The foundation of a great career is interpersonal skills. These skills embody your ability to get along with others, communicate effectively, and take constructive criticism. No matter if you work as a nurse in a skilled nursing facility or want to be an administrative assistant, you will need these vital soft skills to excel in your current job and advance your career. Before we jump into the benefits of interpersonal skills, let’s take a look at what these soft skills entail.
What Are Interpersonal Skills?
Interpersonal communication is the process of sharing ideas and emotions verbally and nonverbally with another person. It allows us to understand and interact with each other professionally and in our personal lives.
Interpersonal skills do not simply define how you speak to people but also how you make them feel, which is why they are often referred to as “people skills” or “social intelligence.” The ability to harbor empathetic feelings toward others is an important soft skill that many employers look for in a candidate. Other interpersonal skills include:
- Active listening
- Verbal communication
- Relationship management
- Building trust
- Receptiveness to feedback
How Could Interpersonal Skills Benefit You?
Whether you’re searching for jobs or want to earn a promotion, it’s important to work on your interpersonal skills. These skills will make you a much friendlier person to be around, and employers will jump at the chance to hire or promote someone so charismatic. Plus, when you understand how to interact with other people in your company, you’ll have a much more pleasant (and fun) experience working in your job.
Below are four benefits of strong interpersonal skills in the workplace and when job hunting:
Helps You Develop a Large Network
Networking involves building meaningful connections to gain insights, expanding industry acquaintances, and advancing your career. In order to maintain these connections, you will need to demonstrate consistency, a sense of empathy, and the ability to follow through — in other words, you need interpersonal skills! Attending industry-specific groups or meetings for a shared interest will allow you to observe how to communicate and behave with others and even test your own communications skills.
Improves Team Success
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of learning interpersonal skills is being able to relate to your team members and have their best interests at heart (as well as your own). When you communicate and work well with your colleagues, you will have a better chance of achieving common goals. When you’re a team player, you are better equipped to avoid conflict, improve productivity, and boost workplace morale.
Ensures You Can Resolve Conflict
In circumstances of disagreements or high stress, you must stay composed, listen actively, and understand all sides to de-escalate the situation. You can use your interpersonal skills to resolve issues that involve colleagues or other parties, making the work environment more pleasant for everyone.
Allows You to Demonstrate Relatability
The ability to interact with other people significantly enhances your chances of being viewed as approachable and allows colleagues to engage with you in a more meaningful way. Show that you can easily adapt to different people’s communication styles and energy levels by actively working on your interpersonal skills.
Practice Makes Perfect
Like with anything that you want to improve, practice and self-assessment are key. The best way to improve your interpersonal skills is to strike up a conversation with someone new. Take a moment to reflect on what went well and how you could have responded differently or used certain body language to support your point. You will only begin to feel comfortable using (and enjoying the benefits of) your interpersonal skills when you use them on a regular basis and constantly evaluate yourself. Before long, your emotional intelligence will be heightened, and you’ll be a pro at adjusting your tactics and communications based on the reactions of others.
How to Demonstrate Your Interpersonal Skills While Job Hunting
It can be challenging to demonstrate your technical ability to perform a job successfully during a job search, which is why interpersonal skills are so important. They allow you to communicate your expertise in an instant. In your cover letter, resumé, and job interview, you will want to include examples of when your interpersonal skills benefited you, such as when your team worked together to accomplish a goal or how you de-escalated a conflict between coworkers.
Most importantly, you will want to make a personal connection with the hiring manager. Your friendliness, enthusiasm, and empathy will pique their interest in your capabilities and make you stand out from the other candidates.
How to Show Your Strong Interpersonal Skills in the Workplace
Whether you’ve just landed the job or have been working in your current position for some time, you will want to actively demonstrate your interpersonal skills in the workplace. Once you do this on a consistent basis, your managers will see you in a new light, and you’ll be able to see more opportunities.
Demonstrating your interpersonal skills at work could involve helping team members solve problems, taking on tasks no one else is interested in, and remaining positive even when you’re assigned a task you don’t like. No matter what, make sure you act confident and foster positive relationships with your colleagues.
Put Your Interpersonal Skills to The Test at a Wesley Enhanced Living Community
Now is the best time to take your future into your own hands by choosing a company that makes you feel welcome from your first day. At Wesley Enhanced Living, we believe that making our residents happy starts with employing outstanding staff. And we don’t stop there! We are dedicated to empowering you in your professional growth, such as helping you realize the benefits of interpersonal skills.
If you strive for excellence in your daily life and career, then we’d like to talk with you, whether you’re interested in skilled nursing jobs, nursing home admissions jobs, or housekeeping and laundry jobs. Check out our open positions today!