There are different types and levels of intelligence. Emotional intelligence is often referred to as advanced common sense, and of course common sense is extremely useful when it comes to advancing in a career. The question that many people have is whether it really does help with their chosen career; and if so, by how much?
What Exactly Is Emotional Intelligence
As it’s described as advanced common sense, it’s worth considering what common sense is. You may know someone who is extremely intelligent, but makes some of the ridiculous mistakes in their everyday life. They just don’t have the common sense to deal with everyday activities, despite their college degrees and doctorates.
Common sense helps people make good decisions, whether it’s in stressful situations or normal everyday decisions. It can also help with adapting to situations when the pressure is on. So, having emotional intelligence means they can deal with all of that at a higher level.
One element of emotional intelligence is the ability to relate to others. There’s an element of empathy in job roles, and some studies have shown that 27-45 % of job success comes from this ability to relate to other people. It suggests that having a higher emotional intelligence can really help you improve in your career.
Employers Need to See Your People Skills
You may have seen in job vacancy advertisements that employers want to see that you have people skills as well as technical skills. While potential employees focus on their technical skills to show that they can do the physical parts of the jobs, they fail to cover their people skills. Yes, this is a soft skill to have, but it’s still highly competitive, and it doesn’t matter which career you want to get in to.
Having great people skills will mean that you can diffuse awkward situations and discuss matters with customers/clients/patients. For example, a nurse will find that the bedside manner is much easier to bring out, while a retail shop assistant will find handling a return or complaint much easier.
By showing these people skills, employers will feel like you will be a good poster-person for their business. You paint the company in a good light, and that means the employer wants you there and is willing to give you a promotion later.
How Can You Show Your Emotional Intelligence
It can be difficult to show that you have a high emotional intelligence, but there are a few options available. Employers will mostly want to know that you can handle complaints, negative situations and difficult customers/clients/patients. Show examples of when you have done this in the past, or how you’ve handle these situations in other areas of your life. They may not be the exact situations the employers have asked, but they show you can deal with them. An employer may have meant handling angry customers, but if you’ve dealt with disabled customers and diffused situations when they get irate and frustrated.
You also want to show that you don’t react to a situation in the way that would make the company/business look bad. Employers want to see that you can handle situations and help bring them back under control—and it’s not always with the customers! Technology can stop working or you may have a lot of people calling in sick, meaning you have to handle extra work that day. Instead of getting angry about it, employers want to see that you will get on with your role and pick up the slack.
Emotional intelligence is extremely important, no matter what career you want to go into. It’s all about handling the situations when they don’t quite go to plan—and be honest, it happens on a daily basis! Some days can be worse than others. By showing that you have great emotional intelligence, you show that you’re a safe bet for employers and they’re more likely to look favorably on you in the future.
