Job searching can be tough, especially in a specialized field like Learning and Development (L&D). Navigating applications, interviews, and the uncertainty of rejection can be daunting. Drawing from over 20 years of experience in corporate Learning and Development, this guide aims to ease your journey. Having been both a job seeker and a hiring manager in the L&D sector within corporate America, I understand the process from both sides. From small non-profits to large multinational corporations, I’ve experienced the full spectrum of the job market. If you’re targeting Learning Development Jobs, this article is tailored for you. I’ll share proven strategies and advice that have helped me secure rewarding, well-compensated roles doing what I love.
Defining Your Ideal Learning Development Job
Before diving into your job search, clarity is key. What specific aspects of Learning and Development excite you? Do you envision yourself leading classroom training, crafting engaging instructional designs, developing interactive e-learning modules, or perhaps a blend of these? Understanding your preferences and willingness to take on different responsibilities is crucial.
The world of learning development jobs is diverse, often combining various skill sets. You might find roles that require both training delivery and design expertise. While this versatility can be appealing, you might prefer to specialize. If you’re exploring different L&D roles, resources like “I Want to Be in L&D: Getting Started in Learning and Development” can provide valuable insights.
Throughout my career, I’ve often pursued and secured these hybrid roles. This path allowed me to cultivate a broad range of skills, from facilitation and instructional design to e-learning development, video editing, and Learning Management System (LMS) administration. This diverse experience helped me pinpoint what I truly enjoyed and what didn’t resonate with me. Knowing what you don’t want is as important as knowing your passions. A powerful exercise is to articulate your preferences in writing. For example:
- Ideal Role: Focus on instructional design and e-learning development.
- Less Desirable: Training delivery and LMS administration.
This written exercise provides a clear vision of your ideal learning development job. Perhaps you thrive in delivery and design, or maybe you’re keen to gain LMS experience alongside project management. The specific combination is personal; the goal is to have a clear picture. This focus allows you to target jobs that genuinely align with your aspirations and avoid those that don’t.
Crafting a Standout Resume for Learning Development Jobs
Your resume is often the first impression you make. Recruiters use it to quickly assess your suitability for a role. Don’t give them an easy reason to dismiss your application. Objectively review your resume and ensure it effectively highlights your relevant experience for learning development jobs. If it falls short, it’s time for a revamp.
Resume Examples: Highlighting Relevant L&D Experience
Consider this resume of an aspiring instructional designer. Does it showcase relevant experience? Yes, it mentions curriculum design and development, which aligns with instructional design, along with other training mentions. However, is this experience immediately obvious to someone unfamiliar with the resume? Not really. This is the core issue. In the fast-paced world of recruitment, a busy recruiter or hiring manager scanning numerous resumes might easily miss the relevant qualifications.
Now, let’s examine another example. Does this person have relevant experience? Absolutely! And is it immediately visible? Yes!
This is a snippet from my resume. Is it perfect? No. But, does it clearly communicate my capabilities in Learning and Development? It does.
I prioritize an “Areas of Expertise” section at the top to immediately showcase my key skills. My experience history follows. While this format isn’t mandatory, it has served me well. Remember that while initial resume scans might be automated, human eyes will eventually review it. Make it easy for recruiters to quickly identify your relevant experience for learning development jobs.
Addressing Experience Gaps in Your L&D Resume
You might be thinking, “That’s great for someone with 20 years of experience, but what about those starting out in learning development jobs?” It’s a valid concern.
Building experience is crucial. Explore avenues like:
- Volunteer Roles: Offer your L&D skills to non-profits or community organizations.
- Personal Projects: Design and develop training materials or e-learning modules on topics you’re passionate about.
- Internal Opportunities: Seek learning and development projects within your current company.
Articles like “I Want to Be in L&D: Getting Started in Learning and Development” offer more strategies for gaining initial experience.
Incorporate this newly gained experience into your resume, ensuring it’s prominently displayed. Consider a skills section at the top, similar to my resume example. Emphasize your L&D skills in your experience descriptions, avoiding burying them under irrelevant details.
Acknowledge the reality that some learning development jobs require significant experience. Entry-level roles or internal opportunities within your current organization can be excellent starting points to build your foundation.
Utilize resources like the FREE L&D Resume Experience Builder for worksheets to brainstorm your existing experience and identify ways to gain more.
Building a Compelling Portfolio for Learning Development Roles
Beyond a strong resume, a portfolio is essential to showcase your work. This portfolio serves as a tangible demonstration of your skills and experience in Learning and Development. It can take various forms: physical samples, digital files, or a dedicated website. While a website is often recommended for freelancers or business owners, it’s not always mandatory for corporate learning development jobs.
