When I was last looking for a new job (autumn 2019), the job market for instructional designers, e-learning designers, learning experience designers and similar depended heavily on your physical location. No matter that various global technology companies had provided us with email and the tools necessary to work remotely – the recruiters wanted you there, on the ground, face-to-face.

Having been laid off in May 2021 due to poor sales and the subsequent need to economise, I waded back into the job market, prepared for the worst, only to find it had been revolutionised. Those jobs that had previously had a physical location were now nearly all permanently remote due to the Covid pandemic and the shift to home-working. In addition, the number of jobs had exploded. I applied to 30 companies directly within the first week or two and had more interviews than ever before, all remote. More applications and interviews followed as the month went on. Recruitment agencies, who had previously been lacklustre in their efforts, fell over themselves to contact me and then put me forward. As the workforce stayed at home, learning moved online and my skills were in demand.

Happily I was snapped up by a company and I was able to start my new role quickly… much to my wife’s dismay/rejoicing, I never did get to do the gardening or DIY that I’d lined up.