As an offshoot to the previous article on whether you ought to hire a tutor for your child, this article will help you go about hiring the right kind of tutor for your child. This is a process that you have to proceed with using special caution and attention because this is a person who will be working closely with your child and will most likely have an impact in your child’s life.

As with any type of canvassing for services, a good place to start is with referrals. Approach your friends and other family members and ask whether they know of or have a good tutor they can recommend for your child. You don’t have to settle with the first suggestion they make, but do take down names and numbers and add them to your list so you can check those out later on. A sensible way to go about it is also to speak with your child’s school adviser or guidance counselor. Chances are they will have some sort of in-house tutor employed in the school itself for the exact purpose of tutoring students whose grades are slipping. Organizations like the PTA might also have a database handy that includes a list of tutors that the children of former or current members have had in the past. The good thing about getting a tutor through the PTA is that he/she will have acquired a sense of equitability and credibility. Tutors who are seeking to be hired will normally leave flyer at supermarkets and/or libraries so don’t overlook those places. You may also check out newspapers for ads on tutoring services.

For all the evils that the internet has been blamed for, it’s still a great place to start your search. As you type down your search for a tutor, don’t forget to include the city you live in so that the results that come out are those within your area. That will help narrow your search down.

Once you have a pretty decent list of options for tutors, you can start making phone calls and setting interview dates. Do a background check on your top few candidates and pay attention to their personality and demeanor throughout the interview. You want to hire a tutor who won’t intimidate your child but instead bring out the best in him/her. If your child is the shy type, it helps to get a tutor who is gentle but upbeat and engaging. If your child is overly excitable, a great tutor for him/her would be someone positive and perky yet can be firm and encouraging in order to keep your child on track.

It’s advisable for you to sit in or perhaps at least be home during the first few tutoring sessions. This will help put your child at ease and will also give you a chance to see the tutor at work and could possibly confirm whether you made the right choice or not. Bottom line is if your child’s grades improve and if the tutoring sessions have a positive effect as well on his/her personality, then you will know you made the right choice.