What do you do if your e-learning career is stagnant and you want to keep growing?

1 Assess your strengths and weaknesses

The first step to get out of a career rut is to evaluate your current skills and performance. What are your areas of expertise and what are your gaps? How do you measure up to the industry standards and best practices? How do you align with the goals and expectations of your organization or clients? You can use various tools and methods to assess yourself, such as self-reviews, feedback surveys, online tests, portfolios, or certifications. Be honest and realistic about your strengths and weaknesses, and identify the areas where you need to improve or update your knowledge and skills.

2 Set SMART goals and action plans

Once you have a clear picture of where you are and where you want to be, you need to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for your career development. For example, you might want to learn a new authoring tool, create a more engaging course, increase your productivity, or expand your network. Then, you need to create action plans to achieve those goals, such as enrolling in a course, reading a book, watching a webinar, joining a community, or applying for a project. Make sure to track your progress and celebrate your achievements along the way.

3 Seek feedback and mentoring

Another way to overcome career stagnation is to seek feedback and mentoring from others. Feedback can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, improve your performance, and learn from your mistakes. You can ask for feedback from your managers, peers, clients, learners, or experts in your field. Be open to constructive criticism and use it to improve your work. Mentoring can help you gain new insights, perspectives, and skills from someone who has more experience or expertise than you. You can find a mentor within your organization, in a professional association, or online. Be proactive and respectful in seeking and maintaining a mentoring relationship.

4 Explore new trends and opportunities

The e-learning industry is constantly evolving and changing, so you need to keep up with the latest trends and opportunities to stay relevant and competitive. You can explore new topics, tools, methods, or formats that are emerging or gaining popularity in the e-learning field, such as gamification, microlearning, mobile learning, adaptive learning, or virtual reality. You can also look for new opportunities to apply your skills and knowledge in different contexts, such as different industries, audiences, or domains. You can use various sources to stay updated and informed, such as blogs, podcasts, newsletters, magazines, or conferences.

5 Challenge yourself and take risks

Finally, one of the best ways to break out of a career plateau is to challenge yourself and take risks. You can do this by stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new or different, such as taking on a project that is beyond your current scope, learning a skill that is outside your domain, or collaborating with people who have different backgrounds or perspectives. You can also do this by embracing uncertainty and change, such as adapting to a new technology, process, or environment, or experimenting with new ideas or solutions. By challenging yourself and taking risks, you can discover new possibilities, learn new things, and grow as an e-learning professional.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?