S1 E14 Job Hunting
Episode Audio
Hillary Landrum shares what she’s been learning about job hunting in L&D.
Connect with Hillary on LinkedIn.
Transcript:
The following transcript was auto-generated and may contain typos or spelling errors.
Amy Petricek
Welcome to the share what you learned podcast. I'm Amy Petricek, learning and booziest and the host of the show. The share richer learn podcast is designed for learning professionals to share something they're learning in the field of instructional design. Today, I'm talking to Hillary Landrum. Welcome, Hillary. Hello. So Hillary, tell us a little bit about who you are, and why I'm so excited to talk to you today. Well, you're so excited because we are both so very awesome. I can get behind that. So I'm an instructional designer who is looking for their next position. I am putting myself out there into the job market and going to talk a lot about job hunting. thing we're all so excited about, right?
Hillary Landrum
Everybody loves to job hunt, I don't know what you're talking about.
Amy Petricek
I think what's cool about you, Hillary is that you are job hunted historically, but like you're in the middle of it right now. And I think you bring some valuable insight into the process of job hunting, and not just, I got this cool job, yay. But when you're in the midst of it, it feels like a grind. It feels overwhelming. It feels hard. And you come into this job hunt with instructional design experience. And it's pretty normal to still feel all of those things.
Hillary Landrum
Totally, I don't think anybody can seriously sit down and say that they love job hunting and everybody after the fact once they get the job that feels like they want to be like, Oh, it was great. And like minute, it was not great. It was a lot of stress and a lot of pressure. And so you have to be ready for things that you don't want to have to deal with. But it's part of the job hunt process. You and I
Amy Petricek
were talking to you before we hit record about how even with instructional design, it's about like updating your portfolio in the job hunt, as well as not just job hunting, but also updating your portfolio assets to really showcase your current skill set, which is a whole nother beast in and of itself.
Hillary Landrum
Yeah, I'm actually it's been kind of nice because it's I'm working on a project right now where I'm taking a harassment, PowerPoint and putting into an elearning for a nonprofit, which has helped me be able to not focus only on applying and interviews and setting rules, setting up things with recruiters and all of that stuff. It's given me an outlet to do some other things while I'm in the midst of everything. I like
Amy Petricek
that still flexing those instructional design muscles and getting to do the thing we love. There you go. Alright, well, let's dig in a little bit. Tell us about some of the career transitions you've made. And I kind of I'd love to hear to some of the particularities of the jobs that you've worked as well, because you have a really interesting background.
Hillary Landrum
So I've worked all sorts of jobs, most of my previous experience comes from being an educator. So I've taught in many different states and a couple different countries. All math, so I was a math teacher, and I know everybody's rolling their eyes, it's okay. we'd still be friends. Yeah, we can still be friends. And so that was where a lot of my experience started was from being a math teacher. Last year, I got a position with the Idaho State tax commission, where I was that retraining specialist which translated into a lot of instructional design. So I was creating webinars and giving webinars and hosting and doing all sorts of stuff like that. I was creating videos and editing videos, which is a very interesting hack to know.
Amy Petricek
I will say I did before we got on the call earlier today, I was looking at your portfolio. And you have I saw some of the videos that you put on there, which was from that job. Super cool. So you should go check those out for sure. She did a great job.
Hillary Landrum
Yeah, check them out out. I've got some of my favorite ones up there. But yeah, I got to do a lot of that. And it was so much fun. I love working in Camtasia. I took a class and learned more and just to just keep getting better and better at it. But before that, with all the teaching, one of the things that was interesting that people don't always know about teaching is that teachers are on a year long contract. And I had a recruiter asked me why moved so often because they're thinking, you know, if you're working for a company and you're moving so often there has to be a reason I'm like, well, teachers aren't here long contract, especially charter school teachers. And at any point that they can the school or the teacher can decide not to give them a contract the next year, we're not to accept the contract. And so it was kind of interesting, because it's something that a lot of recruiters don't know. And it caught her by surprise. She was actually very interested to find out more about that. And so it led to a recruiter conversation that was an hour, not just a half an hour, which if you've had a recruiter conversations, some of them are 10 minutes and some of them are 20. But for it to be an hour long was kind of interesting. She definitely was curious. She was and it was great. And so I'm just Still working on going further with that company? So fingers crossed on that.
Amy Petricek
I mean, I think I've heard you say, teacher training specialists was that the job title? That was a job title. Yeah. Okay, and but actively like working as an instructional designer as well, like you've done a lot. And you've also worked in a variety of different sectors as well. And countries states as well, like you just have such a broad background, which I think is really unique, but also a special thing to bring to the job hunt. So you can you can teach anyone, anywhere, anything.
Hillary Landrum
Yeah, I mean, my claim that people love to hear about is that I taught for a year in China, and they always think I taught English like didn't know, I taught math. It was at an international school for students who spoke English, they actually had to take an English test to get into the school. And so it was interesting, because it was all sorts of international students. And I got to be really creative before my teaching days I worked with at risk youth. And so one of my other claims is I lived in a tent in the woods of Florida for a
Amy Petricek
year. That's fine. That's my kind of life.
