The way that employers choose their staff is changing. Qualifications used to be key, as long as you had the right skills on paper, you stood a good chance of getting the job. But since university attendance has increased so much and degrees aren’t as valuable as they used to be, employers have started to change the way they interview.

They’ve realized that it takes more than just knowledge to excel in a job, you need to be a well-rounded person with a set of skills outside of that qualification. One of the main things they’re looking for is interpersonal skills because they are so valuable in the workplace.

Lots of people think that interpersonal skills are something that you either have or don’t have. You’re either good with people, or you’re not. But that’s not the case, like most things, you can learn it. Trying to make an effort to forge business communications while you’re at work is one way to improve your skills but you can always take courses with people like Activia Training.

They can help you to express yourself better in a business environment and make the most of any interactions you have in the workplace. Improving your interpersonal skills can make you a better employee in these ways.

Promotion Opportunities

When your boss is picking people from promotion they aren’t going to choose the person that they’ve hardly spoken two words to. If they’re putting you in a position of responsibility they need to know that you’re made of the right stuff.

They’ll probably get recommendations from their superiors as well. Maintaining a good relationship with your direct boss and any other high ranking staff members that you meet is an easy way to make sure that you’re always on their radar when they’re looking for people to promote.

Be More Relatable

Personality is the biggest trend in marketing at the moment. Companies are constantly taking to Twitter to communicate with customers and say, I’m just a normal guy like you, you can relate to me so buy my products. It’s a bit cheesy but it works. Being able to relate to people well and know what they’ll respond to will give you no end of help when you’re trying to make sales and market products.

Effective Leadership

If you want to be a good leader you need to be able to form a bond with your employees. That doesn’t mean that you should be best friends but a leader that is completely unapproachable is never going to be a good one. If people don’t feel like they can talk to you about things, they’ll keep problems to themselves and your workforce will be inefficient.

If an employee is having trouble in their personal life it will affect their work. A good boss will discuss it with them and come to some kind of compromise that works for both of you. You’ll never be able to do that if they don’t feel comfortable approaching you in the first place.

Interpersonal skills might seem like something you put at the bottom of your application but they’re more important than you think so always make sure you push them.  

This post has been contributed by Ryan Gatt, it may contain affiliate links.