This was me. And this could be you. But you’ll get there!

Making a career change can be overwhelming. Thinking about all the new things you will need to learn in order to get a job can produce a lot of anxiety and imposter syndrome. 

When I first decided to change careers from a special education teacher to an Instructional Designer, I was excited to learn more. Then it hit me. The more I learned, the more I got overwhelmed with all of the tools, theories, and practices I needed to know to be successful and confident. I learned several things along the way to help calm down that overwhelm to focus on my goals and learning. Here are my tips:

1. Analyze job descriptions - There are so many tools out there, and when I first joined the IDOL courses Academy and learned about the plethora of tools, I wanted to learn ALL of them. When I took a more in-depth look at job descriptions of jobs that I really wanted, I realized a pattern. Most of them wanted Storyline experience. Therefore, I decided to really focus on Storyline. Whatever the tool may be, learn the one that is mentioned the most. You can learn the others later. This is a great resource to help get you started: becoming a rapid e-learning pro.
2. Bookmark articles and resources for later - I started using LinkedIn more when I was job searching. However, I realized that I would frequently come across cool articles or fun resources to dig in. I started getting distracted by them all. I could save and refer back to these things later instead of allowing them to distract me at that particular moment. Here are a few great sites I have bookmarked: scenario-based training, adult learning theory, and Kirkpatrick’s model.
3. Set goals and priorities - I set a deadline for when I wanted to get a job. Since I had a deadline, I worked backward and thought about how I would attain my overall goal. I created smaller benchmarks and a timeline to keep me on track. One of the biggest things was setting a goal for how many assets I wanted to have in each category in my portfolio. I had to develop these assets using particular authoring tools, which also helped keep me on track. Not sure where to start with building a portfolio? Read Kristi Olivia’s tips on how to build a portfolio without an ID job. 

Whatever your timeline or end goal is, you can get there. By sitting down and creating a clear plan for yourself, you will become less anxious and more focused. 

Written by: Sara Velasco

Connect with Sara on Linkedin.

Sara is an educator who made the switch to become an Instructional Designer after 12 years in the classroom. She loves creating fun and engaging content to help learners learn and remember skills and knowledge. She always has a growing collection of books on her nightstand that she wants to read and has always been a lifelong learner.