LEADING a club toward finals, booting match-winning goals, and inspiring the hearts and minds of young women.
Bonnie Toogood and Lily Mithen have kicked critical goals on the field, now the AFLW sharpshooters are out to support all athletes in kicking goals off the field.
The premiership-winning pair are co-hosts of Workplay: Beyond the Game, a vodcast series that looks at what it takes for athletes to succeed in their careers outside of their sporting endeavours.
Co-captain Toogood led Essendon into a maiden AFLW finals campaign, and now wants to guide athletes with tips on transferable skills that can be carried into their careers away from football.
“Being prepared is the real key point,” Toogood said on Workplay: Beyond the Game.
“Like what we do on the football field, we go in knowing what the opposition could potentially do and we've got a plan in place.”
Toogood and Mithen are joined by Brontë Enright, strategic talent programs manager at John Holland, on the first episode of the Workplay: Beyond the Game vodcast that also looks into building a resume and professional profile, and impressing in job interviews.
Identify transferable skills
“The transferable skills are actually endless,” Enright said.
“The big ones for me, that I think have really come from that athletic background, are the communication, the teamwork, the leadership, the resilience, the ability to change, be dynamic, take on feedback.
“But I think the thing that I find is really common across all of the girls is this drive and determination.”
Mithen has played in every AFLW season so far, and famously held her nerve to boot a last-minute goal against GWS that snatched a three-point victory for Melbourne in their first-ever final in 2020.
But the lively midfielder was unsure how to mention sporting achievements like that on a resume and professional profile, or in a job interview.
Enright was quick to point out that hiring managers want to know more about athletes’ sporting careers and successes.
“A big thing that we're doing at the moment in talent globally is shifting away from just your core kind of technical skills and qualifications, and we're looking at soft skills,” Enright said.
Impress with your profile and in interviews
When building a resume and professional profile you should treat it as a “factual document” the sets out your skills, experience and qualifications, according to Enright.
As well as being the Bombers’ AFLW co-captain and co-host of Workplay: Beyond the Game, Toogood would also highlight her role as women's pathways coordinator at Essendon Football Club.
Career goals, motivations and passions should be set out in professional profiles rather than on a resume, whether on Workplay or other popular platforms like LinkedIn.
Workplay is a careers and networking platform that provides a community for female athletes to connect with like-minded organisations and global industry leaders that support their off-field careers.
Mithen is currently relationships and community manager at VOLI, a role where first impressions and communication are a key to success just as they would be in a job interview.
“Everyone gets nervous in interviews, but I think the girls have probably dealt with much more high-pressure situations on the field,” Enright said.
“The thing for me is preparation. When you're going to an interview you need to prepare.
“But I think, like anything, you can train for an interview.”
AFLW stars Bonnie Toogood and Lily Mithen, and Brontë Enright from John Holland, have more advice on how to kick goals off the field, on the first episode of Workplay: Beyond the Game.
Episode 1 of Workplay: Beyond the Game is out now. Watch here or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
To learn more about Workplay visit www.workplay.com.au.
