eLearning, Freelance ID, Instructional Design, Leadership, Project Management / December 23, 2021

Everyone loves an end-of-the-year round-up, including all of us here at The Instructional Design Company. So while Spotify is busy making you question your music journey over the past year, I’m here to help career changers reflect on your instructional design journey.

2021 has been another year of change. So many public-facing professionals, like teachers and healthcare workers, were presented with new challenges. So it’s no surprise that so many people are considering a career change.

But, the difference between just thinking about making a change and making that change is action! Everyone has to start somewhere, so where did you start in 2021? Let’s look back on your year as a career changer. 

The time you spend reflecting on your past year will help guide your next steps as an instructional designer.

The Benefits of Reflection

Now, I know some of you career changers might be thinking, “Shawntay, this past year has been a mess! I want to leave it behind and never speak of it again!” I completely understand the urge to skip out on reflecting on a tough year. 

However, reflecting on your past experiences helps you learn and grow from them. For career changers, this can have several benefits. Let’s look at a few:

Perspective

If you’ve ever made a mistake in your job or missed a deadline for school, you understand how awful it can feel in the moment. But, often, when you return to those moments, you gain a new perspective later on. 

You can connect the misstep with the growth that occurred instead of just focusing on the negative. Of course, since you’re a human, you’re bound to make a mistake again, especially as you begin to work in a new field. However, with some perspective, you’ll be able to move past mistakes and setbacks more easily. 

Self-awareness 

When you reflect, you can better understand yourself and your actions. To succeed in a new role, you have to play to your strengths and fill in the gaps in your knowledge. Self-awareness through reflection gives you the power to identify areas of strength and weakness. This is especially useful as you go through a career change. 

Growth

Reflecting on your year personally or professionally allows you to better see what practices are serving your growth and which are only setting you back. From here, you can better plan how you’ll approach a new year. 

For career changers, planning for growth is so important. For example, you might be working a full-time job while you try to learn new skills to transition to instructional design. Or you’re hoping to begin working in instructional design as soon as possible. Either way, having a plan to achieve your goals makes them more realistic and achievable. 

5 Tips for a Career Changer’s Reflection on 2021

Now, I’ll guide you through some important points of reflection. As you look back on your year as a career changer in instructional design, consider jotting down some bullet points or even journaling your answers. It’s helpful to return to your reflection on past work or experiences when you’re planning for a new quarter or a new year. 

Remember Your Why

Regardless of where you are in your instructional design journey, take a moment to remember why you need this change in the first place. What caused you to look into a new career? How did you find instructional design?

Your reasons for making a job change are personal to you, but they can serve as a friendly reminder as you put in the work to learn the new skills you need to land an instructional design job.

Celebrate Your Successes

Now, I’d like you to think back on your year in instructional design. When it comes to reflecting to set new goals, I want to start on an uplifting note. So, list out all the things you did this past year that you consider a success.

Think of the big successes. Here are some examples of big things career changers may accomplish on their journey to instructional design:

• Creating an asset like a video or an eLearning module that you can add to your portfolio
• Converting your resume to an instructional design resume (maybe using my eBook guide)
• Completing an instructional design certification program (shout out to the two Instructional Design and Tech Accelerator System cohorts from 2021!)
• Navigating a new tool like Camtasia, Adobe Premiere Pro, Vyond, Articulate Storyline or Rise, or Captivate

Those are all huge accomplishments! But, there were dozens of small steps necessary to get to the finish line for every huge success. So, you should also consider the smaller things you crossed off your list on your journey to becoming an instructional design career changer.

Things like:

• Reading an article that helped you better understand instructional design
• Watching a Youtube tutorial that walked you through a new tool (we have some great ones on The Accelerated ID YouTube channel)
• Joining a Facebook group, like The Hangout for Aspiring Instructional Designers, or a LinkedIn group of other instructional designers for support
• Researching instructional design certificate programs for career changers

Every small step you take is helping you to meet your larger goals. So I think they’re all worth celebrating!

Identify Any Setbacks

Learning from our mistakes is just as important, if not more so, than celebrating successes. 

So, what were the things that held you back from meeting your instructional design goals? Don’t just list setbacks, but also include how you can move forward and grow because of them. Here are a few examples.

If you weren’t offered a position or contract for a job or project you applied for, consider how you might improve your resume or interviewing skills. Check out these resources to move forward:

• Professional Instructional Design Resume eBook
• Create a Portfolio to Land an Instructional Design Job
• Questions to Ask During an Instructional Design Interview

Maybe you planned to create an asset for your portfolio this year, but your work is unfinished. Instead of beating yourself up, consider how you can help yourself succeed:

• Be sure you’re devoting the time necessary to work on your project
• Consider creating a microlearning module 
• Enlist the help of a support group, like the community in The Hangout for aspiring instructional designers, to keep you accountable

Refresh Your Practices

Armed with more awareness of your accomplishments and setbacks, career changers should use this knowledge to decide which of your current practices should carry over to the new year and which needs to go. 

I’ll give you a personal example. I used to be a total night owl, so often, I relied on the time after dinner when the kids were in bed to cross tasks off my to-do list. But, for some reason, that practice just has not been it for me! After dinner, I’m wiped out. If I even make it into my office, I’m too tired to be doing my best work. 

Moving into the new year, I’m changing things up. Instead of waiting until the end of the day, I’m going to bed early and waking up before the rest of the family to tackle those to-dos first thing. 

Here are some other things you might reflect upon and decide to keep or ditch in 2022:

• Software subscriptions- if you have any, what are you using, and what can you cancel
• Interview strategy- think cover letter, application, resume, and the interview itself
• Time investment- are you happy with how much time you’re able to devote to your career change?
• Portfolio progress- where do you stand with portfolio assets? What kind of attention is it getting if you have a completed portfolio? Could you use a refresh?

Check-in with Your Community

We all need community. Maybe yours is made up of current colleagues, supportive friends or family, or online friends like The Hangout. 

Whoever they are, be sure to check in before the new year. Share what you’ve reflected on with them. They’ll help you celebrate your successes and keep you accountable for what practices you plan to start and stop for 2022.

If you have a community of fellow career changers, encourage them to reflect similarly and share what they’re comfortable with. Hearing from others in a similar career transition might inspire your path into 2022.

Wrapping It Up

Regardless of where you are as career changers on your path to instructional design, I’m so proud of the steps you’re taking, big and small! Now that you’ve reflected on your year in instructional design, what’s your biggest takeaway? What’s your plan for progressing towards your goals in 2022? 

If you haven’t thought about it yet, I highly recommend looking at my 90-day action plan template. In addition, you can watch this episode of The Accelerated ID for a more detailed walkthrough. It’s a great way to start a new year and the perfect jumpstart for your instructional design goals. 

If you haven’t already, head over to The Hangout and check in with your community of instructional design lovers. Share your biggest takeaways from this year. I can’t wait to help you celebrate your successes and see what you plan on doing differently in the new year!