Explore Jobs
Find Specific Jobs
Explore Careers
Explore Professions
Best Companies
Explore Companies
Tutors act as a helping hand to put struggling students back on track when they fall behind in their studies. They are masters in their subjects who have a proven history of academic excellence and are hoping to pass this knowledge on. To be successful in their career, a tutor must exhibit an enormous amount of patience, communication, and empathy.
While interviewing for tutoring positions, a hiring manager poses targeted questions to see if the candidate can handle assisting students in improving their education, as they'd be required to do on the job. Below are a few of the most common Tutor interview questions that are asked to assess the abilities of an applicant.
Key Takeaways:As a candidate, your interviewer will be interested in the teaching strategies and lesson plans you use to propel struggling students, as well as the overall progress you've made with those you've tutored in the past.
As an interviewer, look for candidates who have a thorough understanding of how to teach specific subjects in a way that can be tailored to the challenges of an individual.
All of the possible Interview questions for Tutors might seem overwhelming at first, but there are some effective steps you can take to prepare:
As a Candidate:Bring examples of how to navigate certain learning challenges and disabilities.
Have a physical or mental portfolio of all your best teaching examples and accomplishments.
Be prepared to discuss your teaching philosophy and why it works.
Review the job description and use it to construct your ideal candidate.
Tailor your questions to reflect the needs of the clientele.
Provide your prospective tutors with an accurate hiring process timeline.
How long have you been a tutor? This question directly asks for a candidate’s length of experience in the field. This provides them with a barometer for your background as a tutor to see if this fits the employer’s needs. It’s a straightforward question that requires an answer of the same caliber.
Example answer:
“I’ve been working as a tutor for a little over four years now. I began tutoring after I got my teaching degree as a way to build a supplemental income, but I ended up loving it so much that I just continued doing it.”
Why are you interested in this position? An employer needs to know why you want to work for them as a tutor. While you can talk about your motivations for being a tutor, this question is more interested in knowing why you want to work for their organization specifically.
A little prior research about the company and the specific requirements of the position can be very helpful in responding to this question.
Example answer:
“When I came across the posting for this position on Zippia.com, I noticed that the requirements were asking for a candidate who has at least a year of experience with excellent communication and analytical thinking skills.
My abilities match up well with these requests. Additionally, I looked into the background of your company, Tutoring Solutions, and I appreciate the student-centric approach to teaching that’s encouraged. It seems like the type of work environment that I would be perfect for, and it would be great for me too.”
Tell me about your experience with teaching. In addition to asking about how long you’ve been working as a tutor, an interviewer will likely inquire about the details of your former teaching roles. To answer this question properly, include a brief synopsis of your responsibilities and accomplishments in past tutoring positions.
While the question is broad, you should still keep your answer concise. Only discuss information that’s directly relevant to your teaching experience.
Example answer:
“I’ve been working in the teaching field for five years. After graduating with my bachelor’s degree in early education in 2016, I briefly became a substitute teacher for an elementary school.
I loved working with the kids and assisting in the learning process but didn’t feel like I was making enough of a difference as a substitute teacher. I ended up becoming a tutor instead so as to have more one-on-one interaction with students.
I much preferred this type of environment because I get to watch them grow and learn over time. I’ve been working as a tutor ever since.”
Do you have a degree in teaching? Every tutoring job is unique, and some might require a formal degree in teaching. While an interviewer should know this information from your resume, it could still come up in an interview. To answer, explain the specifics of your degree, such as where you went to school and your discipline.
Example answer:
“Yes, I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from The University of Washington. I graduated in 2017.”
Why did you want to become a tutor? The motivations behind a person’s career tell an interviewer a lot about them. Be ready to receive at least one question like “why did you want to become a tutor” to assess your reasons for pursuing the occupation.
Example answer:
“When I was in high school, I started tutoring as a part-time job. I learned quickly that the job could be very lucrative and rewarding when the effort was put in. I also enjoyed helping people learn difficult material. This led me to pursue a teaching degree in college and later go on to become a full-time tutor.”
What are some of your professional strengths? An interview is used to gain insight into an applicant’s overall package. This includes learning more about your professional strengths. Choose your strengths wisely when responding to this interview question.