In my experience, portfolios and work samples typically become relevant during the interview stage. I organize my samples in a physical folder and digitally on my laptop for easy access.
Increasingly, job postings request a portfolio link during the application process. In such cases, platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, or a website can host your samples.
What to Include in Your Learning Development Portfolio
The contents of your portfolio depend on the specific learning development jobs you’re targeting.
Portfolio for Training Delivery Focused Roles
For roles emphasizing training delivery, showcase your facilitation skills. Include PowerPoint presentations, leader guides, and participant guides from courses you’ve led. Student evaluations (positive ones!) and materials you developed for those courses are valuable additions.
Select course examples that align with the company’s training needs. For instance, when interviewing at Houston Methodist, a large hospital system, I knew new employee orientation was a key training program. Having delivered similar orientations at Walt Disney World and CarMax, I included examples from those courses in my portfolio.
Portfolio for Instructional Design Focused Roles
Instructional design portfolios require more depth. Employers want to see not only the final courses and materials but also your design process and the visual appeal of your work (graphic design).
Again, prioritize examples relevant to the target company. If direct matches are unavailable, include a diverse range of your best work. Consider including:
- Instructor-Led Training: PowerPoints, Leader Guides, Participant Guides
- E-learning: Storyboards, E-learning Courses
- Design Process: Outlines, Needs Analysis documents
- Multimedia: Recent videos or multimedia projects
Portfolio for E-Learning Focused Roles
For e-learning specific roles, focus on showcasing your digital development skills. Include e-learning courses, storyboards, and potentially design documents. Depending on the job description, including instructor-led materials can demonstrate versatility.
Portfolio for Mixed Focus Learning Development Jobs
Many learning development jobs combine elements of delivery, design, and e-learning. In these cases, include relevant samples from all categories. This was my approach for the Houston Methodist role, which encompassed training delivery, instructional design, and e-learning.
Private vs. Public Portfolio Considerations
Consider whether your portfolio will be private or public.
Private Portfolio
My job search portfolios are typically private, shared only later in the interview process. This allows tailoring the portfolio to the specific role based on insights gained during initial interviews. For example, when interviewing with a company developing leadership training, I included a Leadership Portal project and leadership training materials, even creating a mock PowerPoint with their logo for a proposed leadership class. Customizing samples to the interviewing company is a highly effective strategy that demonstrates initiative and resonates with employers.
Private portfolios also allow including a wider range of samples, even those from current or previous employers that shouldn’t be publicly shared. Explain to the interviewer that certain samples are confidential and can be shown in person or on your laptop. Always be cautious about sharing sensitive or proprietary information. Redact sensitive details with filler text if necessary, and explain this to the interviewer.
Public Portfolio
If a job application requires a portfolio link upfront, you have several options. A semi-private approach using Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox allows sharing a link while limiting public access. However, exercise caution with confidential information even in semi-private portfolios.
For a fully public website portfolio, extra care is needed. “Scrub” samples from current or former employers by removing logos, names, and branding elements to maintain confidentiality. Genericize the content while still showcasing your skills. This “scrubbing” is advisable even for semi-private portfolios.
Alternatively, create portfolio pieces from scratch. Develop a sample e-learning module, participant guide, or storyboard on a generic topic. This approach gives you full ownership and control over sharing. While it requires extra effort, it provides valuable experience and portfolio content.
Portfolio Examples: Organization and Presentation
My private portfolio is organized into folders representing different training types (e.g., leadership, sales, technical). Each folder contains relevant samples, allowing me to customize my portfolio for each interview.
For public portfolios, websites offer a professional platform to showcase your work. While not essential for all corporate learning development jobs, a website can be a differentiator, demonstrating technical skills and providing a centralized portfolio hub.
My decision to create a website-based public portfolio was driven by:
- Skill Development: A desire to enhance my web development skills, aligning with my interest in educational technology.
- Differentiation: A website portfolio sets me apart and effectively showcases my skills and portfolio.
Applying for Learning Development Jobs: Strategies and Resources
With your resume and portfolio ready, you can begin applying for learning development jobs. Remember that these are initial versions, and you’ll likely refine them throughout the process.
Where to Find Learning Development Job Openings
The job search landscape is vast. Here are effective resources I’ve personally used:
Major Job Boards
Start with large, well-known job boards. Indeed and LinkedIn are my primary choices. I have saved searches and resumes on these platforms, and they consistently offer a wide selection of jobs. While other boards exist, these two have been particularly successful for me.
