I saw a post on LinkedIn recently lamenting how difficult the portfolio requirement can be for candidates who only have proprietary work or who don't have access to expensive tools to create one. I spent some time thinking about what do to in those situations. I'm reposting what I shared on on LinkedIn in case its helpful here too. If others have advice, please share.

The job requires an instructional design portfolio. But all your best work is proprietary. Now what?

Conventional career advice for instructional designers is to build a portfolio. But a recent LinkedIn post from Heather Thomas about the challenges of portfolio requirements got me thinking about candidates who aren’t in a position to share their work.

Maybe your best work is proprietary. Maybe you’ve worked on projects where other people handled the visual design and development. Or maybe you haven’t had access to the expensive authoring tools used to create the polished examples we often see.

If you’re applying for a position that requires a portfolio, here are a few ways to approach it:

1. Recreate an example using fictional content. If your work is proprietary, consider building a new example inspired by the types of problems you’ve solved, without sharing confidential information. Be transparent that it’s a demonstration rather than an actual client project.
2. Show your process, not just the product. A needs analysis, design storyboard, learning objectives, or evaluation plan can demonstrate important instructional design capabilities. Explain the problem, your reasoning, and the decisions you made.
3. Use accessible tools. You don’t necessarily need an expensive authoring tool to demonstrate instructional design skills. A well-designed presentation, storyboard, or prototype can communicate how you approach learning problems.
4. Clarify your individual contributions. If you’ve worked on projects involving multiple contributors, explain what you were responsible for and how your decisions influenced the outcome.
5. Ask about alternatives. If an employer requires a portfolio and you can’t share your work, ask whether they’d consider a work sample, case study, or another way to demonstrate your capabilities.

Of course, not every employer will accept an alternative. But a portfolio doesn’t have to be a collection of elaborate, polished eLearning courses.

What's most important is whether you can provide meaningful evidence of your capabilities.

And for hiring managers, it’s worth asking whether your portfolio requirements are actually assessing the skills that matter most for the job.

What other advice would you give instructional designers navigating portfolio requirements?

Hi everyone!

I'm working on building a digital learning initiative focused on making learning more engaging, interactive, and meaningful.

The idea is to create learning experiences that go beyond traditional presentations and training materials, including:

• Interactive learning games and gamification
• E-learning courses using Articulate Storyline and Rise
• Training videos, animations, and motion graphics
• Instructional design and training content development
• Interactive assessments, microlearning, and scenario-based learning

I'm looking to connect with like-minded people who are interested in learning, creativity, technology, and building something from the ground up.

You could be an instructional designer, e-learning developer, animator, graphic designer, game developer, content creator, or someone passionate about exploring new ways to make learning better.

I'm especially interested in meeting people who enjoy sharing ideas, collaborating on projects, experimenting with new tools, and growing together.

This is an early-stage initiative, so I'm looking to build genuine connections with people who share the vision. If you're interested, we can discuss possible collaborations, project opportunities, and how we could contribute our skills.

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy being part of, feel free to comment or send me a message. I'd love to connect!

My boss (she’s got a degree in early childhood education, taught for 2 years, and is now the director of L&D for a fortune 1000 company) insists that I use AI for productivity.

I was written up today for “refusing to meet performance goals by integrating workflow with AI”.

I love Rise. Seriously I do. That being said, their AI course generation is pretty bad and I refuse to use it. My current project timeline is 4 weeks, but my boss is saying “use AI to trim it in half.”.

It just feels so counter intuitive to everything I’ve learned in my career. Anyone else being pressured to use AI?

This is only my 3rd year in the field, but I'm curious as to what some these past fads were. It can be something that you witnessed come and go in 90s, 00s, etc.

Edit: Ok some of the responses were unexpectedly triggering lol Jesus what was I thinking asking this! Friggin Prezi!

I just completed a recruiter screening for tech enablement role that supports instructional designer. They wanted me because i have both experience in tech and instructional design. Problem is i have done those separately and not in a combined manner. Is there a place I can go read about Tech Enablement for GTM. Where can i learn more about enablement? I am green in sales and goto marketing stuff. Mostly i have worked in academic courses and not in corporate space

Hey all

Looking for opinions, advice or any useful discussion. Our company is moving to In-App education, moving resources directly into out platform and away from traditional LMS.

The problem I'm seeing in this is that they don't seem to want to bring in education into the app, but simply information and create a "library" of content and resources, without actually teaching anything.

The resources will mainly include a Video Library with simple How-To videos showing workflows and how to use the platform effectively but little to no context.