Hillary Landrum
Oh, yeah, it was definitely interesting. You've never lived until you've lived in a tent in the woods, apparently.
Amy Petricek
So through all of these transitions, what have you learned that's been most helpful as you're in the midst of a transition. And I say that because everyone has different strategies and ideas that they think are most helpful as you're job hunting, transitioning from one job to the next. But you're right now on the front lines. So what have you found that's been helpful to you,
Hillary Landrum
I think it's important to know that even though you have a lot of experiences, there's a lot to learn. And I've seen some people that are like, Well, I know how to do all of this already. And so they don't understand that you've got to invest in yourself and learn things and put yourself in uncomfortable places to get better. So for example, like I said, I'm working on changing over a PowerPoint to elearning. And one of the things that, as a math teacher, I'm not the best at is scripting. And so that's what I'm in the middle of right now. And so I'm putting, you know, putting as much as I can down, and then I have some mentors that I'm actually working with, who help go over all of that stuff. So it's important to know that you don't know everything, and that there's always an opportunity to learn. And I think that the people hiring really appreciate that, that you're taking the time not just to apply for jobs, but to improve your own knowledge.
Amy Petricek
I like it, not only are you using this time of transition to job hunt, but you're using it to bring even more value to your next job.
Hillary Landrum
Yeah, I think if you really want to be taken as a good candidate, you've got to show that you're still improving, because one of the things that I get a lot is, well, what are you doing in your current role, I'm not in the current role. But this is what I'm doing while I'm job hunting. So that way I can transition into the steps that I'm taking,
Amy Petricek
I think you're just embodying learning and development right there, which is fun and exciting to hear. When I think of job hunting, too. There's like this voice in the back of my head that just says like networking, networking. So talk to us about the role of networking in job hunting, and how that can help you maybe get roles as well, I don't know, tell us what you know.
Hillary Landrum
So networking is so much more than I ever thought it was I signed up for LinkedIn, like a long time ago and never really used it. Or I only ever added people that I knew, because I was like, Oh, no, it's another social media, which is totally not the case with LinkedIn, I have found that through LinkedIn, I've had recruiters who have reached out to me saying, Hey, we have this position that we think you'd be great for, and then give you the link to go in. So now you've got already a contact within the company, and they're already looking at you. So that's huge. I've had other people that have reached out to me and said, Hey, you know, I'm not looking, but I know my old company is looking, and here's the position and here's somebody you can contact there. So it's more than just knowing people. It's really people that want to help. And I found that in the instructional design and l&d area that so many people want to help out each other. And it is just amazing so that networking can get you so much further than you ever thought. And then the other thing of it too, that I use networking for especially LinkedIn is when I get an interview, especially after I get past the recruiter, and if I get the interview is I'll go in front of or connect with those people because it's not just about me being interviewed and finding out more about me, it's about me finding out about the company because it's great to get a job offer but if you don't feel like you're going to fit in or you don't feel like it's going to be the best place For you, then it's not something that you always have to take. So as much as they're learning about you, you should learn about that.
Amy Petricek
Yes, 100% agree my other little like tack on to that is like, if you're connecting with people on LinkedIn that you interviewed with, it's a great way to write a thank you note, because a lot of times you don't have contact information to them directly. But LinkedIn is a way to say like, Hey, thanks for taking your time to interview, which sometimes a little Thank you can go a long way.
Hillary Landrum
Yeah. And I have to say, at first, it was a little bit weird to be like, Okay, I'm gonna connect with these people. And it was I felt like, should I be connecting? And I was just like, you know, what, forget it connect. At the end of the day, I mean, the worst thing they can say is no, I don't want to connect with you. And then you know, that probably gives you an idea that you probably don't want to go to that companies, it's a great way to learn a little bit about the culture of the company without just being asking about it right now.
Amy Petricek
The only thing I think about LinkedIn, you know, if someone does reach out for a connection request or wants to have a coffee chat or whatever with you, and in some people kind of roll their eyes and are like, this is gonna be pointless, there's no like, this person doesn't look promising. They're not a manager, they can't hire whatever, I just always recommend take the call, because you never know what's behind that door until you open it and that person might have a connection with another company and be able to like walk you right in as a referral to another job. And so you know, the the idea of like judging a book by its cover, we can, but you might miss out on a really great book. And so I always recommend if people get a connection request, like, What's 30 minutes of your life? No, we don't always have 30 minutes to spare, but that 30 minutes could be life changing.
Hillary Landrum
Yeah, you never know who you're going to connect with until you just accept I accept pretty much all of them because you You never know what it's going to lead to. Because even for people who aren't job searching right now building up that connection, those connections so that way, he never know when that dream position is going to come around. And you might have to look at yourself and and just make the decision of Am I ready for this kind of change? Or am I not ready?
