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What do you think, reading this tutor's response?


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I am interviewing for a math/science tutor for ds14 again. I've looked at resumes through a tutoring agency and have selected a couple of ones where they have the necessary skills for what we need. Now I'm contacting each one asking if they would be willing to set up a "meet and greet" before we decide who we want to hire. I got this response from one of the potential tutors. I'm reading it a certain way but want to see how you interpret it the same way.

 

"Hi,

"Getting to know each other" time is free, then you decide if you want to proceed. I usually do this in expectation of getting an hour or more of paid time.

 

In my 11-year career, only four people have declined a session after that initial 5 - 15 minutes, and none within the last two years. Two students told their parents they'd rather have a girl tutor, and two just went sidewise and we didn't like each other. That's some 99% approval.

 

Once you hear my voice on the phone, I believe you will like me. (Should you get my voice mail, my other business is real estate.)

 

Just let me know what you want to do.

 

Fair enough?"

 

What are your impressions? And what do you think he means in the first two sentences?

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I didn't find this super "weird" since this is a math/science tutor. Writing skills might not be this person's primary strength.

 

I understood it to mean that you get together with the tutor for 5-15 minutes and decide then if you want to try a lesson. If yes, then he works for an hour with the student and gets paid for that hour. If you or your student don't want to try the initial hour lesson, then there is no charge.

 

And he is trying to encourage you with the idea that 99% of his students have happily stayed for the first lesson after meeting him.

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I am interviewing for a math/science tutor for ds14 again. I've looked at resumes through a tutoring agency and have selected a couple of ones where they have the necessary skills for what we need. Now I'm contacting each one asking if they would be willing to set up a "meet and greet" before we decide who we want to hire. I got this response from one of the potential tutors. I'm reading it a certain way but want to see how you interpret it the same way.

 

"Hi,

"Getting to know each other" time is free, then you decide if you want to proceed. I usually do this in expectation of getting an hour or more of paid time.

 

In my 11-year career, only four people have declined a session after that initial 5 - 15 minutes, and none within the last two years. Two students told their parents they'd rather have a girl tutor, and two just went sidewise and we didn't like each other. That's some 99% approval.

 

Once you hear my voice on the phone, I believe you will like me. (Should you get my voice mail, my other business is real estate.)

 

Just let me know what you want to do.

 

Fair enough?"

 

What are your impressions? And what do you think he means in the first two sentences?

 

1. You are not hiring an English tutor. :001_smile:

 

2. I think he means that if you take him on as a tutor, he doesn't want to waste his time at a meet and greet followed by just one paid session at a later time. He would have the expectation that it would become a regular job.

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I've hired numerous therapists over the years. The good ones never charge for the first meeting.

 

My interpretation would be that he will not charge to meet and talk with you and perhaps even do a bit of work to see if he is compatible with your child. He does this believing that you will at least use him for one session and hopefully more.

 

It didn't strike me as weird at all.

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I interpret it as: he will not charge you for meeting with you for a 5-15 minute meeting. He expects you to decide on the spot. If you decide to hire him, then he wants to do an hour+ tutoring session immediately following the meeting.

 

OK - that's how I read it. I'm not going to pursue this tutor, I think. I realize that he's got a sales mentality but I feel like there is a high-pressure sales tactic here and perhaps some ego.

 

P.S. - I've talked to 4 other tutors about meet and greets and none of the others have this same policy. All of them are willing to give us time free to meet and talk with them and to then decide at our leisure. (Obviously we want to hire someone soon so it won't be that much leisure!)

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OK - that's how I read it. I'm not going to pursue this tutor, I think. I realize that he's got a sales mentality but I feel like there is a high-pressure sales tactic here and perhaps some ego.

 

Just to be fair? Math and science types are not always the best at communicating their intentions. I'm great at communicating, but you don't want me for a math tutor. Just sayin'. ;):lol:

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I interpret it as: he will not charge you for meeting with you for a 5-15 minute meeting. He expects you to decide on the spot. If you decide to hire him, then he wants to do an hour+ tutoring session immediately following the meeting.

 

This is how I understand it as well.

The whole message screams "unprofessional" to me.

Citing his "approval rate" and telling you that normally everybody likes him does not strike me as the professional way to handle a teaching job... sounds like an insurance agent or used car salesman.

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The whole message screams "unprofessional" to me.

Citing his "approval rate" and telling you that normally everybody likes him does not strike me as the professional way to handle a teaching job... sounds like an insurance agent or used car salesman.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

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Just to be fair? Math and science types are not always the best at communicating their intentions. I'm great at communicating, but you don't want me for a math tutor. Just sayin'. ;):lol:

 

But he is not just supposed to be a math and science type, he is supposed to teach. Which requires communication.