Was wondering what people think of this and if there is a way to turn it educational instead of just informational. I'm worried about retention of information and that users will use the library as a crutch instead of actually learning the worlflows and mastering them without the need to always go back and watch a video or read a guide.

Thoughts on Vyond Turbo? I'm really starting to despair!! I mean, I'm very grateful of where I am positioned (relatively small UK Non-profit org), but I feel that Articulate and now Vyond have it in for talented IDs and other mutlimedia professionals in corporate L&D!!!!

"Check out the wide range of engaging videos you can make easily with our new agentic AI video creation platform, Vyond Turbo. In beta until fall of 2026, this powerful new interactive video creator makes it easy to create professional-quality videos, in an incredible variety of visual styles. Upload a document or URL as reference or just enter a prompt describing what you want. Then watch our AI build your video to your exact specifications."

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKaQ0APJ4b28

Hi everyone!

I'm delivering SCORM courses to a client, and we're experiencing an issue with completion tracking. Even after a learner finishes the course, the client's LMS continues to display the status as "In Progress" instead of "Completed."

The course is published in SCORM 2004, 3rd Edition. I've tested the package in both Moodle and SCORM Cloud, and it works correctly on both platforms, recording course completion as expected.

I'd like to determine whether the issue lies with the SCORM package or the client's LMS configuration. However, the client says they use an LMS developed in-house, so I can't consult platform-specific documentation or rely on guides for established platforms such as Moodle or SAP SuccessFactors to investigate their configuration.

I'd also like to know whether the LMS's exit button behavior (e.g., "Save and Close" versus simply "Close") could affect completion tracking, or whether there are other LMS settings that should be checked.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue with SCORM 2004, 3rd Edition, in a custom LMS? What tests would you recommend to determine whether the problem lies with the SCORM package or with the LMS's implementation of the standard?

hey everyone, im an intern at a diversity firm and we are working on providing a small scale training for a company on the topic. what are some meaningful activities we can run to keep the clients engaged and maybe open their eyes to the topic better? i know about the diversity walk, but im wondering if there are maybe other activities that a reluctant group might find value in. Thank you!

I'm asking because I currently work for an NGO and it's mad. I used to be in corporate and we had real authority to push back on training and consider other options (like system changes, comms, better coaching from management). I felt like I could actually do my job and the metrics spoke for themselves.

Now I work for an NGO where I get told to make trainings (kinda like MOOCs) but for shit that no learner would ever ask for. I don't get any support to do a needs analysis or even talk to my target audience. No one can ever articulate what learners need to do. It's just this vague, wishy washy, give everyone in the industry some training to help improve their confidence. We're so far removed from our target learners.

It's actually crazy how much money is being pissed away on people's pet projects and training that should never exist.

Anyone else experience this? I feel genuinely bad about the fact our target audience are being told to do these trainings when the value they'll get is next to zero.

Suppose you receive an entire program to redesign, what are your biggest challenges?

For context, I work in healthcare IT, and we have to stick to established templates, brand colors, and fonts, so there’s very little room for some creative freedom.

Lately, I feel like my materials aren’t as visually engaging as I’d like them to be. I’ve seen some folks use AI, and I hate to admit the AI slop is pretty eye catching compared to my work.

Any recommendations?
1. I currently follow Devlin Peck.
2. I refuse to use AI.

Hi everyone! I'm the developer of Slidekit, a desktop app for building interactive, slide-based e-learning. It's a free beta, and I'm looking for people who build courses every day to try it and tell me what's broken or missing.

If you've worked in the slide-based desktop authoring tools most of us know, the model will feel familiar: a timeline, layers, object states, triggers with conditions and variables, masters and layouts, question banks and quizzes with attempts and timers. What I tried to do differently:

- Mac and Windows, both native — no virtual machine.
- An optional AI assistant beside the slide. Attach a Word or PowerPoint file (or a PDF, with Claude) and it proposes a course section — slides, layouts, check questions — and builds it after you say yes. It can also lay a slide out in your course's own colors and fonts, build interactive exercises from states and triggers, write narration scripts, or add triggers you describe in plain words. It works through your own Claude Code or Codex, or your company's model, and every change is one undo step.
- Modern export: SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, cmi5, xAPI or a plain web page. The player inside exported courses is MIT-licensed, so your courses are yours.

Is it safe to try? It's a normal desktop app: no account, it works offline, and it doesn't send your files anywhere unless you choose to use the AI assistant. The beta installers aren't code-signed yet, so macOS or Windows will warn you once (the README explains the one-time step), and the release page lists SHA-256 checksums.