Since you’re discussing your strongest aspects, an interviewer will be looking to hear if these strengths match the position’s requirements. Pick qualities that are helpful or necessary to the job of being a tutor.
Some examples of strengths that are crucial to being a tutor include:
Communication
Empathy
Positivity
Adaptability
Example answer:
“Some of my greatest strengths are that I’m very energetic and patient. I lean on these qualities heavily while I’m tutoring. I think my energy helps keep students engaged and motivated with the material, and my patience allows them to move at their own learning pace comfortably.”
What subjects are you familiar with tutoring in? Unless they’re teaching elementary-age students, tutors need a specialty that fits their knowledge and background. If you aren’t able to fully understand the material, then there’s no way that you can effectively tutor someone else in it.
In a tutor interview, you’ll be asked about your subject familiarity to determine if you have the experience needed to fulfill the role.
Example answer:
“My main area of expertise is tutoring in mathematics. Specifically, I’ve tutored high school students in geometry, algebra, and pre-calculus. I’ve also had some experience tutoring in college finance courses as well.”
What actions do you take to get a disinterested student motivated? In an interview for a tutoring position, the hiring manager wants to know more about your teaching style than a resume can provide.
They’ll ask questions like “what actions do you take to get a disinterested student motivated?” to understand how you’ll handle common situations on the job. The most comprehensive way of answering is by reaching back into your bank of experience and pulling out an example of a time you properly handled this situation.
As a tutor with experience, you’ll probably have at least a few tales of unruly students. Explain one briefly. If you don’t have hands-on experience as a tutor, discuss how you believe you’d handle the scenario.
Example answer:
“When I worked with disinterested students in the past, I usually have a series of actions that I take. Initially, I attempt to engage the student by making the tutoring and learning session fun through more entertaining methods of teaching.
Usually, this works, but occasionally, the students need more of a push. I worked with one child in particular who was especially uninterested in the material. I took things up a notch by offering a rewards system for more committed behavior. This worked extraordinarily well, and the student went on to ace his end-of-year testing.”
What skills do you think are most important to be a tutor? This interview question illuminates an applicant’s perspective on being a tutor. It shows which skills they believe are crucial to success. When you’re responding to this interview question, provide ways that you foster these skills in your work habits, in addition to mentioning what they are. Even when a question isn’t directly pointed at you, the response should be brought back to your professional performance.
Example answer:
“I think there are a lot of qualities that go into being a good tutor. A few of the most important skills for the field are patience and communication. Since you’re dealing with students and their weaknesses, you need to be patient in whatever circumstances arise.
Additionally, the only way to do your job as a tutor is to convey tough information to students through communication.
I believe that these two areas are points of strength in my tutoring habits, but I also work to constantly improve them. I attend at least one teaching seminar per year that focuses on communication techniques in teaching.”
What are some of your favorite teaching strategies and tools? This is another question that targets a candidate’s teaching strategies. Since tutors work with many different kinds of people, they need to be prepared with multiple methods of teaching. One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to learning difficult material.
Blatantly mention the strategies that you use for tutoring and why you think these are the most effective when answering.
Example answer:
“My preferred teaching strategy is inquiry-based education. I choose to develop this learning environment with the students I tutor because it allows them to feel comfortable asking questions.
In addition to encouraging an inquiry-based environment, I also use some other tools such as Google collaboration applications, videos, and other visual aids to help students understand the material better.”
Do you reward students when they’re excelling in their lessons? How so? Similar to how a hiring manager might ask about your preferred teaching strategies, they could also inquire into your reward system with students. This is another way to gauge your teaching style and techniques.
Oftentimes tutors have set reward schedules for when their students meet certain milestones or excel in their studies. When answering this interview question, be specific about the rewards you use and why you use those systems.
Example answer:
“Yes, I do reward students when they’re excelling in their lessons. The reward system I use differs depending on the age of the child I’m tutoring, but it’s always gift or praise-based. If they’re still in elementary school, I stick to rewarding them with tiny toys or candy when they’re succeeding.
For older kids, I use more mental breaks as a treat. When they’ve done an excellent job, I use rewards like small Starbucks gift cards or verbal praise. I believe using small gifts and praise works best as a reward when tutoring because it’s something that the students genuinely appreciate and want.”
