Hello, this is Kristi Oliva and Veronica Reed. We each come from different backgrounds and have taken different paths to where we are today, but we have both worked hard and are now proud to be starting new roles as IDOLs. Through this blog/vlog we will be sharing with you what it is like as new IDOLs. We will shed light on our journey from the first day to day 90 and tell you what happens behind the scenes when you land your first ID role.

We hope that our experience can help others have the confidence to apply for and land that IDOL role without doubting their abilities.

Kristi:

I come from a teaching background. After 12 years of teaching, I knew that it wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore. Even though I wanted to switch careers, I didn’t know what I was qualified for. I honestly thought my only options were to either become a school administrator, or get my PhD and teach at a university. Neither of which really got me excited. 

While doing a job search, I discovered instructional design completely by accident. After doing some research, I stumbled upon IDOL courses Academy and the rest is history! Well, kind of. From the time I enrolled in the Academy to the time I landed my IDOL role was about 7 months. 

The interview process for the job I hold now was relatively short compared to the other interviews I had. I had one interview with the recruiter that lasted about 30 minutes and then a panel interview that was about an hour with my team. It was about two weeks later that I got the call from the recruiter with the job offer! I was over the moon thrilled that I had gotten the job. He went over the details of the offer and it all fell under my “dream come true” heading in my book. 

Going into my first day, I am most excited about meeting my team in person, seeing the physical place where I will be working, and finding out more details about what my job will entail.

Veronica:

My background is in Human Resources and I’ve worked in corporate for most of my career so I’m familiar with the corporate world and all the nuances that come with it.  I became interested in Instructional Design because I always gravitated towards the Talent Development side of human resources.  I completed a Masters of Organization Development and Change and became involved in my local Association of Talent Development chapter.  While volunteering with ATD I discovered the field of Instructional Design and decided that was what I wanted to pursue.  Unfortunately I was laid off so I felt that was a good time to create my first portfolio and learn more about the field.  

I first saw the IDOL courses Academy in fall 2019, but wasn’t in a financial position to join at the time.  I had a couple of interviews but they didn’t lead to a job so I knew there was something missing.  Once registration opened for the IDOL courses Academy June 2020 cohort I knew I had to make it happen.  During the cohort I updated my portfolio and LinkedIn information with hopes to seriously start looking for jobs in Fall 2020.  

I happened to connect on Linkedin with a Senior Vice President of Learning & Development at a company I was interested in working for.  Apparently she liked my portfolio and LinkedIn profile so she reached out to me to do an informal interview for some positions at their company on a Sunday afternoon.  The interview with the SVP went very well and she connected me to the hiring manager who happens to report to her.  I spoke with the hiring manager on Monday morning and she sent me an assignment to create a 1-3 minute Vyond video on a topic from their website.  The video was due on Friday, but wanting to make a good impression and the IDOL Movie Magic course I was able to complete and submit by Wednesday.  She called me the next day on Thursday and offered me the job.  This was probably one of the fastest interview processes I have ever done.  I’m super excited to finally be an IDOL and I can’t wait to really get into the role and work on some cool projects.