Looking for an ID job? TOP TEN TIPS

The instructional design industry has changed rapidly over the last three years and anyone with an advanced degree who is trying to break into our field is probably finding it more and more difficult.

So, what is a talented and educated learning professional to do?

1. Ask yourself, is this a passion or a job? If a passion, keep going down the list.

2. Are you versatile? Can you fit in or lead in the various areas involved?

3. Are you supremely confident that you can command the tools of the trade?

4. Can you motivate the knowledge owners (SMEs for example) to share?

5. Do you have enough confidence to command the organization?

6. Are you motivated to learn and apply organizational psychology?

7. Can you receive criticism without taking it personally?

8, Can you justify your hourly efforts against expectations?

9. Do you develop a Plan B to account for change?

10. Live gratefully, share it with your peers, support staff, managers, and clients.

Here are the top five changes i am seeing in the industry.

1. Moving from LMS platforms to job aids to be used in the flow of work.
2. Using a Learning Records Store like Rustici to gain insight into the job aids and learning experiences that people use
3. Using Ai to fine tune learning tools so they better align with business goals in real time.
4. Entrenched learning professionals are hindering the evolution of learning tools and experiences.
5. Instructional Design curricula in Higher-Ed is behind the times which is so strange because some of the most pioneering work in learning experience is being done there i.e. Blackboard, D2L, Rustici and by Macmillan Learning. with Achieve.

SUMMARY

If you want to land that job, you need to represent yourself as a versatile contributor who can be a team player or a leader as conditions demand. I think you should also mention how the needs of every industry are changing and that you, above the rest of the candidates, have the insight to help realign L&D to meet changing business needs. 

You want to work for a company that is struggling with out of date lessons trapped in an LMS platform. And the measure of success for them is not how quickly you can launch a linear Power-Point SCORM package but how quickly what you launch can change the financial outcomes of the company.

AND, know their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), for that is what L&D should be focused on improving. At an interview, ask, "Before we discuss what I can do for you, what are your company measures of success, your KPIs?"

Probe and then qualify. "Oh, employee retention? Let's talk about how I can help you  improve that KPI."

Get in their head and make them see that you truly understand them and can help their cause within the company.

Good Luck!

Since 1976, Doug Marlowe continues to consult to various clients in a variety of industries in how to adapt to change because Shift Happens no matter how hard we fight it.  Contact Doug at 561-303-3301 or at doug.marlowe@teachITnow.net

Let's get serious!

Hi folks. You might know me as the guy who consults and posts jobs for VerTek LLC, but I am also the guy who has his own company, teachITnow, Inc. that developed training tools for you through my work at NCTI, SCTE, TCI, Anixter, Charter, Comcast, and Cox.  

I'm an old cable dawg. I cut my teeth in 1983 figuring out how to run a T1 over a Midsplit B-Plant in Rockford, IL. Lots of people mentored me, and I got bit by the cable bug back then. It crawled into my DNA. I was on the board of my local SCTE chapter for 17 years. 

Now, at 68 years old, I have something to say. Some of you think I'm an effing idiot, and you might be right. But seriously, I am PISSED. I am pissed that the contractors don't get appreciated for being the ESSENTIAL WORKERS they really are; dedicated, hot and sweaty, freezing cold, doing dangerous work for people to watch TV, talk on the phone, and play Fortnight. 

And, I am pissed that there are too many unethical and dishonest contractors out there who give the good ones a bad reputation.

I know why I am pissed but I want to hear it from you. 

Remember I am asking for myself and not VerTek, or SCTE, or Charter, etc. I will not share your comments such that they could identify you. Here's a survey form that is TOTALLY ANONYMOUS (no names or emails or phone numbers collected).

It's OK to be suspicious, and I expect some of you will get nasty. I'm an adult, I can take it. 

So, please fill out this form HONESTLY. I'm the only one who will see it. 

State of The Cable Contractor Form - Totally anonymous and secure

Thanks, 

Doug Marlowe, President

teachITnow, Inc.

www.teachITnow.net

How to advertise for talent in 2021

 How to advertise for talent in 2021

Ah, hello there. This chasing talent is exhausting. What frosts my mug is when I hear from a client that they had a crew all ready to start and "THEY NEVER SHOWED UP!"

So what are we doing wrong?

1. They advertised the glory and not the guts

2. Benefits! Guess what, they are  not that important these days except health care. 

So what's a recruiter to do?

