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The need for strong social and interpersonal skills has dramatically
increased with the Covid-19 pandemic and the evolving workforce. In
one McKinsey Global survey, the number of companies reskilling their
employees in empathy and interpersonal skills doubled in 2020.
Meanwhile, a report by Deloitte Access Economics says that by 2030, two-
thirds of all jobs will be soft-skill intensive. So developing strong
interpersonal skills is key.
In this article, we will cover what interpersonal skills are, why they are
critical for your career, how you can showcase them on your resume and
during your interview, and how you can develop them as part of your
career toolkit.
Jobscan knows exactly what interpersonal skills hiring managers are
searching for. Scan your resume now to increase your chances of getting
a job interview.

Table of Contents
 What interpersonal skills are
 Interpersonal skills examples in the workplace
 Importance of interpersonal skills
 How to identify interpersonal skills
 Interpersonal skills to include on your resume
 How to highlight interpersonal skills on a resume
 How to highlight interpersonal skills in a job interview
 Ways to develop interpersonal skills
 Key Takeaways
 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are interpersonal skills?

Interpersonal skills (also called employability skills, social skills, people
skills, or soft skills) are what you use to understand, communicate,
interact, and relate with other people. These encompass a broad array of
verbal and nonverbal skills like collaboration, negotiation, teamwork, and
problem-solving.
Your interpersonal skills will differentiate you from someone who only has
technical skills. The stronger your people skills, the more you become an
asset to your company or organization.

Examples of interpersonal skills in the

workplace

Interpersonal skills come in many shapes and sizes, to the point that you
probably don’t even realize that you’re using them. Here are a few people
skills and how you use them in the workplace:

 Demonstrating empathy towards others

This means that you consider other people’s feelings and emotions and
deal with them with respect, knowing what it feels like to be in their
shoes.

 Pitching an idea or solution to your boss

This is when you share an idea or a solution with your boss or colleagues
and make sure that the message you are trying to convey is clear,
concise, and simple.

 Asking questions
This includes thinking of the right questions, articulating what you want to
ask, and communicating this effectively with your boss, peers, or
colleagues.

 Offering help and support to others

This includes taking on a little extra work to help a struggling coworker,
offering to make copies for someone to help them out, or even just
offering to throw away your coworker’s empty coffee cup while you’re up.

 Seeking feedback from others to improve your

performance
This could be taking notes during a performance review or asking
someone to look over your reports and tell you which parts to edit.

 Accepting constructive criticism gracefully

This includes not taking criticism from your boss or other coworkers
personally. If you have ever taken criticism during a performance review
without complaint and made adjustments to how you work, you have
exercised this skill!

Why are interpersonal skills important in the

workplace?

Employers want to onboard the best talents who can bring the company
to the next level. To make this happen, employers need employees who
have strong people skills who can lead teams well, empathize with
customers, and build strong relationships and trust within the team.
Here are six reasons why having strong interpersonal skills is important:

1. It gets you the job.

No matter how qualified you are, if you cannot work well with others, the
entire work environment will suffer, and employers don’t want this. That’s
why recruiters and employers consider not only your technical expertise
and hard skills but your social skills as well when searching for
candidates.
2. It builds trust.
In the workplace, you will meet and interact with many people from
different backgrounds – your boss, supervisor, colleagues, customers,
friends, and even strangers. With solid people skills, you can create a safe
environment, build trust easily, and maintain strong and lasting
relationships at all levels of the organization.

3. It increases employee morale.

People who have strong people skills are easy to get along with. They also
know how to ease tension and resolve conflicts. This helps create a more
positive work environment that increases the team’s overall output,
productivity, and morale.
 4. It drives collaboration.
Social skills help you work with other people even when they don’t always
agree with you. Strong social skills help you understand others and adjust
to how you deal and communicate with them.

5. It increases motivation.
People skills help you bring out the best in others. These skills help you
create a unified team and bring direction to those under your leadership.

6. It opens up more career opportunities.

Because you are able to work well with others and navigate through
different circumstances, it is highly likely that you will assume
more leadership roles, move up the ladder, and get promotions since you
add incredible value to the company.
How to identify interpersonal skills

If you’re not sure if you have good interpersonal skills, here’s what you
can do to assess your abilities:

Think about how you interact with other people in your personal
life.
 Do you find it easy to communicate with others and build
relationships?

 Are you a good listener?

 Do people warm up easily to you?

 Can you empathize with other people?

 Do you find it easy to encourage and motivate others?

Think about how you react in difficult situations.

 Are you able to stay calm during conflicts?

 Do you handle feedback and criticism well?

 Are you able to resolve conflicts and disagreements?

Identifying your interpersonal skills starts with self-awareness. Taking

time to think about the questions above will give you a good head start in
assessing your interpersonal skills and seeing how you can improve.

