Welcome to become an idol. I'm Dr. Robin Sargent, owner of idle courses. This is the place where newbies come to learn and veteran share their knowledge.
I have here with me today Cory Morel, and you are just going to love hearing from Cory. I met Cory right before the ITIL courses Academy started. And we have had a conversation of kind of his big goals and where he wants to start first. And so now Cory has been through the academy, he has landed his first full time instructional design job, and I just cannot wait for you to hear his journey. So Cory, will you please introduce yourself? Tell us your former occupation and kind of where you were and how you started before you join the Academy. Yeah, so as you know, at this point, my name is Corey Warrell. I am from Houston, Texas. And so I have a background in sales and training, development, and giving once a keynote presentations, doing workshops and things of that nature. Let's spend a couple years I worked for Tony Robbins for a couple years, helping basically helping companies to be able to improve performance, things of that nature. So for me, I would definitely say that, you know, when you're when you're speaking, there's a lot of power that comes from doing workshops, and having that one on one with with the audience, right. And so the only thing hiccup on my side that I felt was, you know, it's great when you talk to someone one time where you spend the week training and developing them. But for me, I wanted something that had more legs. And that really allowed me to be able to be someone where they are and really develop them for the long haul. And so eventually, I ended up getting into our work for nonprofit for a little bit, recruitment, training, things of that nature. And I was really passionate about really diving into instructional design. And truth be told, it's finishing up by my masters in August Educational Technology who go Tigers, but one of the things I just want to kind of pinpoint is, you know, when you're taking courses, not nothing against taking, you know, classes and courses for you know, higher degrees and things of that nature. But when it comes to instructional design, idle courses really just broke it down. And I was really seeking seeking something that gave me a step by step process as to how to be able to land an instructional design job, you know, there's things here there, there's little bits and pieces here, there. But I really knew that there was more than just applying and hoping someone picks you up. And a lot of these companies want individuals with experience, they want you to have familiarity with certain products and things of that nature and certain software, certain authoring tools. And for me, like I wasn't finding, they weren't talking about that in my in my courses. So as I continue to do I just googled and I said, what you need to become an instructional designer in the real world or something like that. And I took courses came up, I took a look at the page that Robin had started to add and I was immediately hooked. I was like, This is what I need because she she really broke down what you need step by step by step from, you know how to be able to build your skill sets, instructional design, step by step, how to be able to market yourself as an instructional designer, all of the preparatory pieces you need to develop. So as you can be an instructional designer, what are the hiring managers looking for, and how to be able to practice I mean, it was like,
I felt like she was holding my hand and walking walking me through the process. As I was ready. I was like, holy, holy moly, and I'm the type of person I don't I don't you know, when it's something you know, I'm very wary as to what I invest in. But when I see something that is literally going to help me directly, I pulled the trigger immediately. There's no I don't need to think about that. And so when I just looked at that, let the full process you know, I was like, Wow, I'm instantly hooked. And so getting into the academy, I mean, like I say it's everything is everything that it's reported that it is I remember a while back then just before I got my job with with Nike, I saw a post somewhere where they were talking about it
is idle courses really worth the investment?
