What are interpersonal skills?

According to Wikipedia, interpersonal skills relate to a person’s “EQ” (Emotional Intelligence Quotient). This is the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterise our relationships with other people

In today’s job market, having technical skills is not enough. You need to go beyond the call of duty and show that you have what it takes to fit within the organisation’s culture.

Recruiters today have pre-screening tests available at their disposal, to weed out applicants before they even get to the interview stage. They use personality tests and assessments and gauge who will be a better fit between two applicants of similar qualifications and experience.

They rely on identifying interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills will give you a chance to differentiate from other job applicants as well as work mates and move up the ladder. These complement your technical skills, enhance your job performance and social interactions, and work hard to give you an edge over others. Unlike hard skills, these are interpersonal.