5 interpersonal skills to include on your

resume

Your interpersonal skills can either make you or break you during your job
application. Here are some important interpersonal skills you can include
on your resume.

1. Communication
This is your ability to communicate clearly, in both verbal and written
form. This includes active listening, being able to give and receive
feedback, and being able to understand nonverbal cues. You might use
this skill when presenting to a group, leading a meeting, or writing an
email.

2. Collaboration

This pertains to how well you work with others in a team. This includes
being able to compromise, being able to take on different roles within a
team, and being able to manage conflict.

3. Problem-solving

This is your ability to identify and solve problems. This includes being able
to think creatively, being analytical, and being resourceful. You use this
skill when trying to find a solution to a difficult problem or when trying to
come up with a new idea. While problem-solving can be done alone, it
frequently involves other people.
4. Conflict resolution

This is your ability to resolve conflicts without making them worse. This
includes being able to stay calm, empathizing with others, and finding a
solution. You use this skill when mediating a disagreement between two
people or when finding win-win situations.

5. Emotional intelligence

This is your ability to understand and manage your own emotions and the
emotions of others. This includes being self-aware, being able to regulate
your emotions, and being able to empathize with others. You use this skill
when trying to calm down after a stressful situation or when trying to
understand why someone is feeling upset.

How to highlight interpersonal skills on a

resume

Knowing what interpersonal skills are and how to use them in the
workplace is great, but you also need to know how to highlight them on
your resume. Here are some tips on how to do just that.

1. Mention projects or results that required interpersonal

skills

If you have examples of times when you’ve used interpersonal skills in the
workplace to achieve something, mention them on your resume.

This could be anything from leading a team to completing a project to

resolving conflict between coworkers. Maybe you’re known for being
especially good at giving constructive feedback, or perhaps you’re always
the one people come to when they need help with something.

Whatever the case, mention instances where you achieved something

using interpersonal skills.

For more examples of accomplishments to include on your resume, check

out our article here!

2. Mention volunteer experience, hobbies, or side projects

that showcase interpersonal skills

If you don’t have much (or any) professional experience, that’s okay –
there are plenty of other ways to showcase your interpersonal skills.
Any volunteer work or hobbies that you participated in can be great
examples.
For instance, if you’re a sports team member, you’ve likely had to work
closely with other people to achieve a common goal. Or if you’re involved
in any creative endeavor such as painting, writing, theater, or filmmaking,
you probably had to collaborate with others from time to time.

These are all examples of how you’ve used people skills outside of the
workplace, and they can be just as impressive to employers.

3. Use keywords from the job description

When applying for a job, it’s essential to tailor your resume to each
position. One way to do this is to include relevant keywords from the job
listing on your resume.
If the listing mentions anything about teamwork, customer service,
or communication, include those exact keywords on your resume.
This shows employers, hiring managers, and recruiters that you have the
interpersonal skills they’re looking for. This also helps your resume get
past the Applicant Tracking System, or ATS, which filters out resumes
before they even hit the hiring manager’s desk.

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4 steps to highlight interpersonal skills in a
job interview

Once you’ve made it past the initial application stage and secured a job
interview, it’s time to demonstrate your soft skills in person. This can be
difficult and intimidating, but don’t worry – here are some tips to help you
turn your words into action.

1. Use specific examples

When the interviewer asks about a time when you used teamwork or
overcame a difficult issue, have a ready answer with a detailed example.

This shows that you not only have experience in the relevant area but that
you can also communicate effectively about your work.

Think back to a time when you dealt with an irate customer or a coworker
who was having a bad day. How did you handle the situation? What was
the result? Or perhaps you had to take on extra work when a team
member was out sick; how did you manage your time, and what did you
learn from the experience?

Be prepared with a story that backs up the claims you have on your
resume.

2. Use those skills in the interview itself

An interview is a great avenue for you to showcase your interpersonal

skills in real time. This is your chance to show that you can think on your
feet and stay calm under pressure – two very important interpersonal
skills.
Make sure you use open body language and don’t forget to smile. You got
this!

3. Make connections to responsibilities included in the new

job

When asked about your previous experiences, make a connection to the

responsibilities included in the new position. This attention to detail shows
that you understand exactly how your skills can be applied in the new
role. It will also give you an opportunity to talk about any additional skills
or knowledge that you may have.

For example, if you’re applying for a job that involves managing a team,
you could talk about a time when you had to deal with conflict within a
group. Maybe you had to mediate between two employees who were
disagreeing, or maybe you led a team through a challenging project.

Be sure to include as many specific examples as possible to show that

you’re the best person for the job.

4. Give examples that helped you develop interpersonal

skills

Give concrete examples of moments that helped you develop your social
skills.

If you had a customer service job where you had to deal with difficult
clients, or you volunteered for an organization where you worked closely
with others, these are the instances you’ll want to recall.