And I was like, most definitely, like, there's nowhere else. There's some time in order to get to the next level, you have to be willing to invest in yourself. And everything in life is not free, you have to be able to sacrifice something. And I can honestly tell you, if you're really serious about, you know, getting in instructional design, not kind of dipping your toe in and kind of seeing how things are, you're really serious, you really want to make that change. You know, getting involved with this with this great Academy is there's no, there's no question as to whether or not you should do it. Oh, my gosh. So I mean, I didn't, I didn't even remember some of those pieces. And so I mean, you, Cory, you are already kind of in the training space, right? It was like performance improvement, and those kinds of things. And when you came into the academy, I mean, you definitely learn about landing a job. And then, but the other piece is about actually designing instruction, solving training problems and things like that. What were some of the things that just kind of, were aha moments for you or just stuck out or things that you just weren't exposed to in your master's program, or in the research you've done before you joined? So
there's so much there's a big question I was there. So I'll start off saying like, the master's program, it's a great program. But when I tell you like, they kind of like that, throw out an idea. Like I probably say, out of the whole course, there are different elements of different things. But there was like one, I think it was one module we did on on instructional design, you're not going to learn everything you need, just from one little module on instructional design, just saying. So I knew that I needed more. So from an instructional design standpoint,
going through idle, completely shifted the way that I viewed training, it really imprinted in my brain a process of looking at a scenario, really looking at the outcome, looking at outcomes first, and really building from you know, outcomes. And then identify definitely identifying the pivotal tasks that you need in order to be able to create those outcomes. And from that point, definitely being able to implement the right kind of objectives that really spur your learners or end users to really be able to internalize what it is you're trying to do. So it just really helped me start looking at things from outcome first, and then building backwards. And it really exposed me to also how to actually be able to interact with subject matter experts, stakeholders, really understanding, like the process of how how things work, that's something that I can honestly say that I found that nowhere else, no one else talked about the process, because that's another reason why I feel employers, you know, look for the things that they look for. Because if you've never if you don't understand how to be able to interact with subject matter experts, stakeholders, how to be able to have those kickoff meetings, you know, how to be able to identify whether a training is even needed or not. And that was another piece of understanding, analyzing it, and seeing what their actual requests are, what's actually happening there. And identifying whether or not you know, you actually need to build a course or if you just need to develop, you know, asset or, you know, what will be most effective for for the time and money. And by being able to really assess that and talk to that data does a huge piece of my interview process, to where, you know, they were like, wow, like you really get it. So that was a huge piece. And then also, we're talking like the design guy, I got really familiar, more familiar with Bloom's Taxonomy. I got familiar with a little bit of the guy and gay, the ADDIE model, and really, really working in those processes and really understanding it. So yeah, there's just so like you really get I really say that you really get the process. And what was shocking to me when I was going to when I would have interviews, like as I was speaking, I didn't know, I didn't know, you guys put so much into my head because it was just like spilling out. And I was like, wow, she sounds pretty good.
Roughly, and it made me feel like wow, like it's really, it's really working. So yeah, yeah, definitely. Some people say it's drinking from a water hose, the immersion technique. Yeah, it's true. And I would definitely say to that, you know, sometimes like during, it's not, I was also working at the time, and so it's kind of hard to
Put as much time into it as much as you like. But one of the things you guys talk about is doing it messing, and just carving out what little time that you have. And one of the one of the things that I've seen is even sometimes when I was working on things, sometimes I'll put it on in the background on my headphones, I hear you talking about whether it's different models, different approaches, different different interview process and different things, I will just keep it going on in the background. And like what would happen would end up happening is it was still getting in there.
So as I spoke, it will start to come out, and I will begin to remember things. And it was really, really, I'd say definitely transformational. Oh my gosh, oh, that's the that's the word that just gives me all the goosebumps.
That's, I mean, that's, that's the goal. Right? It's, I mean, that's what we want for our learners, ultimately. And that's absolutely what I want. So I want to hear kind of some of the, you know, what are some of the challenges you had along the way? And so did you start a career? I can't remember, do you start in January of 2020? Where do you start in September of 2020? No, I started this year, this year. It was January? Yeah. It seems Yeah. seemed like a long time ago, but it really wasn't. Yeah, so I, I would definitely say I'm one of those where, you know, I'm working and doing, um, was working. So that I'll say like this. So it was a lot going on I had going on. So one, you know, I was I was working, then I was still doing, you know, my master's program. And then there was also the idle courses. And then you know, you also have to practice, you have to practice creating different assets, creating different different aspects. So there was there was a lot going on. And so it's not only one person. So it's like, you have to be able to divide your time effectively. So I would definitely say that a challenge was, you know, take a piece, I would say, whatever, however much time you can dedicate daily, whether it's 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever it is, just select the time that works for you. Give yourself that time, and just do it daily. And what happens is, over time that it just builds, you get that momentum, you get that habit in you. So no matter what happened, you still have that piece. And what happens is, it just builds over time. And so the key is not to take everything in and try to do it all at once some people have the time to do it, go for it. But the key really is to take a piece every day and work on it every day for that a lot of time. And I think that that's even sometimes when I had so much going on, you know, making sure that took time to dedicate a little bit of time. That is what really, really allowed me to get to that next level. Okay, so you joined in January? And then how long was it before you had your portfolio, your resume your LinkedIn profile, and you started applying? So
so I'll say it like this. So I had I had a Google website. It was not it was not. It was like a that's one of the things when I was coming in, I had a Google website that we did some assignments from for my master's program on. But when I got into idle, I don't know if it was Tabitha, or who it was. They were like, yeah, so you need to like really, like change all this up.
