Getting Started in Instructional Design and Digital Learning Design - Part 5 & 6
Updated: Feb 23
This post contains the fifth and the sixth parts of the series of blog posts aiming to cover some aspects of getting started in the field of instructional design and digital learning.
The final two parts of the series will be about finding, interviewing and landing jobs while continuing the development journey in order to improve your skills and help others do the same.
Here are the posts available so far and feel free to browse through the other blog posts on the website if you would like to check out other content.
4. Keep learning about the industry via being active online, networking, asking questions and attending training sessions if there’s a need while applying to jobs / doing small projects
5. Find a job / look for opportunities to get some experience in the field while continuing to improve the skills that are required related to landing the position you would like
6. Make sure 1-5. are continuously revisited and developed during the process and if still unsuccessful, try to gain more information about – CV, LinkedIn profile optimisation, portfolio development and understanding job requirements.
5. Finding and getting a job
By this stage of the process, hopefully, you have a clear idea about what kind of job or opportunity you would be happy with. This will depend on a variety of factors which are discussed in the earlier posts.
Once you've found what you were looking for, you'd normally go through a similar process that you usually do when applying to other jobs. The only difference is that in this case, you will often be asked to demonstrate your previous experience or skills either by showing a portfolio (a collection of work samples) or by answering some questions to check how you would approach a task or a problem.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, you can always try to improve your portfolio, your skills and the way how you approach your online presence and the jobs that you want to get. Tailoring your CV to industry specific needs and mastering the art of writing a good cover letter that emphasises your passion towards creating learning experiences and helping others developing their skills will always be helpful.
Acing the interview
Next step. You've received an invitation for an interview. This is your big chance to further explain why you want to work on a specific project or for the organisation of your choice. The good thing here is that you have an opportunity to express your multi-layered motivation that's related to the creative nature of the instructional design, learning design, and e-learning development jobs. You can also talk about the educational and pedagogical elements and the benefits of being able to use a number of methods to create great learning experiences.
The multi-disciplinary nature of instructional design and digital learning also allows you to be creative about your previous experiences and the skills you have. You enjoy video editing? You developed a very successful curriculum at a school where you worked before? You supported student in an online learning environment (LMS, VLE) before? You love graphic design and playing around with colours and shapes? These are all great points to raise and can tell a lot about how you will be able to greatly contribute to the projects at the organisation.
Finally, the interview can be useful to ask some questions about the role and make sure that the job is the one you're looking for. As mentioned earlier, it's important that you are aware of the tasks and responsibilities of the job you would like to get - as much as possible of course. For example, if you have spent a lot of time learning about Storyline, it's good to double check that it's actually going to be part of your job to build courses using that authoring tool. I know it sounds obvious but I have met a lot of people who said that they felt slightly disappointed by the fact that they were not doing what they thought they'd signed up for.
6. Continuous professional development
If everything worked well, by this time, you've already landed your (first?) job in the field of digital learning or learning design! It's time to relax? Well, (un)fortunately not just yet!
This is a continuously evolving industry which is great, but it also means that you need to stay up to date with the latest trends and developments. Focusing on your priorities can be helpful in order to not get lost in the never-ending software updates, new tools, technologies, theories and changing needs.
You can find people to follow online and check the yearly calendar for conferences to network and learn about the latest news and some of the most burning questions (e.g. AI in L&D).
The great thing is that L&D, digital learning and learning design teams are always open to new solutions and are always on the look for making their own work and processes more efficient and impactful. This means that after joining a team, you will have a supportive and equally motivated group around you to brainstorm and design together with.
This is the end of the series of blog posts aiming to give you a few ideas about getting started in the digital learning industry. The goal was to provide you with a few points to consider while you plan your move from your current job or if you're studying at the moment. The posts also tried to give you a few tips and tricks on how to develop your skills and approach the often confusing and scary process of finding a job and getting started in a new field.
Hopefully, you have found the posts helpful, but if you feel there are areas you would like to know more about, feel free to have a look at the other blog entries here or get in touch either via the contact page or on LinkedIn.
Comments