Oxford graduate turned private tutor - where do you find your tutors?

[passingitforward]

Hi all! I've just started offering private tutoring and Oxbridge mentoring and I'm trying to figure out the best way to find students. I'm an Oxford graduate (Spanish and Languages) based in London with years of experience — I know I have something to offer but I have no idea where parents actually look when they need a tutor!

Do you use agencies, word of mouth, platforms? Tutorful are sadly not accepting applications right now. Would love to know what's worked for you 😊

The first thing they do, IME, is ask people they already know, if they know anyone good. I've been asked twice if I know anyone who teaches X subject, by friends locally, in the last few weeks.
I guess for languages specifically I might ask the DC's existing language teacher if they know anyone (although my personal experience of asking teachers in the past is that they are reluctant to make recommendations). Or I might also ask people I know who speak that language - for example I have Spanish speaking neighbours and I might ask them if they have any contacts at the Spanish community centre, Spanish church etc etc.
However I am a Gen X parent. Millenials and Gen Z might do it different and - for example - look on social media.
I think some fruitful market research might be to consider if there is a market locally to you that you could serve in person. A lot of tutoring seems to have gone online - so some of your competition may be people actually living in Spanish-speaking countries. Personally I would pay a premium for my DC to get an in-person teacher but I am not sure whether other parents would value that so highly. You could investigate!

I do postgraduate tutoring. I began by finding my clients on "Superprof" but I now have enough students by word of mouth only. Many tutors begin on a site but obviously they take commission. Once you go solo you can set your own fees and conditions.

We use tutors for our kids and find them on superprof initially.

I got mine from tutorful.co.uk, otherwise word of mouth. Once you build up a reputation, the parents pretty much do the advertising for you.

I used Tutor Hunt. I found excellent tutors for my DC. I had 1 for 7 years as first she tutored one DC then younger siblings.

Thank you for your response! I have been tutoring on and off through sites since 2022 (ie being massively underpaid through sites like MyTutor haha). Now, a couple of years out from my degree, I would really like to take on some serious hours with it, because I do truly enjoy tutoring. I get very intermittent hours through an Oxbridge admissions platform and am signing up to Superprof, but I'd like to fly solo. I have created a mini website on Canva but am just so unsure how to get those first few clients. Perhaps Superprof or another site will be a good starting point. I am London based - hopefully plenty of clients in this big city!

Thank you for responding! This really confirms my worry that word of mouth is important. I have been in London less than a year and just do not have that network. Hopefully if I go through websites first I will see some success!

Thank you! I am reactivating my Superprof account. It's really good to know that parents actually use it. As a freelancer a lot of these sites can promise work but are very oversaturated and don't deliver so I am cynical 😆

Thank you! Tutorful won't take more tutors, but am trying other sites. The goal is really to get that word of mouth. I am very chatty and had a network, but since moving to London I don't know many parents at all!

Thank you! Oooh I hadn't heard of Tutor Hunt, making an account now. 🤓

This. Have identified three tutors through Tutorhunt, and two of them have taught two of my children. They've been great.

Just FYI Tutorhunt take 32% commission and Tutorful take between 30-40% depending on how many hours s tutor teaches. Just letting you know as that can inflate prices compared to commission free platforms as professionals don't want to lose income, or means successful professionals leaving those websites as they go independent.

Find yourself one Chinese family and the rest will follow! They are my husbands main source of tutoring income.

Yes but it’s a good way to find people. Later on (child 2 or whatever) you contract directly because the tutor trusts the parent to pay (can be an issue) and you trust them.

Doesnt always work out taking students off platform, and if the websites find out they ban you, but I do agree that you are visible on there... A £44 million turnover off of their commission model is funding their advertising - and it Tutorfuls case is funding their AI tutoring training using the recorded lessons of tutors and pupils, and the other companies are changing their t&C's to reflect the same.

Thank you! Yeah have definitely identified this issue, have been tutoring part time since 2022 and am sick of the platforms. Trying to find a few clients to then go offline - am fairly new to London so don't have a network

Thank you! Yes rich foreign families are usually quite interested, especially for Oxbridge admissions. No idea where to find them haha but will keep trying!

Tutorful take a huge commission although have an advantage of all tutors are dbs checked through them. Useful for your first year tutoring then get word of mouth and siblings, cousins etc. so who cares if they then drop you. Also depends on subject (maths, chemistry mfl usually in high demand).
Sometimes the problem is if you want to stop - you feel obliged to keep a year 10 or 12 to the end.

Just FYI, Tutorful allows tutors to self declare that you are a teacher without any evidence, which is misleading for parents