Because it was a lot of like, education, educational stuff, and I was looking at more the corporate. And so I had to like revise that. And I knew that I needed to have that. So I went on ahead, and I revised that entire website. So that I probably say, I probably dedicated, I don't know, maybe maybe a couple of weeks, maybe a couple of weeks, and really just kind of took my time put things together, I would say that as far as applying, I had applied to different places. But because I was so busy, I really didn't have the time to kind of like follow up I wanted to now here's here's how, you know by the grace guy, this is how things did work out. So I wasn't like I didn't have the time to really go out and just apply like crazy. There were different companies I did apply with but I didn't have the time to just do it like crazy. But one of the keys that I learned in idle was when you talked about the LinkedIn and so he was like he was like Hey, I need you to completely change this LinkedIn up get this thing set up you were talking about on one of your on how to be able to build an instructional design LinkedIn profile. So I that's that's one of the things I definitely was like I'm gonna make sure this thing is right and I took my time went through step by step. You know the the courses on how to be revised generally
thing, and you were like, you were like, yeah, so check this number right here, that'll tell you, you know, how many views or how many people are actually looking at your page. And I think at the time I had like, zero. And so you're like, yeah, check that thing. So you're gonna start seeing and you're gonna, and these are legit companies, people, these are legit companies. So I was like, Alright, I'm just gonna do it. Because I don't have time for a lot of other things. But I'm gonna dedicate to this. So I went through there, I changed all the little headlines, I added some different assets, I changed the titles and certain certain areas where it needs to be kind of revised. And after, I don't know, I mean, after a day or so, I started seeing that number. Oh, wow, it's actually working. So
like, after a while, you know, I maybe like a month after I started getting a couple couple of people that would say, hey, I'm interested, I have an instructional design position. So I started kind of entertaining a few. And then maybe I don't know, like a third or fourth person, there was a hey, have instructional design position can't really talk about it. And so I was like, okay, so then we call on the phone, it was like, kind of super secretive.
They're like, Yeah, this is with instructional position, you know, work with Nike. And I was like, Really?
Really, so.
So yeah. So I went through, I ended up going through that through that process. And that's how I ended up getting the Nike position. So is the LinkedIn that really, that was the that was the big deal. Because like a lot of I guess a lot of people sleep on the LinkedIn. And don't just think, Oh, it's just kind of what it's just not that big of a deal. And not many people. Now I'm not, I would definitely say, make sure the LinkedIn is right. Because like, that's like, people are going to be reaching out to you without you having to directly reach out to them first as you ordinarily would. So yeah, that was that was huge. Oh, my gosh, it was a game changer for you. So what are you? Are you telling us Corey that you update your LinkedIn profile? You got a recruiter that messaged you, and then you only went through one interview process and landed the job? Is that what you're telling us? Well, well, no, no, no, what I'll say is this. It was too,
too. So after going through two then it was like, Yeah, let's let's go ahead and get this guy. Because I like I said it was when I was one job. One job. Yeah. Interviews. Yeah. He only really applied to like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I didn't actually even like, I didn't even actually, like, apply, like other jobs I applied to. But that one was like, hey, send me your resume. That's your that's your stuff, that your portfolio. Cool. And then we, you know, we ran with it. So yeah. And I say definitely the key is like, you have to do the things that that you're you're talking about. And I look courses like, all of these things matter. And I would definitely say like, I haven't gone, like there's so much content in there. Like I have not gone through all of it. Okay, but I've gone. Yeah, but I will tell you, there's all every time I go through, I'm like, Whoa, there's this here too. Like, it's a comprehensive, it has everything that you need to thrive, and to be successful to not even just get the job, but also to develop your instructional design career. I mean, I just gotta even say that sometimes some of the content that shows up surprises me because Tabitha is in charge of getting like our academy faculty or our guests workshops in there. And she got one in there from bright carbon, Richard Goring. And he did a thing on how to create PowerPoint presentations, and E and even I get to learn new things. Yeah. It's awesome. It's awesome. It is it is. It's definitely like, like I say, anyone who's serious about doing instructional design, there's no doubt you in order to get to the next level in anything in life, you have to be willing to, you know, sacrifice and just do whatever it takes. And I'm that kind of person. Like I say, I don't I'm not a person that just jumps in without thinking about it. But when I see something, I recognize something that's going to get me where I need to be. I just pulled the trigger meeting because I know it's gonna get me there. So I want to hear about your interview process. Okay, so the recruiter messages you gets you on the phone aside. That's for Nike. And then you're like, oh, it's for Nike. So then you have your first meeting. I mean, were you nervous? Did you prepare what did you do the kind of questions Did they ask you? I want to know so so you never you never you never feel like that.