Whatever the experience, talk about what you learned from it and how it
will help you in the new role.
For more tips on how to ace your interview, check out our article here!

How to develop interpersonal skills

First things first. As with any other skill, interpersonal skills can be learned
and developed. Here are some ways you can work on building these
skills:

 Join or volunteer for a club, group, or team. This will help

you learn how to cooperate and communicate effectively to
achieve a common goal.
 Take some classes! Whether it’s through your local community
college or online courses, learning in a structured environment
helps you build your people skills.
 Get a job in customer service. This is a great way to learn how
to deal with different types of people daily and how to manage
challenging situations.
 Practice active listening. This involves paying attention to
what the other person is saying and trying to understand their
perspective. This is a crucial skill for effective communication.
Developing strong interpersonal skills can take time and effort, but it’s
worth it. These skills are essential for your success – not just in the
workplace but in every part of your life.

Key Takeaways

To recap, here are a few pointers on interpersonal skills:

 We use people skills when we interact and communicate with

others.

 Self-awareness is the first step toward understanding your

interpersonal skills.
  Building strong interpersonal skills and other soft skills opens up
career opportunities that will catapult you into greater
professional success.

 Although some people are more naturally-gifted with

interpersonal skills than others, developing these skills is
possible. It requires patience and deliberate practice.

Companies are not just hiring people just to fill positions. They are also
slowly building up a pipeline of people who will assume leadership roles
and bring the company to the next level.

This means only those who have strong technical skills and interpersonal
skills are afforded leadership opportunities and promotions. That’s why
developing interpersonal skills is critical for your career success.

Be sure to include these key skills on your resume and cover letter. And
make sure your resume gets to the hands of a real recruiter by optimizing
it for applicant tracking systems.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are interpersonal skills?
Interpersonal skills are the skills we use to interact and relate with other
people. They involve communication, relationship building, and
collaboration, among others.

What are good examples of interpersonal skills?

Here are some examples of interpersonal skills or social skills:
  Active listening

 Being able to understand and empathize with others

 Managing conflict

 Building lasting relationships

 Teamwork

 Motivating others

 Leadership

 Negotiation and persuasion

What does interpersonal skills mean?

Interpersonal skills is the term used to refer to the skills we use to interact
with other people. They include things like how you handle conflict, build
relationships, and work in a team.

Workplace interpersonal skills include which of the following?

Interpersonal skills can include:

 Active listening

 Communication

 Conflict resolution

 Relationship building

 Leadership

 Negotiation

These are only a few examples, as interpersonal skills are anything you
use when interacting with others!

What are the benefits of good interpersonal skills?

Having good people skills can help you:
  Understand others and adjust your approach.

 Articulate project ideas and share solutions with colleagues.

 Deal with arguments and conflicts.

 Motivate your team.

 Empathize with customers and deliver excellent service.

 Do product presentations well.

 Negotiate and persuade.

 Better manage stress and uncertainties.

 Be more productive.

 Move up the leadership ladder.

How do you improve interpersonal skills?

We all have some interpersonal skills in varying degrees, but some people
are naturally better at them. If you struggle to connect with co-workers or
advance in your career, there are steps you can take to improve your
skills.

1. Communicate. Intentionally converse with others and

understand how you speak and share your message. Practice
expressing yourself clearly and deliberately practice being an
active listener.
2. Be confident. We are all a work in progress. Be confident that
you, too, can grow in your people skills.
3. Be open-minded. Learn from other people and be open to
understanding viewpoints especially when they contradict yours.
4. Be patient. With yourself and with others. Interacting with
others can be challenging, so be sure to take a step back if you
feel frustrated.
How do you assess your interpersonal skills?

It all begins with self-awareness. Pay close attention to how you behave
around other people and how you interact with them. Observe how people
react to whatever you say and do.

You can also straight up ask others what they think about how you
interact with them. Doing this will help you understand your interpersonal
behavior and improve on certain behaviors accordingly.

How do you include interpersonal skills on your resume?

Including interpersonal skills on your resume can increase your chances of

getting the job. Here’s how you do it.

1. Determine what interpersonal skills the employer is looking for

based on the job description.

2. Elaborate on these skills in your resume. Explain how you’ve used

these skills in your past work experiences.

3. Make sure your examples are specific and measurable.

4. Take note of relevant skills and keywords found in the job

description and include them in the skills section of your resume.
5. Incorporate these skills into your resume summary.

How do you highlight interpersonal skills in your cover

letter?

You can showcase your interpersonal skills in your cover letter. Here’s
how.
1. Determine three or four people skills mentioned in the job
description.

2. Recall specific stories from your past experience where you used
those skills and mention what you achieved by using them.
3. Relate your examples to the job you are interested in.

4. Explain how your people skills will help in the new role you are
applying for.