Hiring tutors, coaches, and mentors has the potential to lead to a great boost in learning, growing, and improving in your academics, business, or personal endeavours. However, there are many instances where people hire help only to be disappointed with the lack of results. Here are some tips that will help you in achieving valuable tutoring, coaching, and mentoring experiences.
Do your homework before hiring
When you decide to hire a tutor, you must make sure they are suitable for you. What works for some students may not work for others. In choosing the right tutor, you want to ensure that the answer is “yes” to all the following questions:
- Is the tutor knowledgeable in the subjects they are tutoring?
- Does the tutor have good interpersonal skills?
- Can the tutor break down a complex topic into easy to understand, bit size pieces of information?
- Is the tutor flexible and can they cater to the student’s personality?
- Does the tutor pass background and reference checks?
Hiring a business or personal coach also requires some research and background checks. Ask lots of questions, make sure that there is a personality match, and more importantly, that the coach is already at the destination you want to reach. If a business coach tells you they help their clients reach six or seven-figure incomes, make sure that their history, profile, and outreach indicates that they have the experience to get you there. Not doing your homework may lead to hiring a coach that is unable to properly guide you.
Schedule enough sessions based on your needs
How many hours per week should you see your tutor? It depends on how motivated you are and how much improvement you desire. In case of academic subjects, if the grade gap between where the student is and where they want to be is less than 5% then 1-1.5 hours/week is ideal for the tutor and the student to work together. If the gap is 5-10%, we recommend 1.5-2.5 hours/week. If the student needs more than 10% grade improvement, then more time is required to not only help the student understand concepts and complete homework, but also help them with study skills, learning habits, and extra practice questions.
With any tutoring or coaching session, dedicating enough time is necessary to get the practice you need in order to achieve the results you want.
Focus on big concepts, not just small tasks
Once you start with your tutor, ensure that the tutorials are teaching you how to complete homework and reinforcing important concepts. The ultimate goal of any tutoring or coaching engagement should be for you to learn the skills and eventually become independent, so you won’t have to rely on others to get things done. Make sure you are not asking your tutor or coach to simply do the work for you; you need to be able to do the work yourself to improve the necessary skills that will lead to your success!
Get work done outside of sessions
It is the responsibility of the student to make sure they practice the concepts outside of the lessons. Tutorials are a perfect time to receive any clarification that is needed, but they should not be the only time where a student studies. Continued work outside of sessions is necessary to ensure that the student is fully confident with the concepts.
The same idea applies for working with a business coach. Be prepared to do a lot of work in between your meetings. Your coach is not a magician and can’t help you advance if you are not doing your part.
Hiring tutors, coaches, and mentors is a chance for us to change our habits, gain the skills we lack and receive guidance towards success. Following the steps provided will ensure that you get the most out of your tutoring or coaching experience. To get value out of your investment, be ready to show up prepared, ask questions, and have fun!
