Interpersonal skills are some of the most important skills to have as an employee. What do you need to know about featuring these skills in your resume?
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.
Discussing and Applying Your Interpersonal Skills
So, how do you talk about and apply good interpersonal skills? When you’re angling for a job interview, you need to not only have these skills, but also have the ability to talk about them effectively.
First and foremost, you should sprinkle your interpersonal skills throughout your resume and cover letter. It’s not enough to list them in the skills section and then completely forget about them. If you really have the skills necessary to put yourself above and beyond other job seekers, showcase them all throughout your resume and cover letter, and show how you’ve used them in previous jobs.
Additionally, don’t just state “interpersonal skills” and leave it at that. In the previous list there are a wide variety of different interpersonal skills. Are you better at conflict resolution or management skills? Do you prefer to lean on your active listening skills or your emotional intelligence? Be precise. These are all important interpersonal skills, but referring to a specific skill is much better than just referring to “interpersonal skills” overall.
Lastly, mix these skills in with technical skills and hard skills. Interpersonal skills are soft skills, which means that they’re generally transferable and help you understand how to interact with the world and other people. Although soft skills are great, you can’t only list soft skills on your resume. Your job application also needs to show that you know how to do your job duties. Stay on the lookout for specific skills in the job description that you can use as “keywords” in your own resume, and address what the hiring manager is looking for.
FAQ: Interpersonal Skills
What interpersonal skills are needed in the widest variety of jobs?
General interpersonal skills are important in a number of jobs. However, your best way to determine which interpersonal skills are most important in your industry is to look at resume examples. These examples can help you get more information and advice regarding skills you should incorporate from your personal backlog. Anything from a positive attitude to precise knowledge regarding conflict resolution could be important in your industry.
How do I make my interpersonal skills stand out on my resume?
Don’t just state your skills; show how you use them. Specific examples can energize your skills. Instead of writing “Good at interpersonal skills” on your resume, you can say “Interacted with over 1,000 customers per day with a 99.8% satisfaction rate.” This shows what your interpersonal skills can do for a company, rather than just assuring the hiring manager that you’re good at interpersonal skills.
How can I improve my interpersonal skills?
One of the best things you can do to improve your interpersonal skills is actively seek out classes, books, and other tutorials that can help you improve. Whether you take a course built around helping you add to your interpersonal skills or you’re just reading articles about better ways to do active listening, these are all methods of helping you improve a skill that’s essential to your success in the business world.
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