Getting the Most out of Toastmasters using LinkedIn – Part 1 of 2

We have all applied for jobs and often heard the words “You need to be the right fit for our team”.  How do hiring managers know if you are the right fit for the team? What on your resume or LinkedIn profile could exemplify this fact?

According to Indeed.com, these are the 5 most sought after skills in any industry:

1. Communication skills
2. Leadership skills
3. Teamwork skills
4. Interpersonal skills
5. Learning/adaptability skills

Do all these skills ring a bell? Aren’t these the same reason why so many of us become Toastmasters? The benefits of Toastmasters are well known to all of us,but many of us may not be taking advantage of this key experience to help us get our next job offer.

By mentioning Toastmasters experience as a member or an officer you demonstrate an intent to learn and improve which is a top-skill recruiter and hiring managers are looking for these days. Megan Mayer, Chair at Network for Impact and Division A Director. asserts “Anyone showing a desire to grow and learn, at any phase of life, is the one companies are looking to hire.”

Now more than ever hiring is becoming more if not totally virtual, and skills assessed through virtual platforms means we must focus on our virtual professional presence. Recent research shows that today’s college graduates have dismissed job boards in favor of job searching on Google and LinkedIn (64%) followed by company career pages (57%) and career fairs (57%). Makes sense, since these are tools which we use in our everyday lives.

Imagine connecting with fellow Toastmasters in your dream company or meeting your potential hiring manager in Toastmasters International webinars. LinkedIn and Toastmasters could totally make this happen. We come across so many members engaged in different professions during our visits to other clubs both virtually and in person, the same can be extended to  LinkedIn. With this you have an advantage of a conversation starter, a clear indication of growth mindset, and clear example of your communication and leadership skills.

Megan believes at least 80% of this virtual process might stick around owing to high costs involved in hiring candidates. She claims, “ Even when the pandemic is over only final meetups might be in person and the prior screening process may continue to be online…they could be flown once they are screened for the final interview to meet the team and other members of the company.”

With the changing times, technology is expanding to meet new challenges at a rate we never imagined and we should surely keep up with our ways too.Let’s jump onboard this change, adapt ourselves and benefit from it. Workplaces have become virtual and distances irrelevant, let’s take advantage of virtual meetings and online networking platforms. In the next article we will show you how to showcase your leadership skills on your LinkedIn profile. We will show how to use this powerful online career platform to network with other Toastmasters at dream companies.

Companies often use sports analogies, such as “teams” for good reason. Megan believes “Companies are not looking to hire candidates who sit around until they are instructed to warm-up, instead they are interested in candidates, who take the game balls off the shelves and start the warm-up with others.”

Written by Raji Bandanapudi of Intel Innovators and Toastmaster Insiders