They Accepted! Now What?: A scenario based journey from offer to day one
I designed this concept scenario-based eLearning project to help early-career Talent Acquisition professionals build confidence in managing the critical post-offer to Day One experience. This project simulates real-world decision-making and stakeholder coordination using branching scenarios, downloadable tools, and guided feedback.
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Entry-level Talent Acquisition Specialists, HR Assistants, and L&D professionals supporting onboarding in a corporate setting.
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Instructional Design
Action Mapping
Scenario Writing
Storyboarding
Graphic Design
Accessibility
Survey and Evaluation Setup
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Rise 360
Canva
Microsoft 365
Google Workspace
Mural
OneNote
The Problem
In many corporate environments, there’s a critical gap between offer acceptance and Day One that is often underestimated. New hires are left waiting in ambiguity while Talent Acquisition (TA) professionals scramble to coordinate with IT, Hiring Managers, and HR systems—all while managing multiple open requisitions. Without a clear workflow or decision-making structure, small breakdowns (missed IT requests, delayed background checks, incomplete onboarding tasks) snowball into bigger issues. For the new hire, this can mean arriving unprepared, feeling disconnected, or doubting their decision to join.
For the company, it results in poor Day One experiences, manager frustration, and risk to early retention. TA specialists, especially those new to the role, often receive little structured guidance on how to orchestrate this pre-onboarding phase effectively across multiple departments.
The solution
To address this challenge, I created a scenario-based eLearning module that simulates the full post-offer onboarding process. The course—delivered in Rise 360—guides learners through realistic decision points where they must communicate with the Hiring Manager, IT, and the New Hire while managing dependencies like background checks and onboarding tasks. Learners navigate through structured scenes and receive real-time mentor feedback for each decision. In addition to the immersive storyline, the course includes downloadable job aids like a Welcome Email Template and an Offer-to-Day-One Checklist that learners can apply directly to their roles.
This solution not only introduces best practices for workflow management, but also models the soft skills and timing required for cross-functional coordination. It’s designed to build confidence, increase consistency, and provide scalable onboarding support across the TA team.
my process
I began this project by reflecting on my own lived experience managing new hire onboarding among other operations. I reached out to an HR Generalist and conducted an informal task and stakeholder analysis, mapping out the key steps, blockers, and communication flows involved between offer and Day One. From there, I applied scenario-based instructional design principles, breaking the content into scenes and nested decision points that aligned with real-world milestones (e.g., background check, IT setup, welcome email).
Using Rise 360 and Mural, I wrote multi-character dialogue with branching feedback and created a cast of characters (IT, Hiring Manager, New Hire, and a Mentor) to guide the learner. I incorporated accessibility best practices, ensured all character states (Talking, Thinking, Surprised, etc.) were clearly described, and made sure every decision point aligned with a realistic TA action or consequence.
For evaluation, I designed a Google Forms feedback survey to measure learner reactions and perceived usefulness. I also provided optional PDF downloads to reinforce performance-based transfer—giving learners tools they can implement immediately.
key takeaways
This project showed me that strong onboarding doesn’t start on Day One—it starts the moment the offer is accepted. Instructional design can play a powerful role in supporting operations and culture by enabling consistency, clarity, and connection. Building this course sharpened my ability to design for workflow fluency, not just knowledge transfer.
I also learned how to leverage scenario-based learning to simulate the human and logistical complexities of TA work—something a static course could never convey. Integrating practical tools like email templates and checklists created meaningful takeaways that support both the learner and the business.
Ultimately, this experience reinforced my passion for building learning solutions that mirror the real world, equip people to do their jobs better, and align with business outcomes like retention, engagement, and readiness.