A lot of times we see two comparable au pair jobs posted, one is in a city and one is in the countryside. Although the terms and conditions are alike, the job in the city will get far, far more applicants than the one in the countryside – sometimes up to thirty times more.
We attribute this to most au pairs wanting to experience the excitement of life in the city, and be close to other au pairs, which is understandable, but there are also some great jobs going unfilled in beautiful parts of the country, close to our cities.
Au pairs, not currently living in Ireland, looking for jobs in Dublin, Cork, Galway, etc. seem to be especially disadvantaged when it comes to applying for these positions – host families prefer to shortlist candidates already in Ireland whom they can interview in person.
We advise any au pair, not currently living in Ireland, looking to experience Irish life, to also consider applying for positions in the countryside. If you also want to be close to cities maybe consider applying for positions in the counties around our cities – counties such as Kildare, Wicklow, Meath are all close to Dublin city centre, and have very regular bus services with Dublin, and there are online services available, such as http://www.newtotown.ie, that are great for finding new friends in your area, no matter where you find yourself working.
Continue reading Calling all Au Pairs! Lots of great jobs available in the Irish countryside