the family better, as well as confirm that there are real people behind the screen! Use this time to ask questions about the job, or even have them take you on a little tour of their home with their laptop! If you need to sign up for a Skype account, you can do it for free here.
Try it Out
If you’re working for a local family, ask for a trial period to see how it goes before committing to anything. You can set up a day, or even a week to try things out with the host family to make sure that there isn’t anything about the job that makes you uncomfortable. This will also help you understand their expectations more completely, a definite plus when at a new job!
Contract
Make sure that you have a contract set up between you and the host family to cover all of the logistics. It helps to have this sort of information on paper so that you can easily reference it later rather than wondering about the details. If you’re a paid member, we have a sample contract available from the Support tab Resources column, http://www.greataupair.com/contracts.cfm that can be edited to suit your needs. This contract provides a way to document the verbal agreements made during phone calls and any agreements made via email. You will want to include hours, pay, overtime pay, and a termination clause for both the family and candidate, if things do not work out in the first 30 days of your stay. If you’re not a paid member, make sure to ask the family to download their copy of the contract so that you’ll have a copy of your own.
Intuition
Have you ever gotten a good vibe when speaking to certain people? Make sure that in addition to all of the nervousness that comes with moving to a new location, that you’re able to determine if you’re compatible with the family. Ask them questions! Take your time getting to know them! Do this before you accept their offer. If you have any concerns, even if there is no good reason, listen to the whispers you receive. If you follow your intuition when accepting jobs, you will have far better experiences, than if you ignore the waving “red flags”. It’s been our experience that when someone calls about a bad experience, they always had small concerns they ignored. Listen to your own intuition and pay attention to what you hear!
Tips
Even if you’re experienced, you may want to take the time to review the information on “First time au pairs” and “Tips for a successful relationship” found here. It certainly doesn’t hurt to take another look!
Following these tips will definitely help to ensure you have a successful experience. Taking time to look into the family you’ll be working for and possibly living with will help ease your mind when you find yourself in a new city, state or country. Remember to take your time and trust your judgment. The GreatAuPair Support Team is always here to help!
Tags: background checks, contracts, due dilgence, Great AuPair, GreatAupair, interviews, intuition, references
Categories:
Background Screening, Resources for Aupairs, Tip for Nannies and Au Pairs, Tips and Tricks, Tips for Nannies and Au Pairs
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The holidays are a great time to have extra time for bonding with the children you care for. However, keeping them occupied can be quite stressful, too! Here are GreatAuPair’s ideas on how to keep kids busy, entertained, while maintaining a stress-free attitude this holiday season. Enjoy!
- Make a Wish-List: This is one way to have the kids come up with ideas for you! Make a wish-list together of things you’d like to do together over the holiday break. Be careful that the wishes don’t get too wild—a wish for an “all-day shopping spree” might not come true, so be sure to remind the children to keep their wishes realistic.
- Encourage Reading: Even though school’s out, the learning doesn’t have to stop! Take regular trips to the library, make reading seem fun under a homemade fort in the living room, and perhaps even offer a reward for a certain number of books read over the break. Librarians are also quite happy to help children find books they’d like, so use this resource to your advantage! If the children are too young to read, help them find fun books they’d like you to read aloud to them.
- Go Outside: Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the outdoors. Depending on where you live, there might be cold-weather activities such a skiing or snowman-making to keep the kids occupied. If you’re in a more temperate climate, you may want to check out nearby hiking for older children. If you live in the United States, state parks often have children’s educational programs during the winter—some of these are even held indoors!
- Rock Climb: Rock climbing is a great skill to teach kids because it offers them a chance to problem solve, be active, and boost their self-confidence. There is nothing like getting to the top of a wall, looking down, and seeing what you’ve accomplished. If you’re not an experienced rock climber, check out nearby gyms that offer lessons, kids days/groups, etc.
- Arrange Play-dates: Coordinating play-dates with other neighborhood children can be an inexpensive and easy form of entertainment. It’s a good idea to have some games and snacks on-hand just in case.
- Get Crafty: Visit your local craft shop for ideas on fun projects. Or visit websites such as hwww.enchantedlearning.com/crafts and www.busybeekidscrafts.com/ to get ideas of crafts to make with everyday household items. Ask the kids for their ideas, too. They may have always wanted to try papier-mâché, making a hat, or even something as simple as a paper airplane.
