Students want to get the highest grades possible, excel in advanced placement (AP) courses and college entrance exams, and supplement their learning. And that’s where educators help.
The COVID-19 pandemic encouraged students to online classes. As a result, the global private tutoring market is expected to record an 8.3% growth rate before 2027, and the online tutoring sector will witness an even more significant jump of almost 15% before 2030.
So if you’re a tutor looking for new opportunities, this is your time to shine. But how do you stand out among your competition? Yes, you need a strong resume and a compelling cover letter to create a great impression and get a callback for an interview. And appearing for a job interview seems nerve-racking because of performance pressure, and it’s hard to prepare without knowing what questions an interviewer will ask.
We’ve got you covered. Here’s a list of common tutor interview questions and interview tips to help relieve your stress.
Interview question categories
Hiring managers or recruiters typically look for candidates who can break down their subject matter expertise for students and handle complicated situations. They want to understand your personality, work experience, methodology, and skills. Since interviewers have specific needs, they ask pointed questions that answer all these. Here are a few common interview question types:
General questions
General questions aim to understand your interests and goals. These questions should be easy to answer because you know yourself well, but it’s sometimes difficult to know what information to share. Before the interview, outline hobbies, traits, and objectives that align well with the role so you have talking points. Make sure that your answers are relevant to the role.
Work and educational background questions
List your skills and experience tutoring (or similar work like teaching) or read them back to yourself from your resume. Consider what you’ll highlight in the interview. Memorize a few key bullet points about how you’ve helped students before, and include metrics, such as an improved score percentage for standardized tests you’ve tutored on.
Hypothetical questions
These questions intend to gauge how you react in complex situations. Revisit some of the most difficult decisions you’ve made in your career, how you’ve worked with challenging students, and any nuances that make your subject matter particularly difficult. Prepare to talk about these experiences and your solutions.
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7 example interview questions for tutors with great answers
No matter how you prepare for your interview, it’s productive. Even if you rehearse answers to questions the interviewer doesn’t ask, your practice helps you pinpoint the information you can use to respond to the questions they do ask. Practice by formulating responses to commonly asked tutoring interview questions. Here are a few with sample answers:
- Why do you want to be a tutor?: “I saw my child struggling with math homework and stepped in to help. I realized I could teach many more students. As an accountant, my math skills are sharp, and tutoring gives me a way to give back.”
- What are your strengths?: “I’m an excellent communicator and active listener. I also have great attention to detail and possess time management and organizational skills. Plus, I’m patient with my students and sensitive to their needs.”
- How does your educational background help you be a better tutor?: “I studied Spanish in college and did a year-long study abroad program in Peru. Since then, I’ve been volunteering as a translator for undocumented communities, perfecting my language skills.”
- What is your tutoring philosophy?: “I believe everyone has a different learning style, and playing to students’ strengths is important. When I have an active pupil, I try to get them moving as we learn. When a learner fares best with written content, I focus on using textbooks.”
- What results have you achieved with previous students?: “I’ve given SAT prep tutoring sessions to more than 50 students, and all received great scores. The average improvement rate between their practice exam and test day was 15%.”
- How do you react when students are upset about their lack of progress?: “I tap into my active listening skills and empathize with students’ frustrations. I try to identify roadblocks and create a new lesson plan that works better for them. I also help students set reasonable goals from the start to avoid potential hurdles.”
- What skills do you think are the most important for tutors?: “I believe communication skills and empathy are critical. These help tutors understand students’ unique learning styles and challenges instead of assuming.”
3 tips for acing your next interview
Rehearsing questions and answers is an excellent way to prepare for your interview, but you can boost your success further with the following three tips:
- Use real-world examples: Skill descriptions and personality adjectives may fall short without real-life examples to back them up. Always back your story up with relevant examples. This shows your character and highlights your skills in action. Remember to highlight situations where your students received accolades because of your efforts.
- Do your homework: When interviewing with an agency, know their values so you can speak to the skills and experiences that align with them. Also, closely read the job description to glean points to address in your responses. For example, if the tutoring agency seeks a particular teaching style, mention your experience with it.
- Learn more about the job: There’s no harm in asking the interviewer more about the agency, job, expectations, and company policies. This ensures the hiring manager you are an attentive candidate. A good cultural and professional match yields positive results for everyone involved (the students, institution, and tutors).
Automate the admin and focus on your students
Tutors need the right tools for the job, and we’re not just talking about experience and skills. A customer relationship management (CRM) tool helps tutors save time on administrative tasks and build trust with clients.
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