You have made a choice and  have done all the research for your next career move.

Instructional Design, Yes it is; So, Instructional design is your next dream career.

You have the transferable skills, creativity, passion, all that it would take to become an amazing Instructional Designer, and then, you stumble on this question - Do you have any Instructional Design experience?

What you thought was a cakewalk for you, now turns out to be a frustrating situation.

How would you handle this situation, how would you let your passion not die because of this one question?

Of course you can start volunteering for – e-learning for kids, Designers for learning, Learn appeal, etc. But what else can you do?

The answer is planning and following a step-by-step approach.

Without further ado, let’s see the steps that will help you bring closer to your dream career-

1.   Understand the job responsibilities of an Instructional Designer

As per an infographic posted on the ATD website, an Instructional Designer performs the following responsibilities:

a)     Needs assessments

b)     Designing learning solutions and instructional materials

c)     Identify the best learning approach

d)     Collaborate with stakeholders

  2. Know the Skills of an instructional Designer

a)   Research skills

b)   Listening skills

c)   Organization skills

d)   Visualization skills

e)   Writing skills

f)    Creativity

g)   Relationship management

h)   Problem solving

i)    Technical skills

3.   Get your basics right

a)   Familiarize yourself with some of the well-acclaimed ID models and theories.

b)   Refer to some online ID gurus and resources, a couple I highly recommend are:

• Idol courses academy by Dr. Robin Sargant
• Christy Tucker Blogs
• Tim Slade Blogs

c)   Hone your technical skills; learn some of the in-trend authoring tools like Storyline, Captivate, Adobe Suite, Camtasia, PowerPoint, Vyond.  LinkedIn Learning has some great videos to start with.

d)   Network; join some online Instructional design communities and follow them.

e)   Complete e‑Learning Challenges by e-Learning Heroes.

For me, I tried to cut to the chase, I joined the Idol academy, and I must admit it has been helping me bridge all the knowledge gaps I have.

4.   Time to curate content

It’s now time for some action.

Take a deep breath. Make a note of all the experience that is relatable to the skills and job responsibilities mentioned above.

Create mini samples; to show how you have used these skills in your previous roles. Whatever medium you choose to brush up your skills, knit that in steps 1 and 2 to create mini-samples. 

Don’t panic; it may seem overwhelming to begin with. However, when you will give it a thought, you would be able to come up with many examples from the past that will be a great fit to demonstrate your experience.

To begin with, you can refer to this great resource, Free Masterclass On How to Land Your First IDOL.

With some thought, little planning, and SMART goals, you can save your dream from crashing.

Now tell us what you are doing to kick self-doubt to the curb in 2020.

And remember the sky's the limit.

By: Pavneet Kaur

Pavneet Kaur is a learning experience designer based in Toronto. She has over 10 years of experience in Training, Facilitation, and Learning Experience Design. She has an intrinsic passion for learning new technology and sharing her learnings with others. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, playing with her kids, and tapping on her favorite numbers.

 Get in touch with Pavneet on Linkedin.