When I was interviewing for my first Instructional Designer job, I was asked many times about what I thought were the three most important things that made an eLearning course good. There’s really a lot that I could have listed. However, I always mentioned good visual design as one of the crucial things to get right. And they agreed.

For several reasons. I am only going to focus on two.

We know that first impressions matter. Besides, many times our learners are not really excited about taking the course, even if it’s not compliance training. So we don’t want to make a bad impression and possibly alienate them. They say “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but when we are browsing for a book, a film, or even a new beverage, we form an opinion based on the visuals. Have you ever decided against watching a film just because the graphics looked off? We need to gain the learners’ interest, not put them off. 

The other reason is that...

Maybe you did or didn’t read Building Your Brand: Part 1 in July. Here is a quick recap:

• Branding is about the value you give to clients.
• Branding is about the problems you are skilled at solving.
• You want to focus your brand around something.
• You need to be a life-long learner to keep up with changing technologies.

If you are in the brand-building or revamping your brand, I suggest the book Digital You by William Arruda. The book is a great guide to help your brand building process.

Using LinkedIn in Building Your Brand

LinkedIn is a repeatable way professionals connect across various industries around the world. Your LinkedIn profile provides a first impression, especially when you can’t be there in person to meet. Whether you are on the job hunt or not, you can leverage LinkedIn to build relationships to make business connections.

Keywords

Did you know the words you use in your profiles make a difference? You want to use the right keywords...

 Have you ever gone through a long interview process, then been turned down for the job?

I have. And honestly, it felt like a bad breakup.

Job searching sucks. But with the right mindset and tools, you can find yourself in a winning relationship with the perfect match for you!

I think looking for a job is a lot like dating life. 

Each job is like a relationship. Depending on the length of the relationship, you can feel a variety of emotions when it is over. The end of a long, committed relationship may leave you feeling devastated like you don’t know what your next steps will be. Leaving a toxic relationship can make you feel relieved, yet undeserving of anything better. 

Then you are thrown back into the dating pool (the job search) to seek out something new and hopefully better. 

I have found that the rules of dating apply to the interview process.

1. Be Confident

If you are unsure of yourself, it will translate in the interview and...

We live in a digital world. If something good or bad happens anywhere in the world, it is likely caught in a picture or more than likely on video. Messages spread faster than ever before. We receive messages consistently, whether it is an email, text messages, or social media, there is something always trying to grab your attention.    

In a world where you are inundated with messages, how can you stand out among the crowd?

If you said branding, then you would be right!

We are used to seeing companies brand themselves. I am sure if you are an IDOL courses fan whether you follow the blog, Become an IDOL Podcast, or the Become an Instructional Designer and Online Learning Developer Facebook group, you recognize the green, yellow, pink, purple, and the fun logo. 

But how do you create a personal brand?
Personal branding goes beyond your logo or color pallet. It goes beyond your portfolio and its design. I have been on a journey to...