Targeted Learning and Development Job Boards
Surprisingly, targeted L&D job boards haven’t been as fruitful for me as general boards. However, they are still worth exploring as you never know where opportunities might arise. My experience has been:
- Limited Job Volume: Fewer listings, or fewer relevant to my interests.
- Contract-Heavy: A significant portion of listings are contract positions.
Your experience may differ, and targeted boards can be valuable resources. At minimum, they can provide keyword ideas for your resume. Consider these targeted boards:
- ATD Job Bank: The job board for the Association for Talent Development (ATD). Local ATD chapters often have job boards as well.
- Learning Guild Job Board: From The Learning Guild, a community for learning professionals. Focuses more on instructional design and e-learning roles.
Another valuable resource is Cara North’s curated list of instructional design jobs shared on LinkedIn. Following her on LinkedIn provides access to this list, and text message updates are also available.
Company Websites Directly
Directly exploring company websites is another effective strategy. Target companies that interest you and where you believe your skills would be a good fit.
Fortune’s 100 Best Places to Work list is a great starting point for researching companies. This list partly influenced my decision to work at Houston Methodist, which was featured on the list.
Google searches based on your criteria (e.g., “remote learning development jobs”) can lead you to company websites with relevant openings.
Regarding remote work, Flexjobs is a platform specializing in remote opportunities. While I tried their paid service, I found it less effective for corporate L&D roles, often mixing in teaching positions. Direct company research proved more fruitful for me.
Networking
Networking is often cited as the most effective job search method. Hiring managers are more likely to trust candidates recommended by current employees.
While networking is powerful in theory, I admit it’s an area I personally haven’t leveraged effectively. I’ve primarily relied on online applications. However, a strong resume and interview skills have consistently led to success. Developing your networking skills can likely streamline your job search.
Analyzing Learning Development Job Postings
Job postings vary significantly in how they define roles. For example, “Corporate Trainer” might traditionally imply training delivery, but job descriptions can be broader. Consider this “Entry Level Corporate Trainer” posting:
This entry-level role includes course design and development, blurring the lines with instructional design. Database maintenance, likely LMS administration, is also listed. Interestingly, the requirements don’t explicitly mention course development experience. This type of role could be a pathway to gain instructional design experience without extensive prior experience.
This example highlights the importance of looking beyond job titles.
Another “Corporate Trainer” posting reveals similar responsibilities:
[insert image of second corporate trainer job description if available in original]
Instructional design isn’t mentioned, yet the responsibilities imply it. If you solely search for “instructional design jobs,” you might miss this relevant opportunity. If you’re interested in both training delivery and design, such a role can be a valuable stepping stone.
Consider this Instructional Designer position description:
Job postings are invaluable for identifying in-demand skills and tools. The underlined items might seem daunting, but job descriptions often use phrases like “elearning tools such as” and “or other image editing tool,” indicating flexibility. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t possess every listed skill. Instead, identify frequently mentioned tools and skills and prioritize developing experience in those areas.
Be flexible when searching for learning development jobs, particularly with job titles. Thoroughly review job descriptions, as titles alone can be misleading.
Mastering the Interview Process for Learning Development Jobs
Interviews are the culmination of your job search preparation. While impressing the company is crucial, remember that the interview process is also for you to evaluate the company. It’s a two-way street. You’ll be spending significant time at your new job, so ensure it’s a good fit for your values and career goals. Red flags during the interview process are valid reasons to reconsider.
Common Interview Phases
The interview process can involve several stages:
Initial Screening/HR Interview
The first interview is often a screening with Human Resources (HR). While progressing to this stage is positive, these interviews are typically broad and aimed at narrowing down the candidate pool. HR screeners often look for reasons to eliminate candidates, especially with high application volumes. The goal is to identify top candidates for the hiring manager.
Phone Interview with Hiring Manager
Passing the HR screen usually leads to a phone interview with the hiring manager – your potential direct supervisor. These are typically concise, 30-60 minutes. It’s an opportunity for the hiring manager to assess your fit and for you to learn more about the role and team. You’ll gain insights into projects and training responsibilities, informing your portfolio customization for subsequent interviews.
In-Person (or Virtual) Interview with Hiring Manager
If the hiring manager is interested, you’ll be invited to a more in-depth interview, which might be in-person, via phone, or video conference. This signifies strong interest. These interviews delve deeper into your experience and how it aligns with the specific role. Multiple interviews at this stage, potentially with other department managers, are common, depending on the company’s process.
