Starting out in the industry

So you want to get into learning, eLearning, digital learning, instructional design, or all of the above?

Where do you start? That’s a great question! Keep reading . . .

Here, we will run through some things you can consider, and start acting on straight away so you’ll be on the path to becoming a learning ninja.

Create an online presence

This could be a website, a blog, a portfolio or all of the above. You will need a central spot to showcase your brilliance, your creativity, and your initiative.

We created this webinar to demonstrate some ways you can create an online presence, for free.

We cover building your portfolio with an Adobe Cloud account @ https://www.myportfolio.com, or via WordPress.com.

Getting your own domain name is extra cool, and demonstrates that you are familiar with the server side technology like DNS, which can add extra credibility to you experience.

Create some content

Start of by creating storyboards or sketches of courses, or parts of courses. These could be just pen to paper sketches on paper, as written about here.

If you don’t have access to eLearning authoring tools, you could use existing tools in your toolkit (like PowerPoint) to create some mockups of eLearning courses, and include these in your online presence. If you need an extra hand learning how to use the tools, you can start here to learn how to use Adobe Captivate. If you need inspiration on topics or subject matter, take a look at your own interests and create content about stuff you know about. Could be a personal hobby such as cooking or a general interest topic such as space and the universe.

Gain some experience

Apply to Learning consultancy companies for work experience, as though you’d be applying for a real job. The reason we suggest this, is that these companies are usually more nimble, without the layers of approval to allow unpaid employees seeking experience. They may also have a wider variety of exposure to different clients and different industries.

Even though it is not paid work, a lot of companies want to see the effort and process that the applicant is taking plus obviously potential examples of work. You can also seek feedback on your applications to constantly improve your approach to seeking employment.

Join the communities

So many online and face to face communities out there. Meetups, online forums, groups on LinkedIn.

Follow Learning and eLearning related groups on LinkedIn to start seeing the conversations and discussions that are happening in the field.

Join the Adobe and Articulate eLearning forums, and subscribe to newsletters and YouTube channels.

We also suggest including a photo in your LinkedIn profile, and updating the LinkedIn profile summary with your aspirations for the next phase in your life.

You may also like: Continuing to learn as a learning professional

Ask the internet

If you have questions you want to ask people directly, have a go at asking the question on the internet. You will no doubt be directed back to forums, related sites, blogs etc

Learn web languages and create web pages

We strongly believe in gaining an understanding of HTML and if you can, JavaScript. These languages underpin the web, and most eLearning content sits within a web page. Having an understanding of these fundamental technologies can greatly improve your troubleshooting skills.

We would love to hear your comments on how you got into the industry or what you found useful in making a start on your journey.

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  1. Pingback: Continuing to learn as a learning professional – Learning Plan

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