Instinct works with many respected clients across several key industries, but generally speaking, the majority of our clients fall under the Education Sector or the Commercial sectors. It’s not uncommon for an eLearning professional to specialise in one of these sectors, sometimes by accident! But as a result, many candidates ask us whether it’s possible to move from one Sector to the other. And while changing sectors can be challenging, it’s absolutely possible if you are willing to reframe your experience to align with the respective sector requirements.
As an eLearning professional, it is probable that a candidate’s core responsibilities centre on some kind of learning, engagement, and outcomes, but these are approached differently in the Higher Education and Commercial sectors. In Higher Education, roles can be centred on students or academic staff, retention and learning outcomes, work across technology systems such as Blackboard, Canvas, and Moodle, and have a focus on deep learning and pedagogy. On the other hand, eLearning has more of an L&D focus centred on improving the productivity, performance, and behaviours of staff, utilising different learning systems such as Docebo and Cornerstone, and moves at a faster pace. There, while the tools and outcomes may differ, key elements of the roles such as designing and developing learning, LMS administration, and learner engagement, easily translate between the two.
Transitioning from Education to Commercial
The challenge for Higher Education professionals looking to transition to the private sector includes being perceived as too academic or not used to the ‘pace’ of the commercial space. They may also have had less exposure to metrics and may not be familiar with the kind of business stakeholders within this sector. To position yourself correctly, it could be worth rephrasing some wording in your CV to show fluency with the new sector. It could also be worth building a commercial portfolio, focusing on onboarding or compliance to show an understanding of L&D. This can be done using trials for tools such as Articulate Storyline and Rise, and starting small with a collection of examples which can eventually build up to portfolio size. Aside from this, you may need to really emphasise any transferable skills you have, such as managing an institution-wide learning platform such as Canvas, and therefore having confidence with picking up a new commercial platform such as Docebo or Cornerstone.
Transitioning from Commercial to Education
Commercial candidates can be viewed as able to work at a fast pace with tight deadlines and with a performance-focused mindset. However, the challenge for these professionals when looking to transition into Education is that they will of course have less familiarity with academic governance, pedagogies, and may be viewed as ‘too corporate’. To overcome this, commercial candidates could emphasise their understanding of well-known learning theories and models, as well as focusing on occasions working with SMEs or knowledge experts, particularly those working as academics. Hiring managers will also be looking for an understanding of learner diversity and designing programmes in line with accessibility guidelines such as WCAG.
As mentioned, both sectors will value good quality learning design, created with appropriate learning outcomes in mind, and will look for individuals with clear communication, technical fluency, and a learner-first mindset. As a result, you just need to communicate exactly what you have done but make it relevant to the sector you’re looking to break into. Having a good CV to translate this is really important, but a portfolio covering either side even with just a small sample of examples can help even more.
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