Tags: crafts, Elizabeth Blood, Great AuPair, GreatAupair, keeping kids busy, playdates, rock climbing, winter break
Categories:
Activities for Kids, Nanny Activity Ideas, Resources for Aupairs, Resources for Families, Resources for Nannies, Tip for Nannies and Au Pairs
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
How much does it cost to hire a nanny?
If you’ve considered the pros and cons of home care versus daycare and have come to the conclusion that it makes sense to hire a nanny, then the question becomes: how much will it cost to hire a nanny?
Nannies don’t always have a specific salary like most au pair visa programs. The costs of a nanny depend on numerous factors, and keep in mind that just because a nanny asks for a specific amount, doesn’t mean they deserve it. Let’s take a look at some of the details that determine just how much a nanny should be paid.
Location, Location, Location:
Depending on where you live, the cost of living varies greatly. Let’s face it; you can’t expect to hire a full-time live-out nanny in the center of Boston for $200 a week when it costs nearly double their monthly salary just to pay the rent downtown! Keep in mind that the cost of housing in most major metro areas ranges from $13,200 to $20,400 and up per year. Make sure you’re paying enough so that your nanny can comfortably support herself in the city where you live.. If the cost of hiring a live-out nanny is too high, you may want to consider hiring a live-in candidate.
Is your family living in Europe? Compared to the United States, European countries tend to pay far less for their nannies. You can find au pair salaries listed by country on our visa information pages, however, nannies are normally paid higher wages than those paid to au pairs. You may want to do a Google search listing your city + nanny salary for an idea of what is normally paid in your area.
Live-In/Live-Out:
If you have an extra room available or even a garage apartment behind your house, you may want to consider hiring a live-in nanny. This will cut down on the cost dramatically, since room and board will already be included in the pay. So how much do live-in nannies make? First, make sure to come up with a reasonable dollar amount to cover room and board, and then add a weekly pay on top. This is the best way to determine the salary for a live-in candidate. For example, let’s say you would charge someone $150 per week to rent a room in your home after grocery shopping; you might spend about $50 a week on their food. Make sure to deduct $200 from their pay to come up with the best weekly salary. Another great example is to check out the local agencies and classifieds in your area to see what other families are paying live-in nannies in your town.
Education and Experience:
As is true with most careers, greater experience demands greater pay. Hiring a well-educated and experienced nanny for your family is not only great for your children, but can also cost a little bit more than someone who doesn’t have the experience. Nannies can ask for more money than a babysitter or an au pair because they tend to have more experience.
If you’re hiring someone with a four-year degree, nursing experience, or even someone who has experience working as a teacher, expect to pay more. A four-year degree may increase the base salary up to 20 percent and a Master’s Degree may increase the base salary up to 40 percent depending on the type of childcare experience they have. If you’re looking for someone who will help teach your child another language, or has tutoring experience, you should expect to pay more. However, if a nanny has two years of experience or less, they’re generally at the beginning of their career and would not typically receive a weekly live-in salary of more than $250 per week in the Midwest. Salaries on the coasts are much higher for nanny care and range between $400-600 per week.
Responsibilities:
Do you need your nanny to perform heavy housekeeping duties, handle bills, run errands, or even oversee some of the hired staff in your household? If so, make sure you’re compensating them fairly. Typically, nannies with a four-year degree and over five years of experience may be asking for live-in salaries that are at least $600-700 per week.
However, if you only need a nanny for part-time hours, consider hiring a student, or someone who has another part-time job that works well with the hours you need. If you have more than one child, you will generally need to increase the pay accordingly. If a nanny will be caring for more than three children, the weekly rate should be increased by 10 percent per child.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a set salary for nannies, since their experience, hours, and duties can vary greatly. Think about what you’re asking for, as well as consider the costs required to have your nanny live comfortably. Try to be as specific as possible regarding salary when completing your profile rather than choosing negotiable to avoid any problems later. We certainly wish you the best of luck with your search.
Tags: cost of nanny, education, experience, how much to pay a nanny, location, pricing a nanny, responsibilities
Categories:
Finding Babysitters, Resources for Aupairs, Resources for Families, Resources for Nannies, Uncategorized
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