Using Interpersonal Skills in a Job Search

Interpersonal Skills

Of all the different skills that can help you in a work environment, interpersonal skills are some of the most important. Not only can interpersonal skills help you maintain working relationships within your job, but they can also help you with general people skills, which can allow you to do better work overall. No matter what job you’re working, interpersonal skills are a must-have. Here’s what you need to know about using and improving interpersonal skills for yourself.

How Interpersonal Skills Help You in a Job Hunt

Interpersonal skills are some of the most important soft skills that you can use in your job search. This is because strong interpersonal skills relate directly to your ability to talk to other people, which is important in any job. Especially when it comes to retail jobs, good communication is a must-have. The importance of interpersonal skills cannot be overstated when you’re in a job field where you regularly have to interact with customers.

On top of that, even if you don’t work in a customer-facing job, you still need interpersonal skills in order to be a team player. Sure, you might be able to do good work on your own, but what about when you need to work with four or five other people to complete a project? Your personal problem-solving skills won’t be enough here. You need to be able to work with your team members as well. If you want to do good work, you need to develop your interpersonal skills.

The Top Interpersonal Skills That Employers Want in a Candidate

Recruiters are often looking for very specific personality traits and skill sets that showcase your work ethic and ability to work with other people. Here are a few examples of interpersonal skills that a hiring manager might want to see from you:

• Effective communication skills
• Emotional intelligence
• Active listening skills
• Conflict resolution
• Nonverbal communication
• Leadership skills
• Management skills
• Self-confidence and self-awareness
• Dependability
• General social skills
• Teamwork

These are all interpersonal skills, but they may require different skill sets. For example, public speaking requires different skills than if you’re handling conflict management in a complaints department. Body language and eye contact may be more important if you’re talking to people face-to-face than if you’re working in a call center. You need to focus on and feature interpersonal communication skills that are relevant to the specific job that you’re applying to.