I applied online. I interviewed at Varsity Tutors in Aug 2024
Interview
As many have stated here - the first round is a recorded interview. Generally I do well in these, but it assumes people are already teaching or tutoring and can 'flip the teaching switch' on without any real prep. Maybe I'm just really not that smart or past positive reviews of my teaching skills were a figment of my imagination. The last question gives you 10 minutes to throw a lesson plan together without using any supporting materials. It can be on anything you're passionate about (which is confusing if you want to say, teach ESL, and would like to show your skills in teaching ESL. I'm not about to do a presentation on my PhD thesis as that would not be applicable to the tutor roles I'm looking for.). As someone who has taught before but it's been a few years, trying to throw together a lesson plan in that amount of time did not set me up for success at all. I found the whole experience extremely ridiculous and limiting - like the McDonalds of tutoring: "I'd like the happy meal of lessons plans please". I was not surprised when they told me I was not offered a spot in their pool of contractors, as I know my recorded lesson plan was a flop and did not capture my best - but the rejection sure did feel like a major slight considering my background, experience and education. I would have appreciated a heads up on this question so I could have prepared something that would have actually presented my skills.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
"You have 10 minutes to prep a lesson plan on something you're passionate about." - You're given two tries to record a 10 minutes lesson.
You are sent a link to an online video interview. They ask you about previous tutoring experience and the last question was asking you to do a mock-tutoring session. It's very awkward because you have to make up what you want to teach on the spot, but you get unlimited time to think of responses.
I applied online. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Varsity Tutors (University Park, MD) in Aug 2025
Interview
AI Interview, very easy. Asked very basic question's regarding experience, motivation, etc. I’m a freshman student in UMD and so I haven’t been to many job interviews, but this was genuinely easy.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What age group are you most comfortable with tutoring?
Easy and self recorded. You record answers to questions and can redo it if needed. Customer service questions as well as content and tutoring experience questions. You take assessments to then qualify to teach subjects
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
About my experience with tutoring and content knowledge