Employability
or ‘soft skills' are the foundation of your career building blocks and
they are frequently referenced in the media as lacking in school-leavers,
graduates and those already in employment. You can appreciate the reason
why organisations spend a lot of time and money training staff, not in job
specific areas but in general and basic skills.
Suffice it to say however, that in such times of high unemployment,
employers have more choice of applicants and will favor those with well-rounded
employability skills.
We started out by talking about the importance of these skills and also
listing out some of them. The aim of the following series of posts is to beam
light on these employability skills, one after the other, as listed in the
immediate previous post.
Interpersonal Skills
We don't live in a vacuum or work in
isolation. Even in this high-paced technical world, we are always communicating
in some way. Since so many of our waking hours are spent working, a great deal
of our lives are spent interacting with co-workers, clients and
customers. The ability to use effective interpersonal skills helps you
build not just better relationships with others, but makes working with them
more enjoyable.
Interpersonal skills are vital when seeking employment and may be the
single most important factor for many recruiters.
It was Beatrice Vincent who said ”the people with whom you work
reflect your own attitude. If
you are suspicious, unfriendly and condescending, you will find these unlovely
traits echoed all about you. But if you are on your best behavior,
you will bring out the best in the persons with whom you are going to spend
most of your working hours.”
Please understand that for the most part in life, what you get from people is a product of who you really are. Interpersonal skills are the skills we use to interact with other people. Good interpersonal skills allow you to participate effectively as a member of a team, satisfy customers and clients' expectations, negotiate, make decisions, manage your time efficiently, take responsibility, and work effectively with other employees. Well-honed interpersonal skills allow us to empathise and build rapport with colleagues and clients, leading to a better working environment which can be less stressful.
George B Yancey told a story where he said, “Jasmine
works in the Elementary Education Advising Center at a state university. Part
of her duties are to help enroll undergraduates for the next semester. One
undergraduate was having a bad day and took her frustration out on Jasmine.
Although she was being verbally attacked, Jasmine maintained a friendly
demeanor, a helpful attitude, and a willingness to listen to the student's
needs. This calmed the student, and Jasmine was able to reassure her that
everything would work out. Subsequently, not only did that student make it a
point to be pleasant to Jasmine in the future, but Jasmine's supervisor noted
her excellent interpersonal and advising skills and passed on her positive
impressions of Jasmine to others in the department. Sometimes the angry
customer can serve as an opportunity, if you have the skills to take advantage
of that opportunity.”Please understand that for the most part in life, what you get from people is a product of who you really are. Interpersonal skills are the skills we use to interact with other people. Good interpersonal skills allow you to participate effectively as a member of a team, satisfy customers and clients' expectations, negotiate, make decisions, manage your time efficiently, take responsibility, and work effectively with other employees. Well-honed interpersonal skills allow us to empathise and build rapport with colleagues and clients, leading to a better working environment which can be less stressful.
Jefferey Kluger projects it in
another light thus: “We are all born with an innate understanding of
interpersonal equity - the idea that if you lend me your rake today, I'll
respond in kind when you come to borrow my shovel tomorrow. Or nearly all of us
are born with that. Psychopaths aren't.”
