INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Instructional Designer positions are at a 13% growth rate, which is faster than average. With that said, there are currently 199,400 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 25,500 to 224,900 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Instructional Designer jobs was $77,200 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $40,750, and the highest 10% more than $146,430.
Our conclusion? The Instructional Designer job market is wide open for candidates.
Top instructional designer sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
What to write in your instructional designer experience section
Perfecting your instructional designer resume experience section:
- Focus on results, not responsibilities;
- Use 4-6 bullet points per position;
- List only positions that are relevant to what you’re applying for;
- Include at least some form of quantitative data – it can be linked to the number of people you’ve managed or the - percentage decrease in costs that’s followed from your work - you decide;
- Choose action verbs over buzzwords.
We’ve collected some of the top resume experience sections from real Enhancv users. Check them out when drafting your own Instructional Designer resume!
- Lead developer, content designer and product manager for a venture backed LMS that generated $6M in revenue by 3rd year of launch.
- Designed and wrote content in Authorware for over 15 online federal regulation training programs (~300 courses) including the Privacy Act, Truth in Lending and Bank Secrecy Act.
- Data warehouse developer for an analytics dashboard leveraged by 83k client users to report on adherence of federal training programs.
- Introduced visual storyboard techniques
- Researched and implemented latest trends of learning
- Mobile based learning and responsive content management
- Simplified Complex Business Requirements
- Creation of Storyboard and getting storyboards converted into CBTs with Animators and Voice over artists help
- Delivered engaging content for CBTs for Panduit, Integrra, Rolls Royce Leeds University, IKEA etc
- End-to-end project management of various training projects for New Hire curriculums
- Learning production from scoping to delivery including content design
- Consulted with and solicited input from key partners for learning program refinement and new training development
- Coached and mentored instructional design colleagues
- Supported Delivery teams with learning content amendments
- Train and lead a team of four instructional designers to create multimedia assets for K-12 courses that meet client needs, company standards, WCAG 2.0 AA standards, and aggressive deadlines
- Design interactive multimedia learning assets including animations, avatar videos, interactive videos, and exploratory, guided practice, and assessment activities for variety of content areas including pre-calculus, health, phonics, etc.
- Collaborate with SMEs to meet their course needs and objectives
- Taught 13,000+ students face to face (up to 200 students per class)
- Taught 6,000+ hours on GMAT subjects
- Rated 4.7 out of 5.0 in student satisfaction
- Standardized student evaluation system for pre- and post- class assessment
- Conducted new teacher training and standardized teaching material
- Design online learning activities for Professional Development courses
- Create wireframes and prototypes for course activities and course pages
- Explore new training methodologies and technologies for course design
- Collaborate with academic team, video team and UX team for course production
- Initiated and developed new after school English Language Learner (ELL) language club to support 35 ELL students who test out of services during the school day but need additional academic language help.
- Developed instructional plan
- Utilized learner analysis and formative evaluation
- Developed learning materials including learner guides, review aides, and activity guides
- Adapted third grade curriculum to meet the needs of English Language Learners (ELL) and special needs students, ultimately assisting the 12 lowest math students to surpass their end-of-year goal
- Consulted with clients to determine training needs.
- Designed and developed eLearning applications for Rogers, Bell, AT&T.
- Examined workflows and created automated processes saving RIM hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Led 3 instructional design projects aiming at helping NYU faculty enhance course engagement with technology assistances
- Facilitated technology-training sections to assist 12 faculty members in integrating technologies and the course contents
- Developed 3 courses with NYU faculty by integrating campus instructional resources and the learning materials
- Evaluated 12 instructional designs of NYU faculty members by creating data visualization graphs
- Develop, design, implement, and facilitate engaging clinical curricula with SCORM functionality to avoid regulatory fines.
- Manage curriculum development and the Learning Management System for 3,000 staff members.
- Propose technical guidance to executives for efficient usage of the Learning Management System.
PRO TIP
In writing your Instructional Designer resume, you will no doubt want to list your previous duties - as you should. But steer clear of just listing your duties, instead of your achievements. Make your resume stand out by communicating what you have done, and not merely what the job needed you to do.
Action verbs for your instructional designer resume
Recommended reads:
Instructional designer resume skills section to impress recruiters
Checklist for a perfect Instructional Designer resume skills section:
- Make sure to include most if not all essential skills for the job;
- Check the job description and add some keywords to pass ATS;
- List both hard and technical skills;
- When it comes to soft skills – elaborate on them in other sections of your resume (e.g. the experience section).
