Getting the right team in place is indeed the first firm step towards the success of any organization.
If you are an eLearning organization, one of your ultimate concerns must be getting the most capable talent and best instructional designers on board to ensure the successful completion of your projects. Deciding what qualities to look for and determining whether they are presented in your prospective hiring can be quite challenging. Instructional design portfolio can be a reliable source for you to get an insight about what exactly recruitment is capable of and what talent they have.
What is an Instructional Design Portfolio?
If you look at the portfolio generally, it appears more like a compilation of projects executed by a designer over a period of time. However, it actually allows you to understand what exactly the beliefs, skills, qualifications, academic evidence, training, and experience of the prospective recruitment are.
It is quite helpful in letting you get a glimpse of some of the best works of the instructional designer who is applying for the vacancy.
How Instructional Design Portfolio Helps You in Recruiting?
As soon as you are able to get an insight about the interpersonal and communication abilities of the prospective instructional designer during the interview, to understand whether or not they comply with job requirements, a portfolio can be a great way of understanding their abilities as a designer.
An instructional design portfolio is used as a marketing tool that conveys you, the employer, the best image of the designer. It could mask a lot of shortcomings of the designer but it will definitely demonstrate their expertise and strengths that can help you in achieving your organizational goals. This portfolio offers a compilation of creative, analytical, and educational assets that the prospective designer has earned, the education they have alongside the talents they possess.
For all the claims made by applicants in their CVs and interviews, their instructional design portfolio can help you to determine how honest the candidate is about their merits and achievements. The portfolio plays an essential role in making the candidate credible. Also, it simplifies the decision-making process so you are able to make a balanced, strong decision. Instructional design portfolio cannot be considered a substitute for a resume or an interview that you conduct. It actually enables you to see whether the candidate is really what they claim to be.
What Metrics to Look for in Instructional Design Portfolio?
Choosing the right candidate for the job is anything but a simple process. You need to conduct an in-depth review of various aspects of the applicants to ensure that you choose someone who is not only best-suited for the job but is also worth spending company’s resources and time. Instructional design portfolio can come in really handy in this procedure and help you to make decisions. Conversely, you have to be rather vigilant in studying the instructional design portfolio to see which candidate has a more competitive edge than others. Here are some principles that you need to bear in mind when studying an instructional design portfolio:
1. Structure of the Portfolio
This is the first thing that you need to check in any instructional design portfolio when aiming to hire an eLearning developer or a designer for your company. Instructional design portfolios can come in various sizes and formats, but it is the structure of the portfolio that determines how capable the designer is in managing and keeping things together.
If you see that the designer has kept their portfolio well organized and offers all the necessary documents and samples in a proper manner, it shows you what kind of a personality the candidate has.
So, the first thing on the checklist is the structure of the portfolio. If the candidate makes every effort to keep their samples and theoretical works well intact, it will earn them some brownie points. A badly structured portfolio with everything scattered around does not give a very appealing impression of the candidate.
2. Related Experience
As you get beyond the initial appearance and portfolio structure it shows you how well the candidate has arranged their work to showcase their experience and skills related to the job they have applied for. A good instructional design portfolio is the one which convinces you that the person has the exact skills you are looking for and has the potential to adjust to any learning models required to get the job done. So, keep in mind the experience and work the candidate has given in their portfolio.
See if they have worked on projects or for companies that are in the same industry as yours. Even if they have not, match whether their skills are relevant to your sphere. This will help you to decide how much time is needed to onboard a new candidate.
3. Personal Development and Professional Growth
An instructional design portfolio can be a very effective and insightful indicator of the progress the designer has made over a period of time. The portfolio gives you a track record of the professional development that the designer has achieved. This showcases how learning-centric the designer is and how willing he or she is to improve their work and skills. So, looking at their portfolio, you can determine what work they did in the past and how they have improved it over the years. Their previous work in the portfolio will help you to determine the recent situation.
If you can observe a consistent progression throughout the work, it means the designer has immense potential to become a good asset to your company. It showcases that the person is well aware of their weaknesses and acknowledges them in order to overcome them timely.
4. Aptitude of Imagination and Creativity
Being in the eLearning industry, you need people who are creative and have significant imagination. An instructional design portfolio can give you an evident idea about how well the person is able to use their creativity and reflect it in their work.
While it is easy for almost anyone to speak about how creative they are and what ideas they have, you, the interviewer, cannot estimate the exaggeration in their verbal claims unless you see them in practise.
5. Range of Skills
When you look at any instructional design portfolio, you should study the skills the designer demonstrates. Check diverse abilities they have and what their potential in the field is. After that, you will understand if this ID has mastered important skills like eLearning tools, LMS or authoring software. These are the metrics that you need to look for when considering the portfolio for any instructional designer. The candidate whose portfolio fits these metrics best can be a suitable choice for your company.
Choosing the Best Portfolio
A good instructional design portfolio definitely has a visual section for eLearning which showcases the designing skills and talents the designer has. Although it will show only the best works of the ID but will give you a fair understanding of where exactly the candidate stands and what their optimum expertise is.