A teacher who can't express himself in his initial communication would mean an automatic no for me.

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Just to be fair? Math and science types are not always the best at communicating their intentions. I'm great at communicating, but you don't want me for a math tutor. Just sayin'. ;):lol:

 

:iagree: I have math and comp sci degrees and worked for years in the software industry. This sort of terse tone to e-mails is really common. I'd personally give him a shot. I also think people should be given the benefit of the doubt in e-mail. Some people shoot off e-mails really fast without rereading and thinking about how it comes off. Especially if his regular job requires all day e-mail exchanges. I'd at least talk to him on the phone if he looked like a good candidate.

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:iagree: I have math and comp sci degrees and worked for years in the software industry. This sort of terse tone to e-mails is really common. I'd personally give him a shot. I also think people should be given the benefit of the doubt in e-mail. Some people shoot off e-mails really fast without rereading and thinking about how it comes off. Especially if his regular job requires all day e-mail exchanges. I'd at least talk to him on the phone if he looked like a good candidate.

 

I have no problem with the terse tone. I do have a problem with being told that I only have 15 min. to decide on the spot if I want to hire him even if I'm only hiring him for only session - esp. since every other tutor has offered an hour free to get to know them and no pressure to decide on the spot. That was what I wanted to make sure I understood - if he really meant that I had to decide after 15 min. I'm not trying to get free tutoring. It's just a time to look over the text books, to let my son get to know them, to discuss our goals and see if possibly their teaching styles will be the best to get us there. Past tutors have taken a sample problem that my son has difficulty with and have explained it to him so that he could see what kinds of explanations they give and if it clicked with him, but that isn't a requirement.

Edited by Jean in Newcastle
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OK - that's how I read it. I'm not going to pursue this tutor, I think. I realize that he's got a sales mentality but I feel like there is a high-pressure sales tactic here and perhaps some ego.

 

P.S. - I've talked to 4 other tutors about meet and greets and none of the others have this same policy. All of them are willing to give us time free to meet and talk with them and to then decide at our leisure. (Obviously we want to hire someone soon so it won't be that much leisure!)

 

Good call. I think he seems like the kind of person that wouldn't be my favorite!

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I have no problem with the terse tone. I do have a problem with being told that I only have 15 min. to decide on the spot if I want to hire him even if I'm only hiring him for only session - esp. since every other tutor has offered an hour free to get to know them and no pressure to decide on the spot. That was what I wanted to make sure I understood - if he really meant that I had to decide after 15 min. I'm not trying to get free tutoring. It's just a time to look over the text books, to let my son get to know them, to discuss our goals and see if possibly their teaching styles will be the best to get us there. Past tutors have taken a sample problem that my son has difficulty with and have explained it to him so that he could see what kinds of explanations they give and if it clicked with them, but that isn't a requirement.

 

If the other tutors are giving you an hour meet and greet, I would let him know this and move on. I think it's totally fine not to give him a shot if the other applicants are more receptive to a longer time to decide. I didn't read the follow ups until after I responded. With this tone and attitude, maybe he really doesn't need extra tutoring jobs either. Hope you find someone who works for you. :001_smile:

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Honestly, finding a tutor, even through an agency has not been as easy as I thought it would be. I submit a job posting with exactly what we are looking for in what subjects. (We want a tutor who can help ds in both algebra and chemistry). I've gotten a number of replies about only algebra or only chemistry and when you look at their resume they don't have the other subject listed as one they can teach. I found one tutor who looks great but when I looked at her linked blog, she talks about how she's starting to now remember where all the x's and y's go! I've gotten one reply from a substitute teacher questioning who is giving us oversight on our curriculum. This tutor I was talking about here had passed my initial inspection!

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I would skip him. He seems overly confident that this is a sure match because he is just that wonderful. The first two sentences leave me thinking I'm going to be paying for the meet and greet minus the first 15 minutes. But he's expecting at least an hour's pay.

 

Actually, his arrogance is a little off-putting at first. But as I think about it, it seems like he definitely wants to be paid for that time. He considers the hellos a "get to know you", and then he wants to be paid. He's trying to convince you yo'll want to keep him so that you'll be ok with paying him from the start.

 

I hope that makes sense. I'm trying to type with a baby climbing all over me and my thoghts are getting jumbles.

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I don't understand the problem with this tutor's response to your query. It's straightforward. This person explains that others find him/her likable, how long they've been a tutor, their rates, and their expectations. In closing they write, "Fair enough?" meaning do you find this reasonable, and implying that if you don't let's work it out.

