How to Hire a Tutor

Why hire a tutor?

Tutors can improve the quality of your services. A great tutor can help your clients improve their grades and test scores to ensure they’ll keep coming back to your business. A great tutor can: 

• Increase customer satisfaction
• Increase customer retention rate
• Improve customer test scores and grades

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance tutor

Tutors can work as full-time employees or independent contractors. Before writing your job description, decide which type of tutor suits your needs best.

Full-time tutors often work for tutoring agencies and educational institutions. They usually tutor several clients per day and can work with groups of students at school or privately in their homes. If your business offers tutoring services to multiple clients on a regular basis, then hiring a full-time tutor may be the right choice.

Freelance tutors work for themselves and typically find their own customers. Many offer virtual tutoring online, which allows them to work with clients remotely from almost anywhere in the world. Freelance tutors are ideal if you’re offering a limited number of hours or only need tutoring services occasionally.

What are the types of tutors?

Tutors can specialize in a range of subjects and fields, some of which include:

• General education: These tutors help students with study skills, time management, classroom interactions and other general issues related to education. They may work with students who struggle to complete homework or are having trouble understanding the material in a variety of subjects.
• Test prep: Test prep tutors help students prepare for major exams, such as the SAT, ACT, MCAT and LSAT. They teach test-taking strategies that can enable students to earn higher scores on exams.
• Learning disabilities: Learning disability tutors can be beneficial for students with autism, processing disorders, ADHD and other special needs.
• Language: This type of tutor works with students on all aspects of learning a new language, including grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. ESL tutors teach English to non-native speakers of the language.
• College admissions: Students applying for college can hire an admissions tutor to walk them through the process. Admissions tutors assist with applications and essay writing, which can help improve a client’s chances of acceptance at their school of choice.

Where to find tutors

To find the right tutor for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Talk to educators. Many teachers, guidance counselors and other school staff know tutors who’ve helped students, and they can usually provide recommendations if you ask.
• Speak with parents. Parents can be an excellent source of information about tutors, especially if they’ve hired one for their own child.
• Check out local job boards. Tutors often advertise their services in public places such as libraries, college campuses and community centers.
• Attend a networking event. The National Tutoring Association holds an annual conference for professional tutors, which can be a good opportunity to network and find tutors looking for work. The organization also maintains a directory of registered tutors throughout the United States.
• Post your job online. Try posting your tutor job on Indeed to find and attract quality tutor candidates.

What are the types of tutors?

Tutors can specialize in a range of subjects and fields, some of which include:

• General education: These tutors help students with study skills, time management, classroom interactions and other general issues related to education. They may work with students who struggle to complete homework or are having trouble understanding the material in a variety of subjects.
• Test prep: Test prep tutors help students prepare for major exams, such as the SAT, ACT, MCAT and LSAT. They teach test-taking strategies that can enable students to earn higher scores on exams.
• Learning disabilities: Learning disability tutors can be beneficial for students with autism, processing disorders, ADHD and other special needs.
• Language: This type of tutor works with students on all aspects of learning a new language, including grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. ESL tutors teach English to non-native speakers of the language.
• College admissions: Students applying for college can hire an admissions tutor to walk them through the process. Admissions tutors assist with applications and essay writing, which can help improve a client’s chances of acceptance at their school of choice.

Writing a tutor job description

A thoughtful description is important to finding qualified tutor candidates. A tutor job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your tutor job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on tutor jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Tutor
• Education
• Remote work from home
• Tutoring
• College student
• Math tutor
• Writing
• Teaching
• Online tutor
• Teen

Interviewing tutor candidates

Strong candidates for tutor positions will be confident answering questions such as:

• Have you ever worked with children?
• Do you have any teaching experience?
• What school subjects are you familiar with?

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of tutor interview questions for examples (with sample answers).