5 Questions Every Digital Learning Job Seeker Should Answer

There are five questions you should ask yourself before you start looking for a job in digital learning. These aren’t your standard questions about salary and daily tasks. Instead, we’re focusing on what you need to know about yourself before you seek out a new role. The answers will help you find a job that’s the right fit for your skills, work style, and career goals.

Remember, when you’re looking for a job, you’re not just trying to find an organization that wants you to work for them. You’re also looking for a work environment that can help you advance your career and meet your needs. So, grab a notebook or open up a blank document and start brainstorming your answers to these questions.

1. What Is My Philosophy Of Learning?

Philosophy of learning is the shorthand we use to talk about how different people think about learning. Even if you don’t have a formal written statement, you should be able to talk about your philosophy of learning. Not only will this help in job interviews, it can also help you decide whether an organization aligns with your way of thinking and working.

How To Find Your Philosophy Of Learning

Review these statements and consider whether you agree, disagree or feel indifferent.

• Everyone is capable of learning
• Technology helps people learn
• Learners need structure and repetition
• Learners are responsible for their own success
• Formal assessments are an essential part of the learning process
• Learning should be exciting and engaging
• People should have the opportunity to guide their own learning
• Everyone wants to learn
• Learners must understand how subjects apply to their lives

To dig deeper into what you believe about learning, try answering these prompts:

• I believe the purpose of learning is to…
• People learn best when…
• A good learning environment is…
• I support learners by…

2. What Is My Superpower At Work?

Your superpower is the skill or set of skills that sets you apart from other candidates. It’s not just something you’re good at, it’s something you actually enjoy doing. Business coach and author, Laura Garnett, calls this your zone of genius, the area where your interests, skills, and strengths converge.

When you understand where your zone of genius lies, you can find a job that lets you work in that space. This isn’t to say that every task will fall in the zone, but you should be looking for roles that let you spend a chunk of your time there each day.

Look for job postings that include your superpower. Make sure you prominently feature your zone of genius skills on your resume and other job search documents.

How To Find Your Superpower

Make a list of the tasks you most enjoyed in previous jobs, in school, or in your hobbies. Then make a list of your skills and strengths. Where do these two lists overlap?

For example, if you said you always enjoyed the opportunity to make final tweeks to the visual design of our learning modules. And, I have strong Adobe InDesign skills. Then graphic design might be in your zone of genius.

3. What Are My Personal And Professional Goals?

Getting clear on your professional and personal goals will help you find a role that works toward these desires. Every job you take should either help you move up the organizational ladder, or give you the opportunity to practice valuable skills.

You might already have goals in mind. If you don’t, the following exercises can help you set some.

How To Set Your Goals

Start by considering the skills you found in the previous section. Think about the skills you’d like to learn or develop. Why do you want to learn these skills? What can they help you accomplish?

Next, consider your philosophy of learning and mission, what would you need to do to feel like you were working toward that mission in alignment with your philosophy?

Then, look forward. Imagine yourself in five years, what are you doing? What kind of salary and work-life balance would you like to have in five years, or ten? Do you hope to retire? If so, when?

When in doubt, talk to a trusted mentor who can help you set some realistic goals.

4. What Is My Ideal Work Environment?

Work can take many forms. Some people thrive in an office setting with coworkers to bounce ideas off of. Others function best when they have long stretches of quiet time to focus. There are people who love working from home, and others who can’t stand it. Some prefer to work with new people all the time, while others prefer a small, close-knit team.

When you understand which environments serve you, you’ll be able to find jobs that let you reach your highest potential.

How To Identify Your Ideal Work Environment

Think back to your favorite jobs. What was the work environment like? Who did you work with and how?

Imagine you have to complete a task as a member of a team. Would you rather (a) everyone work together on each piece of the project or (b) everyone take ownership of one part and then come together when it’s all complete.

Think of times when you were able to get in the zone and forget about the passage of time. Where were you? Remember, what worked for you in the past can help you find your ideal work environment.

5. How Do I Like To Be Managed?

You know the old saying, “People don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers”? The reverse is also true. People stay in and enjoy their roles when they have a good manager

What makes a good manager is often subjective. It comes down to management style. You might prefer that someone give you a task and then leave you to your own devices. Or you might like to work through challenges with your manager to get super clear on the direction before you start.

The way you like to work influences the way you prefer to be managed. What feels like micromanagement to one person is clear guidance to another.

How To Find Your Preferred Management Style

Think about your favorite managers or leaders. You can go all the way back to college professors, coaches, and mentors if you need to. What did you like about how these people led?

If you’re having a hard time coming up with examples, think about the bosses you didn’t enjoy working for. What did they do that made you feel that way? By understanding how you don’t like to be managed, you can start to understand what might work for you.

What To Do Next In Your Job Search

Equipped with the answers to these questions, you can start looking for the next step in your career. Read job postings carefully to determine whether the organization aligns with your philosophy of learning and matches your ideal work environment. Consider job skills and essential duties to see if they overlap your zone of genus.

All of these questions are designed to help you narrow down your job search to find roles that align with your goals, values, and way of working. Once you’ve started the interview process, there’s a whole new list of questions you should be asking based on what you discovered in the questions above.

Taking the time to answer these questions now, will help you find a digital learning job that fits. For help finding roles in digital learning, reach out to Teamed. We match digital learning experts like you, with learning roles that align with their goals and values. Contact us or visit our job board to get started.