You're You're 100% prepared just because it's just, I'll put it like this especially like if like for myself, I hadn't had like an instructional design, like position before. So it's like other jobs that I've had where there was sales or where you know, you have the experience you, you kind of really have a deep understanding of the layout of what you're getting into. But instructional design, it was kind of different, because I hadn't just dove into to the industry like that. So I was going off of, you know, what I've been using for, I don't know, courses. I mean, I use the ITIL course to interview I think it was three or four different interview, kind of quest, situational questions and different kinds of things. And so I really focused in on a lot of the situational questions and things of that nature. And so, when I got when I had the interview, the first interview, it was like, they would ask me situational questions, or how would How would approach certain instructional design scenarios? And so, you know, they may have asked me something like, let's say you have a stakeholder who are subject matter expert, who had were set in their ways, how would you go about convincing them of a more effective process? Or let's say, someone is insistent on having a course? How would how would you go about explaining to them that, of course, may not necessarily be the most effective way to get the outcome? How would you assess, you know, certain certain situations? Or, you know, what's your what's your, what's your instructional design process? How do you go about managing multiple projects? And so so those are some of those. So those are some of the scenarios that they gave. And because, like, it was one of those situations where when they were talking about what's the process, what process would you would you utilize, or what's your favorite process? And you know, I would go through and I would really give them a full breakdown, probably more, probably more than what they were thinking. And there was a point where they were talking about a kind of went through Kirkpatrick and so they were like, wow, like, you really know. Wow, that's amazing. You really know this stuff. And you can tell it like I was like, wow, I guess I do it myself.
Way to go, Cory. Yeah. Yeah, I was like, yeah. But honestly, I kind of felt to, you know, as I was going through, it was like, I will pull from different different courses and modules that I'd heard you and different other people. That's part of the idol Academy, we're talking about with different scenarios. And it really it the more as I began to talk and go through the process, the more I became more confident, like, so yeah, definitely. And so your was your second interview? Was it with the team or the VPS? Or no, it was with one of the individuals that was working with my manager. So it was him and her they were both on that, because the first time was just he and I, but then the second one, it was all three of us. And so he just wants to get her her thoughts on. We could she kind of actually some of the seminal some of the similar questions, but they just want to make sure it was a it was a good fit. And, and yeah, it was good. Okay, so now tell me about your role. Like, do you work on a team? What's your title? Have you? You know, what's been like your first How long have you been working like a month or so? Or is it is it a month? I know, I don't even know. I don't know. I think it's like me that three weeks? He's like, Yeah, I think it's about three weeks. So I am a Nike athlete experience instructional designer.
