BFF doesn’t usually find families for you, but BFF staff will guide you on developing and improving your recruiting skills to be an effective host family recruiter. There’s no one right way to find host families. Host families do not grow on trees, but are often found at your children’s sporting events, hobbies, interest centers, recreation centers, schools, networking sites, social events, and even the grocery store! The sky is the limit on where and when you find host families! Your regional director and our office staff are there to coach you on the phone or through online training to help you improve your recruitment skills and continuously improve on your success as a CA.

Absolutely NOT! Many of our CA’s have had no formal sales training at all! The best CA’s are passionate about international relations, working with teens, have good communication skills, and are attentive to details. CA’s are always willing to learn new things, are open to learning about different nationalities and cultures, and are able to work with host families, students, and schools in a positive manner. We look for these qualities rather than specific educational degrees, backgrounds, or specific past careers.

Just like the “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” there’s no ONE WAY to get a placement. If you find a family that is interested in hosting, please do encourage them to host. If their nearby school is not taking students at that time, there are alternatives to this situation. We work hard to make it work or at least put them on the top of the list for the following semester for acceptance.

Absolutely! Many CA’s find that it’s easier to ask strangers to host rather than their own family and friends. Some CA’s don’t get many of their personal connections to host but are extremely successful at recruiting host families outside of their immediate circle. This is because there are unlimited ways to find host families (see question 2 above). Some CA’s are more comfortable talking to people they know, and some are more comfortable talking to people they meet through their networking and marketing efforts.

CAs are compensated as 1099 independent contractors. BFF pays CAs a stipend for each placement that you make. This payment will depend on which parts of the placement were done by you. The full placement fee is paid to a CA who finds a host family, assists them in the application process, performs the in-home interview, matches them with a student, and gets the school approval. Partial payments can be made for any portion of this process. As a recruiter, you will be paid a stipend once the paperwork is all complete and the placement is approved. A CA can also supervise the students that are physically here in the US. In this role, the CA supervises the student and host family. Each month, you are paid for each student you oversee when the contact form is submitted on time and approved.

There is NO minimum or maximum number! We appreciate any number of placements our CA’s make. We want to be sure that the students/host families that you oversee are getting quality attention, timely responses, and have any of their concerns/struggles addressed. However, each CA has their own goals and can choose how many hours they want to devote as a CA. As long as the aforementioned requirements are met, you may supervise the number of students that you desire.

Absolutely! Many of our CA’s work full time and devote part-time hours to BFF. As long as you can meet deadlines, address student/family issues in a timely manner, and meet the standards of the Dept. of State as well as BFF, you are a very valuable asset to our organization!

Because you are an independent contractor, most expenses are not reimbursed by BFF. However, you can keep receipts for tax purposes. BFF cannot advise you on tax-related items. At times, BFF may have materials for setting up a table at an event for recruiting host families, but it’s not a guarantee. BFF will do their best to support you with training and advising you on the best ways to advertise and recruit families without incurring many expenses.