Tell me about positive results you’ve seen with students in the past. In a tutoring interview, the recruiter is curious about your prior accomplishments in the field. When you’re asked this question about positive results with students in the past, use the STAR method to answer the question.
The STAR method of interview answering stands for:
Situation
Task
Action
Result
For this question, mention the details of the teaching situation, your responsibility in the scenario, the actions that were taken, and the positive result.
Example answer:
“A time that comes to mind when I think of students with positive results was with a fifth-grade boy named Aaron. He started working with me because he was having a lot of difficulty with essay writing and research.
His grades in writing-focused classes were getting close to failing marks. For six months, we worked intensely on improving his skills in constructing long-form writing assignments and editing.
By the end of this term, his once failing grades had turned around to A’s and B’s. Additionally, it sparked a love of writing for Aaron, and he went on to greatly enjoy these subjects with a new set of skills.”
How do you keep track of a student’s progress? Monitoring a student’s progress is a tricky task that every tutor manages in their own way. Since it isn’t always clear whether a student is progressing on pace, a tutor needs to establish methods of understanding where they are.
To answer this interview question, look back at your prior teaching experiences for ways that you would keep track of progress. The interviewer is looking for definitive mechanisms for evaluation.
Example answer:
“The main technique that I use for keeping track of a student’s progress is paced testing. When we begin working together, I give them an initial assessment to place their abilities and their problem areas.
After that first test, I give a follow-up exam every three months to see how their progress is going. I think that tests are the most concrete way of monitoring progress over time definitively.”
How would you handle a student who is being rude or disruptive? This is another question that tests a candidate’s skills in a hypothetical teaching situation. Instead of asking the applicant how they handle good behavior, this question focuses more on how they handle a disruptive student.
If you have a former experience you can share as an example of this scenario, then use that to describe what you would do. Otherwise, answer hypothetically by providing direct actions you would intend to take with a rude student.
Example answer:
“If I was tutoring a student who was being rude or disruptive, there are a few ways that I would handle it. First, I would try talking to them one-on-one about why they’re acting in a disruptive way with the goal of finding a way to solve the issue.
If that doesn’t work, I will move on to consulting the parents of the student to inform them of the situation and how I’d need to proceed if it continued. Finally, if all else failed and the student continues being rude during tutoring sessions, I’d have to stop working with the client.”
Have you designed tutoring lesson plans before? Depending on the employer’s terms, a tutor could be responsible for creating a detailed lesson plan. When this is one of the requirements for the position, it’ll probably be brought up during an interview to determine your experience in this ability.
You don’t need to go into the specifics of prior lesson plans that you designed, but explain your experience with creating them in general.
If you don’t have any experience with designing lesson plans, be honest about that. There’s always the possibility that the employer would be willing to train you in lesson plan design for tutoring sessions.
Example answer:
“Yes, I do have experience with designing tutoring lesson plans. In my last position, I was required to create a designated lesson plan to fit the needs of each student I tutored, which ended up being about 32 in total.”
Tell me about a time you encountered a problem while tutoring and how you handled it. Situational questions come up a lot during a tutoring interview because the hiring manager needs to know how you’ll interact with students to better their learning and retention.
Use the STAR method again when responding to establish the situation, explain your task and actions, and convey the ultimate result. Remember to disclose a situation that paints you in a positive light and as a good tutor.
Example answer:
“A few years back, I was tutoring a girl who had been forced into lessons by her parents after failing an algebra class. From the beginning, it was obvious she didn’t want to be there and was constantly making it difficult to work with her. I didn’t want to just give up on the student, so I decided to talk to her like an adult.
I explained that I was only interested in helping her, and even if she didn’t like math, it didn’t mean that she shouldn’t try. After going back and forth for a while, we established a reward system plan to keep her motivated. The reward system ended up working well, and she continued to be one of my favorite tutoring students for the next year.”
What does your current availability look like? Employers need to know whether your schedule meets their needs for the tutoring position. Don’t be surprised when you’re asked about your current availability during an interview. Provide an honest and comprehensive explanation for what days and times you’ll usually be available.
Example answer:
“My current availability for tutoring is weekdays between 9 AM-6 PM. I’m able to work a full-time schedule during these times.”
