Our Screening & Matching Process

Selecting someone to care for your children is a big decision—especially when that person will be living in your home. Au Pair USA has designed a comprehensive, multi-step matching process to ensure that you find an au pair who will fit in with your family and provide exceptional care for your children.

Here’s how it works:

1. Initial Interview

Au Pair USA has representatives in more than 40 countries who recruit and interview au pair candidates. If a candidate meets all of the basic requirements for becoming an au pair, the representative will ask him or her to fill out a detailed application, and schedule an initial interview. During this extensive interview, the representative will get to know the candidate and evaluate her or his experience, personality, and suitability to serve as an au pair. The representative will also answer the candidate’s questions about the program.

Topics covered in the initial interview include:

• Review of the candidate's application and required documents
• Evaluation of the applicant’s English skills and child care experience
• The applicant’s family background
• The applicant’s motivation for becoming an au pair
• The applicant’s completion of the Booraem-Flowers Psychometric Au Pair Selection Test
• The matching process in the United States

2. Screening and Selection

After the initial interview, the international representative evaluates whether the applicant is suitable for the Au Pair USA program, based on the following criteria:

• The applicant’s personal essay
• Detailed information about a range of child care experiences
• References which are reflective of the experiences stated in the application
• Photographs submitted by the applicant to represent a visual picture or her/his life
• Proficiency in the English language
• Appropriate motivation for wanting to become an au pair
• Maturity in responding to interview questions
• Energy level and enthusiasm for becoming an au pair
• Apparent flexibility and openness to the viewpoint of others

If the applicant is accepted into the Au Pair USA program, all of the above information is compiled into an Au Pair Interview report which is forwarded with the candidate’s completed application to our New York office, where the matching process begins.

3. Customized Matching

Au Pair USA takes great care to personally match our applicants with host families. Unlike many other au pair programs, we never rely on automated computer matching. We strongly believe that the matching process requires a human touch—and the professional expertise of our staff.

When our staff believes they have found a good match for your family, they’ll forward you the au pair’s application and supporting materials. Our exclusive matching process guarantees that an applicant is evaluated by one family at a time, so you don’t have to worry about “competing” with another host family for a certain au pair.

Remember, you make the final decision. If you do not feel an au pair is the right person for your family, we will send you other candidates to evaluate.

4. Family/Au Pair Phone Interviews

If you’re interested in an au pair, you’ll conduct two phone interviews with him or her—usually within 48 hours of receiving the application. The first interview is typically a more informal “getting to know you” conversation, while the second interview gives you a chance to ask each other more specific questions. You will also get a sense of the au pair’s English and communication skills.

Prepare for the interviews by writing down the questions and topics you’d like to cover. To help you address all of the most important issues, consult our list of questions to ask an au pair.

5. Selecting Your Au Pair

If you decide you want to host the au pair you have interviewed, just contact Au Pair USA and let us know. We will begin the process of securing the au pair’s J-1 Visa, arranging her or his travel to the United States, and finalizing the start date.

We encourage you to keep in touch with your au pair in the months before she or he arrives in the United States. The more you communicate, the more comfortable you’ll feel with each other, which will make the transition easier when the au pair arrives in your home.

Apply to become a host family

Already found an au pair? Learn about our pre-match program