These later-stage interviews are ideal for showcasing your portfolio. Highlight aspects relevant to the role based on insights from previous conversations. For example, if a company mentions using Adobe Captivate, even if it’s not a core requirement, demonstrating initiative with Captivate can be impactful. In one interview, knowing Captivate was used, I downloaded a trial, created a brief demo course with their logo, and presented it. This initiative significantly strengthened my candidacy, leading to a nine-year tenure at that company.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t meet every qualification in a job posting. Look for opportunities to demonstrate initiative and “wow” the interviewers throughout the process.
Team Interview
Team interviews can occur at various points. If the role involves team collaboration, you’ll likely meet team members – your future colleagues. This is a chance for them to assess your team fit and for you to evaluate if you want to work with them.
Team interviewers assess both skills and cultural fit. Humor, genuine interest in the department, and alignment with company values are considered. By this stage, the hiring manager typically sees you as a strong candidate, and the team interview focuses on team dynamics.
My advice for team interviews: be authentic. Pretending to be someone you’re not benefits no one. Assess team dynamics and ensure it’s a team you genuinely want to join.
Presentation/Audition (Training Delivery Roles)
A unique phase for training delivery roles is the “audition.” Companies want to see you in action. This can occur early or late in the process, sometimes combined with other interview stages. For example, a team interview might incorporate a presentation component.
Preparation is paramount for auditions. Surprisingly, many candidates are underprepared. Nervousness is normal, but winging it is detrimental. Aim for engaging presentations that leave a positive, not relieved, impression.
Audition topics are often open-ended or loosely defined. Have a prepared presentation ready as part of your job search toolkit. Choose a topic you’re comfortable with and can tailor to the company. Incorporate audience interaction to avoid passive lecturing.
Even with a specific assigned topic, adapt existing presentations with similar content. Activities can often be repurposed. For instance, an icebreaker activity from new employee orientation could be adapted for a leadership training audition.
Project Sample Creation (Instructional Design/E-Learning Roles)
Instructional design and e-learning roles may include a project sample phase, separate from your portfolio samples. You might be given a topic and a week or two to create a short course or module. This assesses your skills in action.
Project samples I’ve created include Storyline/Captivate courses, Articulate Rise modules, podcasts, facilitator guides, PowerPoint presentations, and needs analysis documents. The specific deliverables vary per company. Expect to create a few pieces.
Treat project samples as portfolio pieces. They demonstrate your abilities and can be added to your portfolio later (remove company-specific branding). Customize the sample for the interviewing company using their logo and colors for the interview submission to show extra effort and alignment.
Software costs can be a concern for project samples. Fortunately, most e-learning authoring tools offer free trials (Articulate 60 days, Adobe Captivate 30 days), providing ample time for sample creation. Companies typically expect focused samples, not full-length courses, aiming to assess your skills and process.
Post-Interview Actions
After completing interviews, proactive follow-up is essential.
Express Gratitude
Send thank-you notes after each interview phase. Handwritten notes stand out, while emails are also acceptable. Many candidates skip this step, so any thank-you gesture strengthens your candidacy.
Clarify Next Steps
After each phase, confirm the next steps and expected timelines. If not provided, ask, “When should I expect to hear from you?” This gives you a reason to follow up if you don’t hear back within that timeframe.
Continue Applying
A common mistake is focusing solely on one promising opportunity. In my recent job search, I was confident about a role with a major oil company, halting other applications. When rejected, I had to restart my search.
While disappointing, the rejection led to an even better opportunity, and the initially desired department later faced layoffs – a fortunate turn of events. The lesson: diversify your applications. Rejection is part of job searching. Having multiple opportunities in progress softens the impact.
Trust Your Intuition
Remember, the job search is a two-way evaluation. Avoid solely focusing on impressing the company. You’re also assessing them. Prepare questions and evaluate the company culture and fit. If you sense red flags or your gut tells you it’s not the right place, it’s okay to withdraw respectfully. Inform the hiring manager of your decision, providing a brief, honest explanation if asked. Maintain professionalism, as the L&D community is often interconnected.
Conclusion: Your Path to Learning Development Jobs
Job searching, particularly for learning development jobs, requires preparation and strategy. This guide provides insights to navigate the process effectively.
Resources
Here are valuable resources for your job hunt:
(Affiliate links included)
What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles: A continually updated classic job search guide. Valuable for staying current and reinforcing fundamental job search principles.
Do Over by Jon Acuff: A motivational and humorous book highly recommended for job seekers.
