Tutor.com, Tutor Doctor, Varsity Tutors
Mission: Our intention is to change attitudes to private tuition, across all subjects, at all levels. We set high standards for our tutors, and they achieve remarkable results for their clients.
I have been working at The Profs Tuition as a contractor (More than 3 years)
Pros
The Profs do everything right! Their agents know their tutors personally and on a first name basis. They regularly have social and training sessions so a tutor actually feels like they are credible and progressing in their role. They pay the best rates. They have an amazing timesheet system called Tutor Cruncher that issues wage slips that make it easy to reconcile payments. They have an annual awards ceremony where, if a tutor is recognised, the award is amazing for attracting new clients, and building credbility--as well as being an inspiration to keep trying harder to do your best. Would you also believe they even pass late payment fees from clients onto the tutor! These people are astounding in a landscape of tuition agencies that range from horrible-to-mediocre.
What helps enormously is that the founders and managers care about every issue. Any concern I had was handled immediately and fully. I have never had a single complaint when working for the Profs because they don't let it go that far.
This is the agency every tutor in the United Kingdom, and soon the world, will want to work for.
Cons
Sometimes, The Profs are very ambitious and as a result, tend to leave successful projects for new ones before the old ones have run their course. Their blogs were very successful... but were unceremoniously stopped because they got busy, and never revisited the aim. They also had a monthly newsletter which was great for tutors to read, but this went to the wayside because they became distracted and never came back to doing them regularly.
Other times--and I don't think this is intentional--the numerous awards The Profs win feel like they are more about the management team than they are about the tutors. In all fairness, they are business awards, so maybe that is justified; however, sometimes we hear a bit too much about business success rather than tutor success.
This feedback though is really being tough though. Neither of these issues undo any of the wonderful things The Profs have done for their tutors since its inception.
Advice to Management
Keep doing what you're doing. Although expansion and improvement of the business is always important, try to maintain the things you were doing well and not sacrifice them for new endeavours. We've become successful quickly, but the race is a marathon and not a sprint. It's OK to slow down a little to keep the momentum evenly distributed.
Application
I applied online. The process took a week. I interviewed at The Profs Tuition (London, England) in October 2015.
Interview
I met Rory in a coffee shop in London, and ran through a mock lesson with him. I gave him a ten minute lesson on mathematical analysis, focusing on limits. He followed the lesson well. Rory then told me more about the agency. It was very interesting and he provided useful feedback. The interview was relaxed and enjoyable. I found I was very aligned with the company's approach and teaching philosophy.
Interview Questions
