Returning to your home country after your au pair stay

Preparing your return is essential!

You surely have prepared yourself for your departure, with all kinds of planning and organising, and so you should do when it's time to move back to your home country.
It’s important to anticipate your return and prepare for it, so that you don't waste time when you get back.

How do you prepare for your return to your home country? For sure by doing some research on the administrative steps you need to take when you’re back, but also by taking stock of yourself and your desires so that you can find your path as quickly as possible when you're back! 

You can read more about this in my other article "Returning after your au pair stay: Handling culture shock".

Reflecting on your adventure

Before you went on your au pair adventure, you probably had goals and expectations. And now, what can you say about the experience you’ve just had?
Taking the time to review what really happened during your time abroad and how it has affected you is very important in order to find out what next steps you should take.

Here are some questions to help you with this review:

• What do you remember most about your adventure abroad?
• What has changed in your behaviour and outlook during the time you have been away?
• How have you grown as a person and who have you become?

Setting new goals

Your adventure as an au pair is coming to an end, so now the question is: "Where do I go from here?“. Try to define your new goals (personal and professional), as well as your new desires for your future.

This might involve points like:

1. Continuing with school, university or other education paths

The continuation of studies or the commencement of some new training programme after a stay abroad might be the logical next step when you’re back home. To manage this effectively, research any steps that can be taken before you get back, such as application deadlines and requirements you might need to meet.

Joining a new training course may also require tests or selection interviews (which can sometimes be done remotely), so make sure you’re ready for that.

2. Looking for your first job or internship

When you move back home after an au pair stay, you may want to look for your first job or an internship. Also in this case, it is necessary to start early, be patient and organised. Also, having a competent person proofread your job application documents is a good way to be sure that your applications get the serious consideration that they deserve.

Read more about it in AuPairWorld's blog article "How being an au pair makes you attractive to future employers"

3. Setting out again

If you want to keep travelling and gaining international experience, don’t forget that this requires planning too!
Where do you want to head to? When? With whom? Do you need a visa? As every new adventure, this also it needs good preparation.
So here we go again: do your research, make your decisions and remember, you've done it once, you know you can do it again!

 

About the author:

Magali Desmidt – Voyage, emploi & retour en France

Passionate about travelling, Magali DESMIDT has been on the road since 2014. She was an au pair in San Francisco for a year as well as in Australia for a few months. She has travelled solo in Europe, the USA, South Asia and Oceania. Mag is also passionate about human relations and personal development and has been working as an employment counsellor since 2011 in France. What she loves: supporting expatriates and travellers to bounce back professionally and boost their careers when they return from abroad. Join her on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin and visit her website and blog where new articles are published regularly regularly.