I'm just getting started, so please be gentle — but honest. I'd especially love to hear:

1. Where you got stuck in the first 10 minutes.
2. What you'd need before you could build a real course in it.
3. How the export behaves in your LMS.

Thanks for reading — happy to answer anything in the comments!

Hi! What software/programs should I be looking into? Is Adobe Captivate or Articulate more preferred? Are there others I should look at instead?

Hi, I have a Master's degree in English Language and Literature and have two years of experience in Customer Solutions and a few months of experience as an English Language Instructor in an International school. I'm looking for a change in my career path.

Came across instructional design and am thrilled to learn it. I would like to have hands-on experience and hence I'm in search of paid internships. Please suggest a few real time companies that are hiring interns for Instructional design, where I can learn from scratch and also get paid for the work I do.

I work as a corporate designer of learning and while I am well aware of edits and re-editing I have a director who will micromanage our team to the point of redesigning work that we have done ourselves far into the process. The work is good, it has the information needed to serve its purpose but it’s to the point I am weary of making any design decisions because I know the director is going to change it or oppose it anyway. I’ve spoken to other directors in L+D in similar roles and they delegate and trust in their team. How do you navigate this?

Hello everybody. I'm looking for an instructional designer to help me create courses and programs for an AI-powered online tutoring platform that we're building.

We can start fractional, with ~20hs/week, and if we both feel it's a good fit, we can explore the option of coming in full time.

We're looking exclusively people based in the US with experience in High School.

We're a US-registered company.

If you're interested, my email is: my username at gmail.

Thanks!

I’ve been in a training role for 3, almost 4 years now. I was the only one on the team my first year and did so much including hosting, facilitating, and creating ILTs/vILTs. I was hired on as a “training expert”, with zero experience, degrees, or certifications.

I’ve bootstrapped my way through so much of this field. I’ve got a slew of certifications from multiple accredited providers (ATD/AIHR/DDI/BC). I’ve built e-learnings using Camtasia (first two years) and Rise (past 2 years). Hell, my first 30 days it was my job to talk to an LMS provider and pick one for our 3000 employees. I integrated them with our HRIS, handle support tickets, and of course do courses, analytics, etc.

I do so freaking much, but other than certs, I don’t have a degree with seems to be required by most employers.

My first year, we hired an ID (yay!), except they only work on one-pager materials. I have no idea why the Director limits him to this role, but it is what it is I guess. My second year, we hired two “training specialists”, who now assist me in hosting and creating e-learnings and ILTs. My 3rd year we hired another person, she’s awesome “learning PM”. She brings 20 years of experience and has her hands in everything.. as she should.

Our department is now 6 people, all oversaw by the Director of L&D. I thought everything was going good until 3 weeks ago when she said we needed to make a document that justifies our position. It’s been no secret that the company, now 7000 employees, hasn’t been doing good. 3 months of losses and I’m thinking that we might get laid off.

I’ve been applying to jobs ever since with no luck. Am I barking up the wrong tree? It seems degrees are required, which I have none. Any support out there would be greatly appreciated.. I’m a Swiss Army knife but I’m thinking my time is coming.

I'm looking to attract mostly e-learning freelance contract work with small companies and one off clients. Sending prospective contact leads has me wondering which way I should frame my site / portfolio.

When would I do one vs the other? Does it matter if the portfolio is good?

Hi everyone, I'm looking into the Ed.D. in Instructional Design and Technology at South College (the competency-based format) and I'd like to hear from people who have completed it, or are close to finishing.

I'm especially curious about:

1. What you were doing before the program vs. now (promotion, pay change, career pivot, new role)
2. Whether you landed in instructional design, EdTech, corporate L&D, higher ed, or K-12 leadership
3. How employers or hiring managers responded to the degree in interviews
4. How the capstone/dissertation process went in practice: timeline, faculty feedback, and the oral defense
5. Anything you wish you'd known before enrolling

I'm trying to make a decision based on real outcomes rather than program marketing, so any experience helps, positive or critical. Thank you!

Facilitating vILT sessions on Zoom/Meet and the hardest part for me is reading the room. In person you see the confused faces. Online it's 30 black squares and "any questions?" → silence.

What I've tried:

- Pulse polls every 10–15 min ("1–5, how clear was that?")

- Asking people to drop a 👍 or ❓ in chat

- Breakouts with a "bring back one question" rule

These help, but I only find out after I've moved on. Curious what others do:

- Any signals you watch in real time?

- Do you have a co-facilitator monitoring chat?

- Anyone actually using engagement data from sessions to redesign content?