Forum Discussion

ChelseaYoung-6f's avatar
ChelseaYoung-6f
Community Member
28 days ago

Mentors PLEASE!

What advice can you give to a lonesome Instructional Designer at a mid-size company that is a unicorn at her company, meaning, I don't really have anyone to bounce ideas off of, check usability or practice new skills with.  Other than online communities (which are amazing) what are some other tis and tricks you could share to help me boost my skills and try new things that will help me progress as an ID but also give my company what they need/want?

advice
instructional design

2 Replies

  • Katie-Jordan's avatar
    Katie-Jordan
    Staff
    26 days ago

    Hi ChelseaYoung-6f​!  The good news is you’re definitely not alone in this experience.

    We’re actually launching a Peer Pod in January designed specifically to bring people together to learn from each other, share ideas, and get support. I think you’d be a perfect fit! You can register here.

    In the meantime, if you haven’t already, definitely check out our Weekly Challenges in ELH. Each week there’s a new prompt, and it’s a great low-pressure way to practice new skills and get feedback from the community. 

  • Louriann_N's avatar
    Louriann_N
    Community Member
    20 days ago

    Hey Chelsea! 

    As a previous unicorn, I can confidently say that you GOT THIS! Being the only one can be such a unique, and sometimes challenging, experience. My biggest advice is to meet people who share similar skills to you like for example a graphic designer or perhaps a training specialist. You can learn SO much from folks who have similar skills you may share. Perhaps there may be something you both can learn from each other. Having skills that are "almost" like instructional design can REALLY help you gain more perspective. A mentor of mine once recommended I do that in my job search as I was going out as a "baby" ID. Turns out those "lateral" careers can really help highlight what skills you do have against other folks in the industry. 

    IF that fails, think bigger. Go outside of your company to find fellow ID friends. I did this recently where I joined my local ATD (Association of Training and Development) chapter. I now have SO MANY ID contacts from folks who are local and (oftentimes) in the same boat as I was/am. Even though our companies are vastly different, it's so interesting to see what "everyone else" is doing or how they are navigating the role. 

    I'm going to guess that whoever is at your company pulling talent (like you) together, recognizes that 1 ID may not be enough. Or maybe they do who knows - clearly not me... But I can imagine that if you pitch it to your leadership/manager that you want to grow your skills/network within the company, they can help you find a way to do that. And maybe that is paying for an ATD membership (I'm not paid to advertise; I just really like my chapter LOL). Or perhaps it's paying for you to attend a local conference for you to get out "there" more. 

    I might be blabbering now BUT I hope you take something away from all of that ^. If not, I'm happy to connect more and help brainstorm ideas (that don't involve ATD 😅) with you. 

    From a prior unicorn,

    Go get 'em!