How to check if a tutor is "legit"?

[FunSprouts]

Hi everyone,

I'm considering hiring a tutor next year. I'm just wondering what questions I should ask the tutor to see if they're legit? I know I have to request working with children's check and qualifications, but what else? I'm also not really sure how to tell if someone is scam or legit. I'm also not really sure on how to ask for proof for qualifications. Are they like papers or something?

Thanks, much appreciated!

[Stick]

A few of my students wanted to meet me in person before commencing lessons, and brought a parent or friend along. If a tutor is really interested in your business, they should also be willing to do this for you. That way you can see them in person, what they're like (their general mannerism) and whether or not they seem to know what they're talking about. I also used that opportunity to tell them how I work and gauge what help the student needs so that I can get straight to work come the first lesson. I wouldn't have a problem showing you my Working With Children Check, and I'm sure others wouldn't either. Ultimately, if a tutor is legitimate and wants to help you they will be willing to work with you to alleviate your concerns (within reason, of course). Good luck finding a suitable tutor for yourself!

[FunSprouts]

Thank you stick, that really helps

[Russ]

In general, I wouldn't worry about a tutor attempting to scam you, since you usually pay at the end of the lesson. I found that nobody ever bothered to ask for a WCC and that almost nobody asked for references or previous experience, so I'm not sure how I would have actually proved my experience.

The two biggest red flags for someone not being what they seem would probably be wanting you to commit to X number of sessions and wanting to be paid up front.

nb if somebody doesn't want to meet you, it's also possibly because they just don't want to spend a bunch of time unpaid just to /maybe/ get a customer out of it. If you asked me now to meet you beforehand, they only way I would consider it is if you are able to meet my schedule (ie i'm not working around you).

[Quantum.Mechanic]

Unfortunately, a WCC is actually a legal requirement to tutor. 
That being said most individuals who tutor do not have one, as most of them are Year 12's who have recently graduated and are unaware of the legal requirements. I am unsure what you mean when you say "legit", but if you are referring to the professionalism behind it, most tutors should be professional, but I have seen tutors that unprofessional in the way they teach, i.e bad tutors.

As a general rule, most tutors start off with a trial session if you are interested.

If you are afraid of getting a "bad" tutor, then start with a trial session at the library that is not too close to where you live. If you feel that they are unprofessional, then the next time you get a text from them just reply that you have found another tutor. That way, you don't have to invite them into your house

In regards to the qualifications, you should be able to identify the from the list in the high achievers list. Most tutors will be the high achievers, and you can find them by googling 20xx VCE high achievers, where the 20xx is the year they graduated. You should be able to find them on the site

If not, you can ask them what they got in VCE, as well as ask for them to show you the relevant documents.
If, you don't want to go through the hassle of doing that, then Connect Education has already done that, all the individuals below are lecturers that are great tutors. You can find them in the list below
https://www.connecteducation.com.au/resources/vce-tutoring

[tange]

I know this topic was posted last year but I still want to offer my thoughts. I disagree with the above post about upfront payments. I charge students an upfront fee for a block of six lessons and I never scam students. The reason I require students to commit to XXX number of lessons is because I've had too many students cancel last minute or not show up at all when I waited at the library for them. I don't expect new students to pay the upfront in the first lesson but if they want to continue tutoring with me, they are expected to pay the upfront fee in the following lesson. As soon as I started charging upfront (with cancellation policies), all the issues with attendance disappeared and I started to encounter students who were serious about their learning because I made myself look professional.

You should be able to tell whether a tutor is suitable for you after the first trial lesson. As long as you believe that they genuinely want to help you, I don't think you should be too concerned with getting proof of their qualifications (unless you select tutors based on their qualifications).