Create a Portfolio That Gets You Hired:
A Step-by-Step Course for Instructional Designers
Stop guessing what hiring managers want.
Start building a portfolio that shows how you think.
If you're trying to break into instructional design, transition careers, or strengthen your position in the L&D market, your portfolio matters more than your resume.
But most instructional designers:
Don’t know what to include
Overfocus on tools instead of thinking
Struggle to create samples without client work
Feel behind compared to everyone else
You’re not behind.
You just need a clear framework.
What Should an Instructional Design Portfolio Actually Include?
Hiring managers don’t just want to see what you built.
They want to understand:
Your portfolio is not a storage unit. It’s a strategic story about how you design learning experiences.
This course teaches you how to tell that story clearly, confidently, and professionally.
This Course is For You If...
This course is designed for:
Educators transitioning into instructional design
Corporate trainers moving into eLearning roles
Learning professionals ready to level up
Instructional designers with proprietary work they can’t share
Anyone who wants to confidently apply for ID roles
Same framework. Different starting points.
The Transformation
Go from feeling unsure what to include to confidently presenting a clear, compelling instructional design portfolio.
Instead of overbuilding projects or endlessly tweaking visuals, you’ll learn how to:
Frame projects around real problems
Explain your instructional decision-making
Align your work to job descriptions
Create meaningful portfolio samples (even without client work)
Show your thinking, not just your tools
What Do Our Students Say?
EVERYONE needs structure, coaching, and deadlines to get stuff done! The course requirements are very manageable and realistic, assignments are bite-sized enough that you don't feel overwhelmed, instructors are supportive and encouraging, course is organized in such a way that each week you feel you've accomplished one more thing in this journey towards at least version 1.0 of your portfolio, and the input and support you will get from this community is unparalleled. I can't imagine having done what I've done in the last 5 weeks on my own!
By the end of Christy and Dani’s Portfolio class, I had an eLearning portfolio! (Which is a major accomplishment in itself.) More importantly, because of their carefully-crafted and scaffolded lessons, their feedback on my weekly assignments, and the individual guidance I received, my portfolio reflects my personal strengths and communicates the breadth of my experience. Their survey of the existing “competition” and design tools helped me develop a portfolio that will stand out to potential clients. I highly recommend this course to my students and to anyone in the eLearning field.
I took Dani and Christy's portfolio course in 2023. I loved that the course was very well-designed, with a robust combination of live instructor-led, self-paced, and hands-on learning, with both peer and instructor feedback. I created a portfolio that highlighted my skills and successes. It helped me land my current role. I highly recommend this course for any instructional designer. Even if you aren't currently in transition, it's important to keep your portfolio up-to-date because you never know when you'll have your next opportunity.
What Makes This Experience Different?
University-Built. Industry-Tested.
Originally developed and taught through the University of California, Irvine Division of Continuing Education, this course has been refined through real learner feedback and industry application.
You’re not getting theory. You’re getting structure that works.
Asynchronous Learning with Real Human Support
You’ll move through thoughtfully designed Articulate Rise modules at your own pace, with:
Weekly live open office hours
Portfolio reviews and feedback
Access to Dani Watkins and Christy Tucker
A private online community
You’re supported — but not pressured.
How the Cohort Works
Step 1: Build the Foundation
Clear structure. Templates. Prompts.
Real examples.
Step 2: Create or Refine Your Portfolio Samples
With guided frameworks and feedback.
Step 3: Polish, Align, and Prepare to Apply
Position your portfolio for real job descriptions.
What You'll Learn and Build
Recognize what hiring managers actually look for in portfolios
Know how to frame projects around problems, decisions, and outcomes
Begin assembling meaningful portfolio components
A decision-making narrative for each project
Have a clear path forward to continue refining and sharing your work
Your Instructors
ABOUT DANI WATKINS
Dani Watkins brings a professional, purposeful approach to igniting learning experiences for adult learners in both classroom and online environments. As the Chief Learning Experience Officer and founder of Zenith Performance Solutions, Dani has over 29 years of experience in learning and development, continuously staying at the forefront of industry trends and innovations.
As a speaker at industry conferences, including the Association for Talent Development (ATD), Training Magazine’s Tech-Learn and Training, and Learning Guild's DevLearn, she shares her expertise and passion for enhancing employee performance through innovative instructional design. Most recently, she was appointed in her third year as a Community Canvassador.
When Dani isn't busy igniting learning experiences, she enjoys spending time with her family or running trails in Colorado.
ABOUT CHRISTY TUCKER
Christy Tucker is a learning experience design consultant with over 20 years of experience helping people learn. She specializes in using scenario-based learning to engage audiences and promote skill transfer to real-world environments.
She has created training for a wide range of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, nonprofit associations, state and local government agencies, universities, and more.
Christy has been blogging about instructional design and elearning for over 15 years and is a regular speaker at industry conferences and events.
Optional: Ongoing Coaching
For learners who want continued support as they:
Apply for roles
Prepare for interviews
Refine and iterate on their portfolio
What if you decide this course isn’t for you?
This course is designed for the professional who is juggling multiple hats and committed to creating their portfolio.
To do that, you have to be willing to try commit the time to go through the content and spend some time working on a draft portfolio, applying your new skills, some of which might be outside of what’s comfortable and easy. We want EVERY student to walk away from this course feeling like the time they put into it was well worth what they got out of it.
For virtual students, if you don’t feel completely confident and motivated by the content in this course, simply send an email to [email protected] within 7 days after the start, show us the work you have put into the course (student exercises, progress in self-paced content, and attendance at live or recorded sessions), and we will refund your investment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I need to invest money in anything else for this course?
While you can complete this course without access to development tools like Storyline, Camtasia, Rise, ect., if you need to create portfolio samples in those tools, at least a trial account might be useful.
How will I get support when I have a question or want to share something I have created?
Training and supporting YOU is what we live for! Seriously, watching you learn and grow fills our cup. Christy and I will be active members in our #IgniteLearning online community and will reply to any comments or questions raised in our live sessions.
How much time will it take me to complete the course?
The asynchronous modules are 1-2 hours a week, followed by optional office hours, 1 hour per week. The time it takes to work on portfolio samples really varies depending on what you currently have. Additionally, we recommend at least 30 minutes a week to interact with other students in our online community.
I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed in my job right now, are you sure this course is for someone like me?
If you are feeling overwhelmed, it could likely be tied to wearing many hats, having too few resources, or having too little time for too many initiatives. Having a portfolio ready to share with hiring managers ensures you are ready for new opportunties when they present themselves.
Ready to Build a Portfolio That Gets You Hired?
You don’t need more tools.
You don’t need another random sample.
You need structure, clarity, and expert feedback.
Let’s build it the right way.