There’s nothing like going to an exciting sports event; the crowd is cheering, families are sharing soft pretzels and buckets of popcorn, and the stadium is smattered with various colored jerseys from each opposing team. Why do fans stick around so long? Because watching the game and the whole experience is fun! Your elearning can incorporate many of the same principles as baseball, basketball, football, or any other sport. Not only is watching the event a good time, the players are having a great time, and there’s usually plenty of action, a few surprises, and a great coach who leads the team. Your elearning audience is much like a sports team. As an elearning designer, your training should lead them to the finish line while they’re having a great time and benefiting from the experience. ... [more]
Even though you may not feel qualified for a position, apply anyway. Sometimes, companies are looking for much more in a candidate than a list of credentials; they’re usually looking for personality, reasoning, communication skills, and more. ... [more]
Whether you work at a small startup or large corporation, you’ll probably have to give a presentation at some point in your career. When I begin creating a new presentation, I’m often overwhelmed by the possible layouts, themes, fonts, etc. There are so many options, and it’s hard to know what design choice is better than another from first glance. The following tips will help you get a better handle on principles of great presentations so you can design stunning and effective presentations without getting lost in all of the options. ... [more]
Though Thomas Edison failed thousands of times, he cleverly noted: “I didn’t fail, I just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” Students today may not have the same mindset as Edison, since we are often taught that failure is bad from our earliest educational experiences. The grading system in K-12 education clearly reflects that we are encouraged “perform correctly” no matter what. Often, when students encounter difficult problems or seeming impasses, they are tempted to find the right answer without understanding the process of solving the problem. ... [more]
Offices have changed dramatically over the last few decades. No longer do we picture smoky conference rooms and men walking around in suits as in the days of Mad Men. Nowadays, workers are often inspired by fantasies of standing desks, glass walls, free laundry, and slides between levels if they’re lucky. Instead of finding information in filing cabinets, gathering information is quick and easy. Need to find an answer instantaneously? Google it. Need career advice? Browse LinkedIn. Immediate access to information is in-synch with our modern office culture. ... [more]
When we think of research, we often think of analyzing scholarly information. However, if you’re involved in any kind of business operation, research will help you gather the necessary data for your industry to be successful. In fact, asking questions and researching answers or recommendations is essential for making major business decisions. This may include industry research, market research, or user research based on your business objective so that your business plan is aligned with the right customers and does a great job executing its goals. Here are six reasons why your company needs research: ... [more]
Whether you’ve had one or you’ve been there to hear someone vent about one, a bad boss can affect your life both in and out of the workplace. Sometimes it’s easy to feel responsible if your boss isn’t the most friendly, but a bad boss can come in many forms that may be hard to recognize; whether they’re passive aggressive or put you down, manipulative, unfocused, or tend to micromanage, here are some hacks to cope. ... [more]
Interviewing is no longer just for active job-seekers. While scouring the job market for a future full-time position, people often forget the value of the informational interview, especially for someone undecided about a field or unconfident about their resume. Though the informational interview won’t directly land a job, it certainly will help advance any job seeker’s search. ... [more]
Update: Read our new blog post with 2018 US state-specific sexual harassment prevention training requirement updates. Sexual harassment hurts everyone. It has obvious effects on the victim: physical and emotional distress, isolation from coworkers, and decreased performance. However, it also poses a threat to businesses. Sexual harassment lawsuits are stressful and expensive. It is essential that employers protect themselves by creating safe work environments. ... [more]
The average user leaves a web page in about 10-20 seconds (Nielsen/Norman Group). As I’m writing this, my browser history shows that I’ve visited 18 unique pages in the last five minutes, and that’s on the generous side. In the short period that a user first visits a page, she quickly determines whether the page will meet her needs. Suddenly, simplicity becomes the most important factor for attracting the user and keeping her interested. ... [more]
