How Clubs Can Help Job Seekers

Searching and applying for a job is one of the most challenging things you can do. Why not lean on your Toastmasters club for help? Clubs can use a variety of skill-building activities to help job seekers.

1  Tailor your Table Topics.

A job interview is all about speaking on the spot. Fortunately, Toastmasters has an activity for that very skill! Use a Table Topics^® session for interview practice. Think of general questions that interviewers are most likely to ask. Tell me about yourself. What achievements are you most proud of? Describe a challenge and how you handled it. Practicing spontaneous speaking is a big help for the real thing.

2  Invite an outside expert.

Bring in a guest speaker who has experience interviewing people. For example, a local company’s human resources manager, or an organization’s vice president, or a career coach—all can offer job-search tips from their perspective. Have them touch on what impresses them, what to avoid saying, and hiring mistakes they commonly see.

3  Do a “speed-round” interview session.

This activity gets everyone involved. Arrange chairs in pairs of two, so club members are facing each other when they sit. One will ask a general interview question, and the other will answer. Then they’ll switch. Each respondent speaks for five minutes.

After 10 minutes, all the members seated on one side move to the next chair, while the other side stays put—creating a new pairing and new opportunity to practice.

4  Evaluate "job seekers."

Ask a few members to give short speeches imitating a job seeker speaking to a potential employer. (It’s a monologue rather than a two-way conversation.) As part of the activity, the speakers deliberately do things both effective and non-effective for presenting oneself for a job—a kind of professional pitch session. Each speech evaluator can point out what these things are, helping everyone learn some tips.

5  Support fellow seekers.

Form a group for members currently looking for a job to support each other. They can meet for coffee, provide tips, and offer support during a process that can have many ups and downs.

6  Practice interviewing online.

Today, job interviews often take place online as well as in person, so it’s important to be comfortable with both formats. If your club is hybrid, give speeches and take on meeting roles online in addition to in person to increase your confidence speaking to a camera and an audience.

7  Hold an open house.

Present an open house aimed at job seekers. Your event’s prepared speech can be given by someone who has successfully leveraged their Toastmasters skills to land a new job or promotion. Or go the other way: A member who hired someone based on their communication skills delivers the speech. The meeting’s Table Topics can be interview questions. Leave time at the end for networking!

And remember: Toastmasters International has templates for fliers you can use to advertise the event in your community and online. 

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