Time=Money and very few have the luxury of giving their time away for free. Imagine it were you offering the tutoring. Imagine how many dead-end inquiries you'd get. Those who are serious go for it and know fairly quickly if a tutor/instructor will work well with their child. There can be surprises, but it's easy to see if your kid hits it off with someone or if they don't. References are always a plus. I'd ask for those before dropping this lead.

Edited by Wildiris
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I interpret it as: he will not charge you for meeting with you for a 5-15 minute meeting. He expects you to decide on the spot. If you decide to hire him, then he wants to do an hour+ tutoring session immediately following the meeting.

:iagree:

 

I think the phone comment is honest, though abrupt. Words on a screen cannot evoke connection between strangers. There's been many times I've e-ailed people and things seemed terse through e-mail, but when we met later it was a warm and we got along well together.

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Guest submarines
I interpret it as: he will not charge you for meeting with you for a 5-15 minute meeting. He expects you to decide on the spot. If you decide to hire him, then he wants to do an hour+ tutoring session immediately following the meeting.

 

:iagree: He sounds full of himself (his voice as a factor :confused::lol:), but this says nothing about his abilities as a tutor or knowledge.

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I read him differently than most, I guess.

 

The to-the-point, direct attitude might be a selling point to me - depending on the needs of my student, and how he'd pair up with that type of tutor. I know my son would would match well with that type of coaching/tutoring.

 

I didn't read him as arrogant, especially upon noting his side job is real estate. I think it's a personality quirk that means he sometimes comes across as brusque, and knows it, but also knows that he does better with verbal communication. But I also relate to that very well ;) so I'd feel okay giving him the benefit of the doubt, and therefore his one hour meeting.

 

I didn't like the guy upon reading his email, and I don't think I'd hire him to tutor *me* but I find his personality off-putting. My son, on the other hand, would respond very well to a tutor/coach who is direct with him - and maybe even moreso for a subject such as math or science.

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I don't understand the problem with this tutor's response to your query. It's straightforward. This person explains that others find him/her likable, how long they've been a tutor, their rates, and their expectations. In closing they write, "Fair enough?" meaning do you find this reasonable, and implying that if you don't let's work it out.

Time=Money and very few have the luxury of giving their time away for free. Imagine it were you offering the tutoring. Imagine how many dead-end inquiries you'd get. Those who are serious go for it and know fairly quickly if a tutor/instructor will work well with their child. There can be surprises, but its easy to see if your kid hits it off with someone or if they don't. References are always a plus. I'd ask for those before dropping this lead.

 

Since I used to have my own tutoring agency, I have no problem imagining if I were offering the tutoring. I always provided time to meet me or my employees free of charge. I've already seen his references. The tutoring agency provides those as well as a back-ground check.

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Time=Money and very few have the luxury of giving their time away for free. Imagine it were you offering the tutoring. Imagine how many dead-end inquiries you'd get. Those who are serious go for it and know fairly quickly if a tutor/instructor will work well with their child. There can be surprises, but its easy to see if your kid hits it off with someone or if they don't. References are always a plus. I'd ask for those before dropping this lead.

 

I definitely see this point, and that's why I wasn't put off by the e-mail. I have a math degree and have done some tutoring. I honestly CAN'T imagine agreeing to meet up for an hour with folks regularly only to be told it was a no go. I can imagine giving someone a 15-30 minute "interview". I've just done tutoring casually, so maybe it is more standard. And maybe this is someone who has the luxury of being more stingy with his time.

 

But if you have 4 other tutors willing to do this, then carry on, I don't blame you for wanting to try them out. That could potentially be like 4 hours of free tutoring! :D

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I definitely see this point, and that's why I wasn't put off by the e-mail. I have a math degree and have done some tutoring. I honestly CAN'T imagine agreeing to meet up for an hour with folks regularly only to be told it was a no go. I can imagine giving someone a 15-30 minute "interview". I've just done tutoring casually, so maybe it is more standard. And maybe this is someone who has the luxury of being more stingy with his time.

 

But if you have 4 other tutors willing to do this, then carry on, I don't blame you for wanting to try them out. That could potentially be like 4 hours of free tutoring! :D

 

I haven't asked for a hour specifically. 15 - 30 min. is fine, though I think I'd rather have 20 -30 min. to be able to adequately discuss things. I don't expect him to provide any math or science instruction during this time so it would not be free tutoring.

 

I already have a meet and greet set up with another tutor for tomorrow. His e-mail was even more to the point. "Meet and Greets are super. Call me at XXX-XXXX and we'll set one up." I liked this guy's voice on the phone! But what I really liked was that he had a sense of humor as well as a sense of professionalism. I may not need to set up any more Meet and Greets if my son and I like the man we're meeting tomorrow.

