Daily Bookmarks 12/27/2009

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

3 thoughts on “Daily Bookmarks 12/27/2009

  1. Captivate and Articulate both seem to be in demand for instructional designers right now. Strong skills in Microsoft Office are expected too. Check out Technology Skills for Instructional Designers and Do Instructional Designers Really Need Technology Skills? for some more details. The biggest thing I’ve seen change since I did that previous analysis is the increase in demand for Articulate.

    The job market seems to be picking up, at least here in the Raleigh-Durham area. I know recruiters who are looking for experienced IDs right now, and it only took me about 2 months of somewhat serious searching to find my current contract. But it can be challenging for people just breaking into the field. Having a portfolio, perhaps with some volunteer experience, is probably a requirement for a career changer.

    A few years ago, the demand was high enough that I was able to just post my resume on a couple of job boards and wait for the recruiters to call me. Prior to my current contract, I got jobs through Monster, CareerBuilder, and the eLearning Guild job board. This time, I got very little traction that way. Ultimately, I got this contract through networking: a friend sent a resume to a recruiter, making sure a live person actually saw it. It’s just my personal experiences, but it doesn’t feel like the economy and demand have recovered yet to the point they were three years ago when I last had looked for work.

  2. Christy,

    I have been working in the nonprofit field doing marketing, managing educational training programs, public relations, and event planning.

    But I’ve always been interested in instructional design and some aspects of tech writing.

    I have been reading archived posts on your blog. The information was very useful, and I learned people can get into the field with a certificate and a good portfolio.

    I was wondering really what the job market is like? And, in regards to my background.

    What are the standard software programs that instructional designers should know?

    Any information from instructional designers and technologists–working in the trenches–is appreciated.

    Seasons Greetings!

    Eileen

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