Top skills for your instructional designer resume
Captivate
Articulate
Camtasia
SumTotal
Success Factors
Axonify
Communication
Active listening
Conflict resulotion
Stakeholder management
Empathy
Openmindedness
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
Instructional designer resume header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your instructional designer resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your Instructional Designer resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
Writing an Effective Instructional Designer Resume Summary
Impressive instructional designer resume summary checklist:
- Point out the achievements that make you a valuable applicant;
- Mention the total years of experience you have;
- Highlight the things you believe make you the best fit for the position;
- Keep it short: aim at having no more than 3-5 sentences.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
Recommended reads:
Drawing the attention to your instructional designer resume education section
Crafting a job-winning education section.":
- Use the reverse-chronological format when listing your degrees;
- Tailor the classes you’ve taken to the position you’re applying for if you’re an entry-level candidate;
- Mention the awards and honors you’ve received;
- Add your certifications (but only those relevant to the position).
Top certifications for your instructional designer resume
Instructional Design for ELearning
Designing Successful ELearning Courses. Learn from a multi-award-winning instructional designer
Project Management for Instructional Designers
Getting Results Beyond ADDIE
Instructional Design for Learning and Development
Develop your skills to become an Instructional Designer and create engaging online courses
Introduction to Instructional Design: Online Course Creation
Develop your skills to become an Instructional Designer and create e-learning that engages learners
Instructional Design for Classroom Training
Learn how to design effective and engaging in-class and in-house training sessions and learning experiences from scratch
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Choosing the best format for your instructional designer resume
The content of your Instructional Designer resume is what will get you hired, right?
But even when your content’s amazing and you’re a true over-achiever, recruiters might not think you’re a good fit if your resume looks messy or is not formatted the right way.
In general, there are three basic resume formats we advise you to stick with:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Deciding which one to use depends on your experience, the industry, and the company. In short — you need to know what your applicant profile is.
For instance, reverse-chronological resumes are great for people with over 10 years of experience and no employment gaps. Here, you need to list all your relevant experience in a reverse-chronological format, starting from the most recent and going back to less recent positions.
Functional skills-based resumes, on the other hand, are great for entry-level applicants, graduate students, or people who have different kinds of experience. It focuses on skills, education, and character traits, rather than experience.
If none of these work for you, and you dream of adopting a more creative approach that makes a difference, the combination (or hybrid) resume format is exactly what you’re looking for. It allows you to focus on both your experience and your skills, making it a ‘best of both worlds’ format. It’s also suitable for those who want to spice things up by adding different creative sections (e.g. ‘life philosophy’ or ‘what my day looks like’).
Here are some additional tips on perfecting your resume layout and style:
- Go for a traditional resume font sized 12p;
- Use standard 1-inch resume margins for increased readability;
- Make sure your resume fits on a one-page template. In case you’ve got 10 years of experience or more, your resume’s length can reach two pages;
- Avoid unwanted editing and plagiarism – save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiters.
Want to take it a step further? Learn how to make your resume stand out without relying too much on creativity.
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PRO TIP
Sometimes you’ll want to go after a job which requires more experience than you have. Instead of using a typical Instructional Designer resume layout, you can use a creative layout. Getting noticed is the most important challenge and a creative resume layout might help you get invited for an interview as most of other accountants have boring resume designs.
Want to include something more to your instructional designer resume?
So you’ve already listed details about your education, experience, and skills. You’ve also crafted an amazing summary.
But now you feel a creative urge to showcase your personality and not just your expertise.
We’ve got you! Thanks to our modern templates, you can now include a chart of what your typical day looks like or even a word or two about your life philosophy. All this without sacrificing your Instructional Designer resume’s professional feel.
Some non-traditional sections for your resume include:
Making your instructional designer resume stand out
You want to make a strong first impression to all recruiters that get a hold of your resume. Sure you do! But how?
Well, the easiest way to stand out is by adding a bit of creativity to your Instructional Designer resume. You could do this by going for a colorful layout or adding a creative section or two. It all depends on the industry and the position you’re applying for!
For instance, a position in design would allow for a more colorful resume, while a position in finance would probably not.
What makes a great instructional designer resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