Yeah. And, and I have a team of about five, six people. Oh, wow. And so, you know, it's crazy. Because there's, there's, you know, the team isn't like a huge team, but there's so like, there's so much that they do, and we we work with other other departments as well. So it's crazy how it how it all works. So yeah, it's been a really, really good experience. Do you get to work remote? Oh, yes, most definitely. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, cuz I'm because I'm out in Texas and the headquarters out in Oregon. So you know, because of the COVID and everything everybody's working remotely. And from what I'm hearing they're probably keep it cheaper like this. They kind of like it better working remotely. But I will definitely at some point go visit. Go visit the HQ. So yeah, yeah, yeah, go get some Nike swag. Definitely. Definitely.
I mean, I'm sure that other people want to know, I'm just curious. Is there like an employee benefit? When you're working at Nike? I cannot. I cannot confirm nor deny
I Oh, you can't even say Oh, I didn't know. But yes, there is.
There is but yeah, there's like, it's it's public knowledge. But yeah, there is definitely, you do get perks Nike perks with it.
Cool. Well, so I have two more questions for you Korean. Um, the first one is what's something that surprised or delighted or, you know, challenged you, whatever you want to say about working in your first full time instructional design role, I would say just getting used to some of their processes. So just getting used to some of the workflows that they have. But like, they have a really great, great, it's a great environment. Everybody's really welcoming, everybody is really compassionate about you as an individual, because you know, you have some companies where it's just like, okay, get out there work. But like here, they're really about caring about the person themselves. And so like, I've had some great conversations with people throughout. And it's been really, really great. It's, it's a really supportive environment. Oh, yes. I just love that. Okay, so now, here's my final question, Cory, and that is, what is your best advice, for those that want to become an instructional designer? I mean, honestly, I would say that, you know, I've kind of said it throughout. If you're really serious about instructional design, the idle Academy is the way to go. Because like,
wherever you are, as far as you know, your competency as far as creating courses, and, you know, instructional design, like there's something in there for everybody at every level. And there's no way you know, everything that's within, you know, what's in Idol Academy. So I would definitely dive in. Because there is no doubt, like, this is the bit one of the best investments I've made, like in my life. And, you know, if you really want it to happen, it's not an overnight thing, you have to put in the work. But if you're consistent, you'll definitely get the job because like, there was a point where I mean, like three months, three months in Now here there are people getting jobs. And I'm like, Man, I wish I had the time to dedicate to really doing the full fledge job search. Now, and by the grace of God, I was, you know, I hopped on that LinkedIn. And I was like, Look, if I can't do it, I can't dedicate the time to search. Let me hop on his LinkedIn and make sure the LinkedIn account is right. And so by me doing that, in the midst of everything else I was doing, you know, I was, I was fortunate to get a call back. So I would definitely say, make sure you you put in your time you take your courses, you continue to work it step by step. And without a shadow of a doubt, you'll definitely learn your first idol job. Oh, my gosh, will I love that. And so it's you. You did it all in what? I mean, even taking your here slow path. I mean, yeah, for five months. Yeah, four or five minutes. Yeah. Yeah. And that was like, like I say, I didn't eat I like I applied to different instructional design jobs. But I didn't have the time to like, follow up as I ordinarily would, if I didn't have so much so much going on. But like I say, I would like because I think most people's like three, normally from whatever it is like three, they normally get theirs in like three, four months. Everybody is different for everybody based on your life and what you have going on. But I was kind of like, Man, I really wish I could dedicate more time, because I got so much going on, but it still ended up working. And sometimes you just gotta be you gotta be patient, you got to be persistent. And just keep going. And just like you said, it's just those little that little time you carved out just added up. And so here you are, you have your job. And thank you so much, Cory, for coming on and sharing your journey. I really appreciate it. Most definitely no problem. And I just say to everyone else out there. If you haven't joined the idol Academy, do it. Now go for it. Oh my gosh, and I and then totally volunteer.
twist her arm or anything. Thank you so much. No power that surgeon. Thank you so much for listening. You can find the show notes for this episode at idle courses.com. If you liked this podcast and you want to become an instructional designer, and online learning developer, join me in the idle courses Academy where you'll learn to build all the assets you need to land your first instructional design job, early access to this podcast tutorials for how to use the elearning authoring tools, templates for everything course building and paid instructional design experience opportunities, go to idle courses.com Ford slash Academy and enroll
or get on the waitlist. Now get out there and build transcendent tours.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
