Au pair needed for family of 5 living Helsinki

[Jason Wright]

http://www.snowaupairs.com/newsflash/au_pair_needed_for_family_of_5_living_helsinki_10.html

Hello!

We are a truly nice, five-member family from Helsinki. We live in a fairly large (three floors) private house in a beautiful, green part of the city called Marjaniemi which is located approximately 10 kilometres from the Helsinki center. Public transportation is good and services are near (big shopping center Itäkeskus is less than 10 minutes walk away).

Our family consists of mother Miriam (36) who keeps her own coffeeshop. Father Mika (37)is an attorney and partner in one of the biggest law firms in Finland. Children are Lior (13), Ron (6) and Carin (1,5).

We are a quite ordinary family - children like to draw and play, and we parents play sometimes badmington. However, since both parents work long days, we feel that we need au pair to keep company to our children, and to help us in general housekeeping.

We hope that you are a friendly and happy person, who is fond of children and not afraid of housework. Finnish language skills are a big plus, but not necessary.

In return, we offer you our warm hospitality and 300 Euros of monthly spending money. We trust that you would feel comfortable with us. We would like you to come in April.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

If you are interested in this family or you would like more information on au pairing in Finland please call Anne Wright on +358440434441.

You can also apply online http://www.snowaupairs.com/philaform/2.html

[sinikala]

I don't know about your customers, but I'd be more than a little pissed off if I found my family details splashed over the web e.g. on message boards like this one.

[richard berman]

I do not see much wrong with the ad, it does not go into to much detail, and the reason for this forum is for people living in Finland who are looking for work etc

[sinikala]

I do not see much wrong with the ad, it does not go into to much detail

Only the family's first names, ages, professions, area in which they live.

and the reason for this forum is for people living in Finland who are looking for work etc

There is nothing wrong as far as the forum is concerned, but is the customer happy with their details being made public?

Only IMHO...

were I to approach a professional au-pair service to find an au-pair, I would not expect to find my family details popping up on some chat board (unless I had expressly agreed to the service using my personal details on the web). I hope I would have the foresight to ask what methods are used to find an au-pair.

As I say, unless it had been made clear that posting my family details on the web would be a part of the finding process, then not only would I cease using the company straight away, but I would also be consulting a lawyer.

Perhaps others take their family privacy less seriously?

[Hank W.]

Perhaps others take their family privacy less seriously?

Newsflash:
http://www.snowaupairs.com/newsflash/au ... ki_10.html

Its a "job ad". Then again if you don't want to advertise in a such way then thats another question... I don't think Finns are so paranoid as other peoples. Maybe we need more foreigners to become paranoid enough It is though very true people get sometimes over-exited about internet and reveal an amazing amount of personal detail not really grasping it is really truly visible to not only the whole village but the whole globe. But we're here all naíve and trusting. Except the cynics like me who go to Claes Ohlsson to buy a paper shredder Not that shredding my tax documents would do any good, as anyone can get that information with a text message

[sinikala]

The snowaupairs website ad. was presumably written by the same person who posted it on this forum, as several of the ads. here were written in the same style. Doesn't make it any better that they put their client's details on their own website too. Revealing your own details online is one thing... revealing somebody elses is another.

The text message to Vero tells how much you earned & your position in the list of tax payer, it doesn't tell your kids names and ages or the part of the city you live in.

I dunno, maybe their customers are totally happy with it, I wouldn't be. And remember, just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean people aren't out to get you.

[efx]

And only paranoids can survive

[ajdias]

Perhaps others take their family privacy less seriously?

Newsflash:
http://www.snowaupairs.com/newsflash/au ... ki_10.html

Its a "job ad". Then again if you don't want to advertise in a such way then thats another question...

The difference being that FF's post has, most likely, already been indexed on Google and soon this page will be flocked by all kind of people with queries such as "marjaniemi helsinki", "mika finland helsinki" and so on; snowauPair's is a rather topical website. And one can always add "noindex" to the code.

[Jason Wright]

Sinikala,

I certainly respect and understand your concerns regarding personal security and the Internet!

My wife and I offer a legitimate au pair recruitment service for the Helsinki region. The primary value that we provide for our clients is a secure search and selection process - for both prospective au pairs and families.

All families are consulted in person and their needs are assessed. Each family personally writes their own ad and understands that the purpose of the ad is to be posted on the Internet on appropriate websites, such as http://www.mol.fi, http://www.finlandforum.org, http://www.snowaupairs.com.

When a perspective au pair is interested in a position, they either contact us by phone, email or fill in the online application on our website.

When we receive applications from qualified applicants, we thoroughly check their references, background, health status and conduct an interview.

Once the screening process is complete, we present the families with the most suitable applicants to ensure a successful match. The family makes the final decision regarding which au pair joins their family. We also, consult the family on the required official paperwork required by the Finnish authorities. And once the au pair arrives in Finland, we provide monthly meetings to ensure that the au pairs have an opportunity to meet other au pairs in the area and share their experiences in a group setting.

At NO TIME do we jeopardize the security or privacy of our clients or au pairs. It is the family's sole decision on what information to make public. And if the family does happen to include information which may jeopardize their security, we consult them and make the necessary modifications to protect their privacy prior to posting the position publicly.

I personally have a background in anti-terrorism security and I do understand that the world can be a dangerous place. I have lived in several troubled areas of the world while serving in the United States Marine Corps and Security Forces - London, England. I have performed briefings for civilian and military personnel on how to protect themselves and their families against various security threats. My wife's background is in social work and child protection. She has personally worked with very difficult family situations regarding child protection. Personal security is a core concern of ours!

There are other options on the Internet for families to find and au pair, such as http://www.greataupair.com. And when we first had the idea to find an au pair for our own family, we used this service. What it requires is that you post ALL of your family's personal information in your profile - to include address, email, phone number family description, etc. In retrospect, this was not the best decision as all one would need to do to get complete access to thousands of families profiles on greataupair.com, is create an au pair profile and provide credit card details (possibly even stolen ones) .

This is the type of service that I would consider to be TRUE security threat for families worldwide - Since there is no way to know who is accessing your details.

Snow Au Pairs offers a safe alternative!

We started Snow Au Pairs with the intent to provide a much needed service to the Helsinki region - as there was a void of such professional service in the area. We believe that our professional backgrounds gives us a unique perspective and sufficent expereince to properly screen and select suitable au pairs for families in Finland.

Again, thank you for your concern regarding this very important subject.

I hope that I have adequately address your concerns.

Please contact me if you have any additional questions or concerns!

All the best,

Jason Wright

http://www.snowaupairs.com
+358 440 430 269 GSM