Sell the glory and the GUTS. If its challenging, hard work, manually stressful, and requires a keen eye and great problem solving, SAY IT. You have to be honest about the risks and rewards.

Call them out on their ethics. 

My daddy whupped my behind if I ever lied to him. Taught me that my word was my contract. At the end of the day, all you have is your reputation. If you're the type to promise and not deliver, move on. If you can't be honest with us WE DO NOT WANT YOU.

Let them know that divas need not apply.

This work requires TEAMWORK. We won't tolerate divas. You work together or not at all. And, our work sites are a NO WHINING ZONE. If you're not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Grow up, you're an adult now.

Rates are low in some places, we all know it. So, tell them.

You might find better rates elsewhere. We can't help that. Every job has risks. We want you to succeed, so talk to us before you reject a bird in the hand. Some locations are paying mobilization.

Tell them you are fun to work with

Hard work needs a team that appreciates you. We have fun, too. We encourage it. But, as in life, SAFETY FIRST!

You are failing your construction teams. Fix it!

Getting Back to Basics - TEAMWORK

"The lack of teamwork in the construction contracting 

industry is so bad that lives are at stake." 

So you've got a big construction job. You need to find the right people to do the job. A project manager, a crew supervisor, a quality control inspector, a coordinator, and of course, the construction crew.

You go about building your team but you forgot something, teamwork. Right now all you have is a bunch of individuals, with separate ideas about how to do this job. In the rush, you neglected to baseline your expectations for them, their hours, their processes, their communications tools, and their chain of command.

Now, you hire or sign on the ground crew. If you're adding them as W2 employees, you have a responsibility to onboard them, to guarantee that their values and ethics match yours; hard work, open communications, do it right the first time, etc.

If they are 1099s, it gets harder, by now they typically have a set way they THINK the job ought to be done by them. Nothing you say will make them change. Adults are hesitant to adapt. It causes them anxiety, they are afraid of looking stupid.

How do you mold this group of individuals into a team?

If you don't, it spells disaster for you, for them, and for your customer.

Some tips:

1. Start with you. It's your company. Are you setting the example? Do you even know who you are and what you stand for? Put it down on paper and let your people know what you expect of them and what success means to them, to you and to the clients.

2. Write it down, Put it Up! Get the word out. Do it in stories, describing a challenge that was met with your values and overcome to the benefit of all. be inspirational!

3. Find people better than you. Bring on people who will make you better, will challenge you, and cause you to rethink old ways of doing things.

4. Ask and listen, then act...quickly. Nothing does more to coalesce people into a team than their perception that together, they have the power to make change happen. Be the catalyst to empower your people.

5. Praise in public and discipline in private. Nothing does more to destroy a team than a toxic boss. Remove any employee who berates or harasses their employees in public. They are the rotten apples.

6. SCRUM, a rugby term for a quick meeting of the minds, deep in the game, to plan the next play; who goes left, right, falls back, and who carries, passes, or kicks. SCRUMs are essential before, during, and after a construction job. They clarify and motivate, praise, and solve problems. SCRUMs accelerate success.

7. Self and independent Quality Control. Establish or hire a team only answerable to the PMO (did I mention that you need a PMO, No? More on that in another post).The QC team is an audit tool that identifies if the work has been done according to the specifications of the job before work starts, during construction, and afterwards. Some companies add a bonus to the team who stays till the end if QC audits pass or were resolved to the satisfaction of the client (and are still within budget)

8. Lastly, invest in training. Build on your success. Find the best people to mentor others who need help. Avoid churn and work with the ones you'd otherwise let go to make them better. Believe in your people and they will believe in you.

Doug Marlowe has built successful teams over his career of 45 years. He has seen what works and what does not. Today's competitive environment, the accelerating loss of experienced baby-boomer professionals, the lack of job-ready employees to take over, inadequate compensation for contractors to build, repair, and maintain the critical infrastructure of today's communications systems is pointing to a crisis. Doug has some strategies to plug the dike and to refill the reservoir of competent talent.

Reach Doug at 561-303-3301 or Doug.Marlowe@teachITnow.net 

Some Good and Recent Conversations about Learning

Some Good and Recent Conversations about Learning

There are some wonderful people out there in the learning world. I've had the honor of connecting with many of them on LinkedIn.

I'll be updating this post with their names and what we talked about. But, for now, this one caught my eye today.

SEPT 254, 2019
Billy Wilson, The KUKU Chart.

https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:6582964564105789440

If Common Sense is So Common...

