Experience
It is always good to hire a tutor with experience as you can rest assured that he knows what he is teaching and how to teach suiting the style of a child. A good question to ask the tutor is – how much experience does he come with?
Specialization
For your own information, it is recommended that you ask the tutor his subject of specialisation. Though most tutors are able to teach all subjects generally especially in the primary level, some tutors specialise in 1 or two subjects e.g. Maths & Science or BM & English etc.
Qualification
Whilst this is not at the pinnacle of the importance pyramid, it is good to know the tutor’s qualifications. For example, you do not need a tutor with a Master’s degree to tutor your 7 year old child. A tutor with a diploma or even SPM, who comes with teaching experience, might be sufficient to fulfil your requirement.
Attitude & Character
ATTITUDE & character overrides all of the above. A tutor with the right and positive attitude and character is able to motivate and influence your kids positively, making them excel in the academic field. Attitude and character are contagious so a tutor with the right attitude and character is pivotal as your child will most likely emulate the tutor. Attitude and character constitutes honesty, punctuality, dedication, commitment, energy, approachability and confidence amongst others.
Testimonials
This is a bonus. No harm asking! Ask the tutor if he has any testimonial from previous clients. This can be in the form of an email, WhatsApp messages or SMS sent by previous clients to the tutor, complimenting them on a job well done. Some tutors don’t keep or ask for testimonials but if a tutor is able to provide this, you can rest assured that you have the right person.
An ideal tutor must have a combination of all the above as each element complements each other. Having said that, depending on your child’s requirements, you may want to realign the above based on the importance. For e.g. testimonials may not be important to you but attitude and characters are. If this is the case, pay attention to the latter.