What is your standard rate? An interviewer typically asks candidates about their standard tutoring rate to evaluate whether they can provide this salary.
It’s a difficult question because a response with a pay rate that’s too low could result in getting paid less than your worth. Alternatively, giving an astronomically high rate could scare off a potential employer because that amount isn’t in their budget.
Provide a rate that’s standard to your level of experience in tutoring. Researching the average tutoring pay could help you pinpoint the best number to give during an interview.
Example answer:
“My standard rate is $25 per hour.”
Why do you think you’re a good tutor? A candidate’s perspective on their abilities is important to an interviewer. When answering the question of “why do you think you’re a good tutor?” show your confident side. Look back on your work as a tutor and pick out the most relevant reasons that you attribute your success in the field to.
Example answer:
“While there are many qualities that contribute to success in tutoring, I think what makes me a good tutor is my commitment to the job. I’m a very driven person, and I take my student’s success personally. When a student is not progressing as expected, I don’t get frustrated because I empathize and want to figure out an effective solution. I believe that’s why 91% of the students I’ve tutored ended up with improvements in their grades.”
Do you have any questions for me? At the end of the interview, the hiring manager usually asks the candidate if they have any questions for them. Many applicants think of this as a throw-away question used to wrap up the job interview, but it's actually a very important evaluation.
Employers are impressed by an interviewee who has a thoughtful question or two about the position, company, or environment. It shows consideration and commitment to getting the job.
Example answer:
“Yes, I do have a couple of questions for you. First off, how would you describe the work environment of this tutoring organization? Also, does this tutoring position offer long-term growth opportunities in the future?”
Example answer:
"I have worked in education for 7 years now, and through that experience and everything I learned from my Education degree, I have confidence in my abilities as a tutor. I believe that every student is unique, so I approach each tutoring session with the goal of helping each student reach their fullest academic potential.
I strive to create a supportive and encouraging environment for my students, where I can provide individualized attention and help them develop the skills and strategies needed to reach their goals. I am also well-versed in a variety of tutoring methods, including exam prep, study skills, and essay writing."
Example answer:
"You should hire me because I have a deep and versatile pool of knowledge when it comes to educating each individual. The many years of experience I have successfully teaching Spanish to English speakers shows that know what each student needs to thrive.
Additionally, I have worked with adults and teenagers who've had many different challenges and disabilities. My training allows me to navigate the challenges that come with ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, and many other developmental disorders.
I’m also committed to staying up-to-date with the most modern and well-researched teaching practices, so I know the students I'm tutoring are always receiving the best-quality education I can offer."
Example answer:
"I want to work here because I believe Tutor Inc. offers cutting-edge programs that perfectly match my education philosophy. As someone who's worked with students who have Autism Spectrum Disorder for over 5 years, I have a deep understanding of what they need to succeed. I see their struggles and their triumphs on a day-to-day basis, so I know I'm qualified to guide them and help them thrive."
Example answer:
"In five years, I see myself continuing to make a positive impact on the lives of my students and their families. My goal with each and every individual is to help them develop their unique strengths, overcome challenges, and reach their full potential.
Of course, I also see myself continuing to grow and develop as an educator. I am committed to ongoing professional development and staying up-to-date with the latest research and best practices in my field, which will ultimately help me improve the lives of my students."
Example answer:
"My biggest strength is my ability to build relationships with students. I excel at natural encouragement and have a genuine interest in helping students learn and grow. I'm also an excellent communicator, which allows me to explain complex concepts in an easy-to-understand way.
My biggest weakness would be my organizational skills. I sometimes have difficulty organizing my thoughts and planning ahead. This can cause me to become easily overwhelmed with tasks and can result in poor prioritization. However, I'm always working to improve my organizational skills by developing better habits and effective schedules."
Do you prefer online or in-person tutoring?
What kind of experience do you have working with computers?
Do you have a preferred environment when tutoring?
How will you effectively communicate with families?
How do you know whether a student understands a lesson?
How do you craft your lessons to fit into a timed session?
Tell me about the teaching experiences that have been the most important or relevant to you
What do you know about working with disabled students?
What would you do if a parent were to make a complaint?
What is your opinion of testing?