Given the shortage of talents in the eLearning industry, it’s tempting to hire any instructional designer just for the sake of it. What makes this complicated is finding one to work remotely.

It takes a special candidate to meet the requirements of your business while handling their responsibilities well. You want someone who has their feet firmly planted in structured processes yet is open to exploring new learning methods.

Make it a point to hire only qualified people to design the training of your personnel. Most learning consultants come from varying backgrounds; some are more suited for your project or company than others. Choose the right candidate according to the specific skill set you need.

Traits to Look for in an Instructional Designer

If you’ve read our previous blog post on the 7 essential skills to look for in an instructional designer, you know that it takes these fundamentals for a remote learning consultant to be successful.

• Communication
• People skills
• Creativity
• Flexibility
• Research
• Time management
• Assessment

Check if an applicant has these qualities before you proceed to the next step of the recruitment process.

Things to Consider Before Hiring an ID

A dozen applicants might have the basic traits you must look for in an eLearning consultant. To narrow down your choices further, ask yourself these:

• Do I require someone who is purely an ID, or do I need someone who can do development too?
• Do I want them to manage their own stakeholders and projects, or will they be collaborating with a project manager?
• Do I need them to make their own multimedia and graphics, or will they need to work with a graphic designer?

Having a better grasp of your needs and circumstances will help you make a more informed decision.

Pointers for Hiring an Instructional Designer

Now that you’ve determined the kind of applicants you’re aiming to recruit, it’s time to find them among the sea of people out there.

Ask for previous work

They need to provide examples of their work. Note, however, that you can’t demand output from a newbie that’s on par with an experienced professional.

It was common to prioritise formal credentials in the past, but many believe today that skills are more valuable. This has led portfolios to carry more weight than resumes, especially with remote workers since you won’t be able to observe them working in person.

While you’re collecting basic information, ask candidates for a link to their samples. Published materials are ideal, but offline documents will work at the very minimum.

See if they’re able to provide a narrative along with their examples. Find out how they contributed to the project and what their ideas were. Get the details of how they worked with others and made decisions for design and development.

Evaluate with a challenge

Never take the samples of their previous work at face value. Don’t be quick to believe what they tell you in their narratives either. Regardless how impressive their portfolio looks or how nice their answers sound, there remains some ambiguity about their involvement in creating designs.

Check if their quality really matches with their claims. Have them do a skills challenge right then and there. Design a test where they need to create a training course based on a short brief you provide. Doing this lets you determine their skill level in real time.

Maybe you can give a 10-minute hypothetical problem on an online form and have them give recommendations on how they would chunk the content and make it interactive. Another idea is to give confusing instructions for them to rewrite for a certain audience.

Don’t make it an assignment they can submit at a later time. There are so many ways an applicant could cheat, including having someone else answer the test for them. You want to be sure that when you pay an instructional designer salary, they’re deserving of it.

Examine professional connections

Serious candidates are those who invest time to be active in the community. Trends change and those who participate in groups and forums are the ones who remain updated. They’re likely to follow techniques that are widely approved by those in the industry.

Spot these people by visiting educational sites, blogs, and discussions then identify who are actively contributing to them. They tend to be engaged in their career and like to bring the same energy to those in the same field. This is why they enjoy participating in relevant communities.

Some universities and colleges offer programs for learning instructional design. By connecting to instructors or staff at these places, you can ask for referrals of their graduating students. Make sure to include those who are attending certificate programs so you have more options.

If you find someone who has worked for an industry leader, it’s possible that you’ve struck gold so evaluate their previous employers as well. Knowing that they’ve passed the standards of someone who only hires top talents can be most reassuring.

Post advertisements regularly

Keep candidates aware that you’re looking for an instructional designer by updating your listings. There are plenty of job boards that are geared specifically for locating eLearning professionals. Create groups on various platforms where people can find opportunities to work in ID.

Another thing you can do to attract top talents is post your company information on industry portals. Maintain a strong and consistent brand that emphasises the perks your company provides. Highlight the option to work from home, among other benefits.

Get your current employees to share their story on video or through written copy. Upload these on your company website and social media profiles. Keep it short but sweet so people won’t get bored from consuming the media.

Share content and information about what’s happening in the learning industry, if you can. Post articles to advise those who are interested in entering the field, such as a discussion on the average instructional designer hourly rate. Publish these on your company blog or on places like LinkedIn.

Where to Hire an Instructional Designer

Fortunately, there are ways you can make the process easier and less complicated. One of them is by arranging the services of an offshore staffing agency like Remote Workmate. We specialise in connecting businesses like you to experienced and qualified remote professionals.

We recruit candidates at no charge and provide success management. These include negotiating for the instructional designer salary and replacing under-performing staff. You can enjoy a more competitive instructional designer hourly rate and staffing fees with us.