Finding the Right Online GMAT Tutor
Finding a good online GMAT tutor can be a challenge. Experience is always the key to a good tutor, but so are sound teaching skills. You want to find a tutor that strikes the right balance between experience with GMAT and experience teaching students. The best way to do this is to conduct targeted interviews with GMAT tutors from more than one online tutoring service.
Identifying an experienced online GMAT tutor requires an in-depth conversation with potential candidates. The best places to find a qualified instructor are going to be through tutor services or through your local university. Once you identify several candidates, prepare questions for an interview you will conduct, and make sure your questions help you identify the instructor’s background, experience, and teaching approach. Questions should leave room for the instructor to elaborate, but not be too open-ended as to encourage an essay. You might ask:
-How long have you been a tutor, and how long have you been working with the current tutoring service?
-What experience have you had with online GMAT tutoring specifically, and how recent?
-What methods do you use to help your students succeed?
-What do you do when a student is struggling?
–How to you overcome the issues of providing online GMAT tutoring, without the benefit of face-to-face meetings?
-Describe the most difficult tutoring experience you’ve had with online GMAT tutoring, and what you did to overcome those difficulties.
-Describe your strengths and weaknesses as an online GMAT tutoring instructor.
Selecting Your Tutor
When your online GMAT tutoring candidates have answered your questions, you begin to get a sense of their personality. Notice which ones answer all your questions and maintain a pleasant tone. Is a sense of humor demonstrated? Did any of the potential candidates answer with impatience or with omissions? Did each provide a complete response? The interview results will tell you the demeanor of each instructor, their patience level with students, and whether they’re a thorough teacher.
Good interview techniques will help you select the best instructor for your needs, and to prepare you for passing your GMAT exams.