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I think it is funny they are so math minded that they have a statistic for their initial meeting to hired ratio. :D

 

:iagree:

 

I'd think the only way to know for sure if a tutor was going to work out would be to have him actually tutor for at least one session. Maybe that's what he was (rather awkwardly) getting at?

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I already have a meet and greet set up with another tutor for tomorrow. His e-mail was even more to the point. "Meet and Greets are super. Call me at XXX-XXXX and we'll set one up." I liked this guy's voice on the phone! But what I really liked was that he had a sense of humor as well as a sense of professionalism. I may not need to set up any more Meet and Greets if my son and I like the man we're meeting tomorrow.

 

Maybe you won't need to meet the guy you posted about. Since he was one of only a couple who could tutor both subjects, it may be worth meeting him. Tell him that other tutors offer a free session to see how they interact with your child. Tell him that you'd like to hear him work through a problem or two with ds to see if their learning/teaching styles mesh. He does sound either desperate, awkward or arrogant, but that doesn't mean your ds won't like him. :lol: 99% of teen boys apparently do get along with him. ;)

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I interpret it as: he will not charge you for meeting with you for a 5-15 minute meeting. He expects you to decide on the spot. If you decide to hire him, then he wants to do an hour+ tutoring session immediately following the meeting.

 

:iagree: And as long as "hiring" him doesn't mean a 9 week contract you sign, but just the next paid hour to see how it goes, I'd be fine with that, personally.

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I already have a meet and greet set up with another tutor for tomorrow. His e-mail was even more to the point. "Meet and Greets are super. Call me at XXX-XXXX and we'll set one up." I liked this guy's voice on the phone! But what I really liked was that he had a sense of humor as well as a sense of professionalism. I may not need to set up any more Meet and Greets if my son and I like the man we're meeting tomorrow.

 

Thank God for the bolded! :lol:

 

Hope it goes well. Maybe he'll look like Sean Connery;). :lol:

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This tutor I was talking about here had passed my initial inspection!

 

Meaning both math and chem?

 

I dunno. I've used a tutor twice (once math and once physics). I was on a wait list and bloody happy to get a good one, and there was no interview at all. I went to him or her, all my "stuck spots" carefully marked, and paid cash before starting. Maybe tutoring has changed? Good tutors are nothing to sneeze at.

 

Everyone has personalities, and if one isn't desperate for a job, one can be a little picky about who you work for. If he likes "let's get 'er done" people, being blunt is much more likely to get a good match for him. Perhaps he's been burned by a sleeve-grabber. I'm not saying you ARE one, Jean, but being all sweet and buttery and bending over backwards before the tutor is even out of the gate means the tutor doesn't winnow out the pillow-biters of the world.

 

Boy that takes me back. Sleeve-grabbers and pillow-biters were terms of my college years. That and the oft-used phrase about males: clinging, energy-sucking mother-seekers. :D

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Meaning both math and chem?

 

 

Meaning math and chemistry, good references, including good ratings from other people who have used this tutoring agency. The last tutor I hired, who was excellent in math and chemistry btw, was usually an hour late to every scheduled appointment. In addition, he started to change his fee from week to week depending on how the stock market was doing. That was a bit too eccentric for my taste. So I'm looking for professionalism this time around as well as the math and science. At $40 a hour, I'm not willing to just pay for an hour's worth of his time if we aren't sure we do want to hire him and I'm not willing to make an on-the-spot decision. Maybe his other clients are faster at making decisions? I tend to talk it over with ds and dh, looking back over their resume, asking here about certain points if I have questions, before making a decision usually by the next day.

Edited by Jean in Newcastle
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At $40 a hour, I'm not willing to just pay for an hour's worth of his time if we aren't sure we do want to hire him and I'm not willing to make an on-the-spot decision. Maybe his other clients are faster at making decisions? I tend to talk it over with ds and dh, looking back over their resume, asking here about certain points if I have questions, before making a decision usually by the next day.

 

And I think that is reasonable. But, if he knows what he'd like to do, and is not short of jobs, he can say what he'd like. Perhaps he is used to people who just trust credentials and say go for it.

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And I think that is reasonable. But, if he knows what he'd like to do, and is not short of jobs, he can say what he'd like. Perhaps he is used to people who just trust credentials and say go for it.

 

Probably. At this point I'm just sitting on his e-mail and not responding. I'm not sure if I have to respond, actually, unless I want to set up a time to meet. I'll see how tomorrow goes with the other tutor. If he e-mails wanting to get more of an answer, I would just give him a "no thank you at this time" type of response.

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