How to Highlight Your Online Tutoring Experience on Your Résumé

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Your résumé is an essential tool in your job search, so making sure it's as strong as possible should be a major priority, whether you're actively searching for work or just keeping yourself open to opportunities.

To have the most positive effect, your résumé should be customized to fit the position or industry you want to enter. However, as an online tutor, there are skills you are using now that will be valuable no matter where you're looking to work next. This article will highlight some points that are worth mentioning when you're creating or updating your résumé.

Résumé basics

A woman handing her résumé to an interviewer

Before we get into the details, let's first cover some of the basics. If you're starting from scratch (or even if you're not), you can find résumé templates easily online.

While there is no one "right" résumé style, ease of readability should be one of your top priorities. No matter how much work you put into creating a perfect document, always remember that the people who see it will be looking through many résumés, not only yours. Therefore, it's crucial to make it easy for them to find the most relevant, key information.

Choose simple, standard fonts such as Times New Roman or Arial in order to maintain a professional look. Clearly label each section of the document so the reader can quickly find the most important points; "Work Experience," "Skills/Qualifications" and "Education" are some of the most standard section headings.

After adding your personal information and perhaps a brief summary of what you're looking for, you can move to the main section of the document, which will include your skills and experience.

General tutoring skills

Communication skills

Two boys sitting on the floor and communicating through cans connected by a string

The ability to effectively communicate with others is at the core of tutoring and is the reason students book your lessons. Tutors must be ready to meet with a variety of people each day, and each of them has their own communication style that you must recognize and work with, often with little time to prepare.

Tutors must engage with students in ways that make them feel comfortable, and must keep cool in stressful or even frustrating moments. They should be able to carefully avoid delicate topics and guide a conversation so that it stays on track. And of course, being able to break complex ideas into smaller points that are easier to understand is also a big part of the job.

Each of these skills is valuable, and not everyone can do them well — which is exactly why they are worth mentioning on your résumé.

Cultural awareness

Everyone in the world is more connected than ever before. These connections will likely only grow and multiply as time goes on.

As a tutor, you regularly meet with people from different countries and cultures, which shows that you can be sensitive and professional when interacting with others. It signifies open-mindedness and the ability to accept perspectives and ways of thinking that may be different from what you experience in your everyday environment.

This ability to think globally and make international connections is a good point to mention when marketing yourself to employers.

Time management

An hourglass placed on top of a newspaper

Although 25 minutes can sometimes seem like a long time, there is still much that must be packed into that period.

Tutors must conduct lessons with a natural flow, carefully maintaining the right balance of tutor talk vs. student talk. Tutors must make sure the important points are covered and that students have time to ask questions so that the lessons feel full and meaningful.

Additionally, tutors should recognize what activities are worth exploring in order to maximize a lesson without making it feel disorganized. This ability to course-correct on the fly while keeping a close eye on the clock can be very valuable in many other types of work.

Working with technology

Online tutoring requires comfort and familiarity with meeting tools and software. Tutors are used to setting up and maintaining high-quality calls and dealing with issues calmly when they arise.

While this is important in our modern working era, these skills are becoming more common as more and more people work from home. Therefore, consider mentioning this on your résumé only if you feel it is not sufficient enough in some other area.

Adaptability and flexibility

A woman stretching on a yoga pose, showing her flexibility

Unlike in many other professions, tutors need to have extended interactions with different kinds of people every day. Everyone has a different temperament and a different level of English ability. This is in addition to varying student accents and unique ways of responding to different teaching methods.

And of course, students can sometimes surprise their instructors with sudden requests or last-minute changes; things don't always happen as they were originally planned.

In other words, being an English tutor requires a high level of sensitivity and flexibility to meet each student's particular needs. Great tutors are quick thinkers who can adjust when the situation requires it. What employer doesn't want traits like these?

Unique skills and additional points

Two professionals shaking hands during a business meeting

Aside from the general skills all online tutors should have, look deeper for unique positive traits that you can mention. This includes things such as working well with children, having experience tutoring students with special needs, etc. These more specialized skills help you to stand out and could be exactly what employers are looking for.

Also, if you have specific examples of how your lessons have helped a student or your company, find a way to mention them. This will demonstrate a clear and identifiable way that you have brought value to your employer and business partners in the past. It suggests that you can do the same at your next place of work.

Details like this may be better mentioned during a job interview than directly in your résumé, so use your best judgment regarding the most suitable way to present this information.

When you feel your résumé is starting to look finished, try and have at least one other person take a look at it. A fresh set of eyes can spot mistakes or areas to change that you may not have noticed yourself. Also, don't forget to do a spell check!

Put your best foot forward

When looking for things to highlight on your résumé, don't overlook the basic skills that you use every day. Although they may seem common to you, it doesn't mean that they aren't valuable or desirable to employers.

Just remember that résumés are not one-size-fits-all. It's best to make adjustments to highlight the skills and experience that will be most attractive to the hiring manager for the organization you want to join.

Keep these points in mind for job interviews as well. When an HR manager asks what you can bring to the position, you already have plenty of talking points ready to promote yourself. Good luck!