If Common Sense is So Common...

eLearning is in hospice and on life support, yet we keep in alive. Is there hope?

My mom uses to say, "If common sense is so common, why don't more people have it?"

She was a very smart lady. And that question has guided me my career to discover what was keeping people from using their life experiences to guide their actions. 

But what is Common Sense?

The term was made famous by Thomas Paine just before the American Revolution in his his pamphlet, "Common Sense," entreating the colonial population to consider independence from Great Britain. I think his last paragraph of note sums up our present situation as shepherds of the knowledge domain, 

"These proceedings may at first appear strange and difficult; but, like all other 
steps which we have already passed over, will in a little time become familiar and 
agreeable; and, until an independence is declared, the Continent will feel itself like 
a man who continues putting off some unpleasant business from day to day, yet 
knows it must be done, hates to set about it, wishes it over, and is continually 

haunted with the thoughts of its necessity."

The modern interpretation of the term is "good sense and sound judgment in practical matters." As difficult as it is sometimes to admit we were wrong, and to take another approach, and stop "putting off some unpleasant business," our dependence on eLearning to impart knowledge, foster mastery, and support success is doomed to failure.

Strong words, I know.

Why is eLearning doomed to fail those who invest shareholder money into developing a workforce that can compete against the rest in their industry? Why is eLearning failing to fire the imaginations and passions of students to deal with life's struggles as eloquently as Paine?

In my opinion, forged after 50 years of experience in the knowledge business, we've made common sense the enemy. We're putting off the unpleasant task of challenge and struggle after the learning event to reinforce what knowledge was acquired and to build the skills and confidence of the learner.

It's this missing component, and others, that make eLearning ineffective in fostering common sense. Janus's article* also completes the models and theories related to learning and eLearning in general.

I believe that those who lead the world of "Learning" have forgotten the Forgetfulness Curve.  More on that soon.

Resources:

Paine, Thomas, Common Sense, Pamphlet, January 10, 1776

Fain, Paul, Takedown of Online Education, January 16, 2019,  https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/01/16/online-learning-fails-deliver-finds-report-aimed-discouraging  

*Janus, Steffen Soulejman, Capturing Solutions for Learning and Scaling Up: Documenting Operational Experiences for Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing, July 17, 2017, https://www.scribd.com/doc/354392168/Capturing-Solutions-for-Learning-and-Scaling-Up-Documenting-Operational-Experiences-for-Organizational-Learning-and-Knowledge-Sharing

Are You Making Vanilla Pudding?

Is your online educational adventure plain or spectacular?

In the kitchen, there is a difference between a cook and a chef. A cook makes food ready to eat, a chef prepares a meal to delight the senses, tickles the palate, and soothes the soul.

One typically returns to a restaurant because of a memorable meal, or the staff remembers your name; whichever the reason, something clicked.

As instructional designers, are we cooks or chefs? Are we destined to a life of coerced confinement inside of linear lessons? Is the only way out to "Please click next to continue?"

More and more, I see less and less learning. Less self-discovery and more rote memorization. Less critical thinking and more compliance to standard procedures.

And, below the horizon, unbeknownst to many of us, there is a parallel universe of crowd training, social media learning pods, ephemeral learning experiences; it's here today and gone in an instant.

There's a time and place for Vanilla Pudding. It's easy to make. It's low cost. It's easy on the wallet. However, it is not memorable. It does not expand one's experiences. It does not challenge us to imagine.

It's no secret that eLearning designed for adults has not lived up to its promise of a replacement for instructor-led classroom style education. The apologists made their excuses. The web evolved. New technologies made eLearning faster, more media filled but where is the soul of creativity? Are we doomed to a future of drag and drop and multiple choice?

I reminisce about the days when I really had to think about designing a curriculum. When I could work with a client to perform a useful needs analysis and identify the behaviors in their people that were hurting them, hurting productivity, and risking the future of the organization.

I see less and less of this introspection. Managers seem afraid to admit the truth; they are afraid, period.

Fear seems to be driving a lot of the compliance training - fear of litigation, fear of failure, and fear of looking like a fool.

But, the people who truly want to learn so they can be better people and better professionals, these are the innovators who are short-circuiting the traditional LMS pathways.

At the threshold of something new (I know you can sense it, too), I challenge you to discover new modalities that are relevant to today's learners. The web has changed everything! We educators need to change along with it.