How To Succeed In The Learning Field
Reaching your goals might sometimes be accomplished in less time than you anticipate. However, even if things don't go along as fast as you'd want, you may still invest in yourself during this period. The process described below should be followed step by step, and the more experience you have in the learning field, the further you should take the process. How? Let's see!
The Step-By-Step Process To Becoming A Success In The Learning Field
1. Research, Read, Investigate, Learn
We have a lot of resources available now, and we can find out about the L&D field from anywhere, at any time—so it's really important as a first step to start reading about the domain, to investigate the available articles, blogs, groups, and events to learn as much as you can from them. Decide what you want to do in the learning field: training delivery, eLearning development, Instructional Design, technical writing for Instructional Design, media content development, etc.
Once you've clarified this, it's time to look for resources. Follow experienced people on social media and focus on microlearning. Microlearning can help you learn and retain small chunks of information in a short amount of time that can be applied immediately so this will help you a lot.
- You will understand the material more easily.
- It can be applied immediately.
- It takes less time to study it.
2. Get A Certificate
There are a lot of certificates in the market that can help you become a prepared and certified professional. It is the first official step to be recognized in this area. I would split these certificates into three sections:
- For trainers
- For eLearning developers (Instructional Designers, course developers, media content developers, etc.)
- For technical writers, in Instructional Design mostly (here, the technical writers can be part of various industries and write for different audiences)
3. Find The Right Place/Company To Develop And Perform
Finding the best place to work and have the opportunity to develop can be hard sometimes but, when you find that place, take advantage of it! Pay attention to the onboarding courses to learn all the necessary information related to your new role, try to take in as much information as you can, constantly develop your skills, and learn from the best.
4. Innovate, Create, And Be Proactive: Differentiate Yourself From The Others
You are now an active professional in the company so it's time to bring up new ideas, create, and innovate! The proactivity in the role—L&D in this case—can become the key to success! Why? Because the more proactive and innovative you are, the better you will become and your initiatives will become more appreciated. I believe that our role is to be the best in our position to minimize the chances of being replaceable for said position. And the better you become the less replaceable you will be (because even if you have been physically replaced, this doesn't mean you've been replaced).
5. Become A Performer
The performance comes with a lot of hard work and time but that means that now you are a trustable person, with a lot of experience and ready for many challenges and experiences. Once you are there, everything is possible! If you are 100% sure of what you are doing, if you have demonstrated your abilities in various projects, if you have succeeded with concrete results, if you are still doing your job as best as you can and with a lot of passion, you can consider yourself a performer.
6. Share Your Expertise
Try events, articles, resources, books, guides, or becoming an entrepreneur in the L&D field, etc. And last but not least: give back! You had the chance to learn a lot, to experience a lot, to discover and navigate through various challenges, now it's time to share your experience. The job title won't signify anything if you cannot demonstrate it. The real role that you have can be trusted if you have also the ability to share with others.
Just remember that you've been there at some point; you needed information to start, and you needed support from the experts in the field—now it's just the perfect moment to help new joiners in the learning field as well. I will always encourage everyone to do so because there is such satisfaction and happiness in helping others that we can't imagine!
Conclusion
I hope that you liked the article and that I provided you with a useful overview of how to succeed in the Learning and Development field! I also recommend you read this article to find out the major steps to start in this area, the roles included, and the key responsibilities.
