How Did You Do It?
The most common message I get from teachers looking to transition to the corporate world is simple:
How did you do it?
And the answer is also pretty simple: I did the work. It’s not easy to launch a new career after a decade in the classroom. While some positions like instructional designers or corporate trainers might seem like a natural progression for former educators, you still have to put in the effort.
For the first 6 months when I was looking, my success rates were LOW. I got the occasional interview but nothing panned out. Looking back, I hadn’t done the work. I was unclear on what type of position I wanted and my digital portfolio and resume looked very much like that of a teacher.
So I stepped back, took a month off applying for jobs, and decided to get my hands dirty. Corporate instructional design became my definitive focus, and I decided to dedicate an entire month to preparing myself for this role.
Ultimately, what worked for me was going through the four steps on the TPLD website. This free ‘self-guided path’ is explained in detail on their website, but I’ll quickly summarize what I did for each of the four steps.
1. Fill the knowledge gaps: read books and blogs, joined online instructional design communities, downloaded free trials and learned software like Storyline and Camtasia, took classes on Udemy and LinkedIn Learning.
2. Tailor your application documents: rewrote my resume and LinkedIn profile to use corporate language, built a digital portfolio, drafted variations of a cover letter.
3. Apply for jobs: read job postings to investigate what type of jobs would be a good fit for me, catered my application materials for specific companies and positions, applied for multiple jobs daily.
4: Prep for interviews: researched sample interview questions, outlined my responses, drilled practice interviews, interviewed with different types of companies.
Notice that nowhere in here do I reference attending a certificate or Master’s program, or ID bootcamp/academy. A big priority for me was frugality during this process, because I didn’t want to blow up my finances. Doing this independently worked because I am very disciplined; however, some people might like the structure of a paid program.
If you have a background in education and a big heaping of grit, you can absolutely go through these same steps to grow your career in a new direction without breaking the bank.
From when I really buckled down and started this process in earnest, to landing my current job, it took ~3 months.
And my parting advice for anyone launching a new career: Be gentle with yourself. You’re not a job hunting machine and may need some days off, and that’s ok. Extend yourself the same grace you would a dear friend.
Where the magic happened; before my new company paid to upgrade my home office
