Human resources managers in every firm seek for candidates with rich industry experience and inter-personal skills for various job opportunities, says Avinash Bharwani
The inter-personal skills are powerful weapons that an individual needs to possess in order to have a good conversation with individuals in your organisation. To be more successful in both their professional and personal lives, the need of the hour is to understand the key areas of interpersonal communication ie verbal communication, non-verbal communication, listening skills, negotiation, problem-solving, decision-making and assertiveness.
Human resource managers in every firm seek for candidates with rich industry experience and communication skills for various job opportunities. Though experience adds value in the technical knowledge of a particular industry, what matters most to interviewers is exposure of the candidate. This exposure leads to expansion of a network of knowledgeable people and ability of the candidate to spread the word about company in the market.
One needs to know that actions speak louder than words and should ensure that he or she successfully exemplifies any character that they claim to have once they’re actually interacting with the interviewer. For example, if one is in sales or marketing job, then you might require excellent communication skills, developing relationship and influence. Additionally, a human resources position might be better-suited for an individual with strong problem-solving skills, an ability to inspire trust, motivational skills and meditation skills.
Along with educational qualifications, interpersonal skills enhance importance to a candidate’s profile:
Active listening: One should not only have only good communication skills but also have active listening. This is the process by which an individual secures information from another individual while being in a group. This ‘lively’ part involves taking steps to fetch out data that might not otherwise be shared.
Communication skills: Effective communication skills lead one to achieve success in life, work and relationships. Without effective communication, a message can turn into error, misleading, misunderstanding or can also be a disaster if being misinterpreted poorly. Communication skills not only comprises of written as well as non-verbal. This non-verbal includes vocal tone, eye contact patterns, body language, and more. Nonverbal communication often carries more information than speech and has a much greater impact on rapport and trust.
Friendliness: Simple friendliness, politeness and respect go a long way with your colleagues in the organisation as it helps to create rapport, better understanding and improve communication.
Interacting and decision: Interacting with employees in the office belonging from various roles, industry, fields etc will make a person aware of different ways a decision touches the overall work of the firm. This makes you learn how effectively to make a decision from others’ experience.
leadership qualities: Anyone who is proactive in performing important tasks is valued by the company. This quality is directly linked to interpersonal skills of an individual performing very important role in developing leadership expertise as they need to anticipate the upcoming tasks and communicate and handle their teams to confront the situation.
Rectifying issues: Communicating with other employees helps not only in developing communication skills but also changes the thought process while brainstorming. This makes an individual capable to know the barriers and find different solutions faster and in an easier manner.
Motivational skills: This skill in the working environment can be defined as actions that will provoke a desired behaviour or response by a stakeholder. Recruiters in companies are always searching for motivators when they are recruiting employees. One should adopt a motivational strategy for appropriate targets. Such skills are valuable for employees as well as the firms especially while interfacing with customers, subordinates, top management, suppliers, donors, team members, funding sources and bosses.
Organisation manners: After years of work in a company, an individual absorbs better mannerisms, behaviour, communication patterns; standard practices etc which naturally inculcate confidence and help him in maintaining office decorum. Such individuals are valued by the companies as they understand that their employees are representing their organisation after all.
Social skills: Social skills are important soft skills that one should possess, these are personal qualities related to interacting with others. Almost every job requires social skills. If a person is working with a team, he needs to be able to get along with others. Similarly, if you are working with clients then you need to listen to their questions and concerns and respond to them appropriately. You need to motivate employees if you are the helm of organisations.
These are the important areas that we can look at but if we just focus on these points now, it will permit you to enhance your interpersonal skills.
The writer is VP-new business, Jetking.