Amy Petricek
We said before you are in the midst of job hunting. So you are like deep in the weeds with at all Do you have any maybe resources, maybe their tips, maybe their tricks that you'd recommend for fellow job seekers and I you already gave some like great LinkedIn tips. But I'm curious if there's anything else that comes to mind for you.
Hillary Landrum
Having a portfolio period is super important. It does not have to be the fanciest of things. It doesn't have to have everything, all the bells and whistles. You can even not like it because there are days where I don't like my portfolio, but having something out there. So that way when the recruiters say, Well, do you have any thing you can send us you already have the link, you can already put it on the applications. And so I really think a portfolio is huge. Like I said, it doesn't have to have much my portfolio did not have much on it when I got the position that I had. But even now, it's not where I want it to be. But I think that's how every instructional designer feels.
Amy Petricek
Yes, well, and I think one of the things we talked about before we hit record was like like as instructional designers, your skill sets are always growing and evolving. And so you know, the portfolio that fit you maybe a year ago might feel like I am such a different designer now and I have so much more to offer and like this portfolio doesn't even showcase that. And so I think one of the things you're highlighting in that is don't don't ever think you're done with your portfolio because there's always something you can do to it. But also don't let that like analysis paralysis prevent you from having a portfolio.
Hillary Landrum
I think that's that's one of the biggest things. The other thing is there's so many free webinars out there. I found so many different webinars. And then there's different meetup groups. So I go to a Friday Meetup group, which is other instructional designers, international, and it's a lot of fun because you just get to chat with people and see what they say and they're always excited to meet new people. So don't be afraid to go I was a little nervous. The first time I went
Amy Petricek
Is that the one that john Hinchcliffe puts on Yes. Okay. I printed this on but haven't been it seems like a good time
Hillary Landrum
you need to go It is Friday mornings for the Pacific Northwest,
Amy Petricek
which is where we're located. Well, Hillary, thank you so much for sharing about your job search I your process. I'd love to hear or jump into the rapid round. Are you ready? I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Hillary learning is
Hillary Landrum
learning is doing I think that if you are actively doing something while you're learning, then you're going to know it much better. So I'm a big fan of As interactive and hands on stuff so that's that's my key
Amy Petricek
but also the idea of learning isn't just head knowledge gets the ability to like know something but also apply something you know it's the entire complete package of the learning process there
Hillary Landrum
and the ones that struggle tend to learn more so that's at least what I've found is that my my learners who struggle a little bit and ask questions tend to know it better than the ones that think they got right away
Amy Petricek
when you're mustering up the courage to learn something new. What song do you put on?
Hillary Landrum
Okay, I'm a little bit of a parrothead so I'm a Jimmy Buffett fan and Jimmy Buffett has a song that I absolutely love is called it's my job if you've heard it, you know if you have it, go and find it and listen and you'll
Amy Petricek
I'm going to do that as soon as we're done here. You'll see when you when you hear this isn't my favorite questions to ask because as soon as I get offline with people I'm like, let me go check out that song. Oh my gosh, it is so good. you're asked to do a brand new task with a skill set you do not yet have where do you turn?
Hillary Landrum
Well I first look at what the skill set is if there's a website already attached to it, I go there sometimes there's not a website and then I hit YouTube, right? Cuz YouTube has it all and even has my videos that I had up there from one of my I was working at the tax commission. I love going to YouTube because they show me and then I can do it. And that's actually how I built my website.
Amy Petricek
Oh, bravo full disclosure. I did that this today as well because I had foraged a new kind of mushroom called the lobster mushroom that I wanted to preserve because I had so much of it and I went straight to YouTube and bing bang boom, I have preserved lobster mushroom now.
Hillary Landrum
I had an idea one time about a PowerPoint. I wanted to have the table interactively come in and I'm like, I don't remember how to do that YouTube. I then had all sorts of people coming How did you do this? I'm like I searched for it on YouTube.
Amy Petricek
Sometimes when I'm being silly I like to say what makes a good instructional designers their ability to like Google something we don't always know the answer, but we know how to find it. Hillary without learning finish the sentence.
Hillary Landrum
I'm lost. I think that's the best way I can say that without learning I'm lost because if you're not learning, then how can you better yourself or anyone else?
Amy Petricek
I have thoroughly enjoyed talking with you today, Hillary it's been a treat and I'm so grateful for all the wisdom you've shared with my listeners. I'm curious how others could be in contact with you after the show. Also, is there anything that you'd love to give a shout out for I'm going to give a little shout out for her those videos on her portfolio but is there something you want to give a shout out for
Hillary Landrum
I'm found on LinkedIn is the best way I'm always on it and it's on my phone. So definitely look for me Hillary Landrum on LinkedIn and my website with my portfolio which Sorry, it's not always what I want. But hc Landrum calm
Amy Petricek
Cool. Well, I'll be sure to put that in the show notes so people can be sure to check it out. But thank you so much, Hillary for sharing all about your job hunt with us today. I also want to give a shout out to you my listeners for learning alongside of us. Until next time, stay open, receptive and kind.