Tips on choosing a tutor

Step 1: Think about what you want the tutor to do

• Do you require a coach to help achieve the best possible performance, or someone to teach concepts for a student who is struggling to pass?
• What subjects will they cover?
• When will the lessons be held?
• How often?
• Where (your place, the tutor's place, the local library)?
• How long will the tutoring continue (a month, a term, a year)?

Step 2: Devise some questions

It is useful to create some questions to ask every person who calls you to apply for the tutoring job. By asking everyone the same questions, you can more easily compare each tutor, and make the best decision.

Some possible questions:

• Tell me a little about yourself? (Nice easy question to make them feel comfortable, and helps you get a bit of a picture of who this person is).
• What are you studying at University?
• What experience do you have as a tutor?
• My son/daughter needs help with … how would you be the best person to help?
• What times are you available?
• What strategy would you use to motivate my son/daughter to do their homework?

Step 3: When the tutor calls ...

• Record their responses to your questions on paper
• Write down any extra comments from your own feelings or observations (eg. sounded confident, gave vague answers)
• Don't promise a job to anyone until you have interviewed enough people
• Advise the tutors that you will call them once you have made a decision
• Write down the contact details and name of each tutor – if the one you offer the job to doesn't work out, you can call your second choice

Step 4: Choosing the best tutor

• Read through the responses to your questions for each tutor. You may wish to rate each answer on a scale of 1 to 5 and add up the totals to help decide who may be the best tutor
• Think about how you felt about the tutors. Were you comfortable with them? Were they confident?