When it comes to job application, it isn’t just your academic accolades or work achievements that matter, it is also the number of soft skills that you possess and can apply to your work that matter. Interpersonal skills are a significant part of your soft skill set and can distinguish you from your competitors.
Interpersonal skills are soft skills which help you interact with others in the work environment. They might include how you work with senior leadership, co-workers or those who you lead in the team. They might also cover how you engage with customers such as how you can deliver excellent customer service, respond to complaints and deal with conflict.
These soft skills, unlike many academic or technical skills, can be challenging to demonstrate because they don’t have certifications. It is only through examples on your resume and applications that you can provide evidence for their possession.
However, many different types of interpersonal skills can be covered, which include:
Active Listening: The skill of listening to someone else in a conversation to gather information and engage them with purpose. Active listeners avoid conversational distractions, such as mobiles, laptops, others in the room, and more. They are also good at asking questions, answering questions when prompted, and more.
Dependability: Those with dependability can be relied upon in a given situation. It could be anything from time keeping to completing tasks. Dependability is a skill required at all levels of the organisation and is critical to success to both teamwork and customer service.
Empathy: Your emotional intelligence, or empathy, is about how you understand the needs and feelings of those you’re interacting with. Those with higher levels of compassion and empathy can often create a more positive and high-functional work environment, supporting others to achieve goals and resolve conflicts without drama.
Decision Making: Being able to look at a scenario and then determine whether a course of action is critical for most positions in the public and private sectors. It isn’t just about making the correct decision, and not all decisions will be right, but it is about the time it takes to come up with a decision and the logic behind those decisions that can be important.
Leadership: Leadership is one of the most important interpersonal skills when you’re looking for a promotion. Leadership is generally specified as the ability to convey an idea, ascertain who is going to do what and then getting people to follow through on those tasks. But other aspects of leadership can include helping others to develop and resolving differences between team members.
Teamwork: Being able to demonstrate that you can work with a diverse set of people can be critical to success. Most work involves some sort of teamwork and demonstrating how you’ve participated in projects with others for a successful conclusion can prove a positive attitude.
Flexibility: Being able to compromise in some circumstances is a good skill to have. But there has to be a balance here. Sometimes being too compromising can harm the organisation, so you need to show how you can set boundaries as well.
Motivation: You need to show some desire to achieve goals. Goal setting, hard work and commitment to the results can demonstrate motivation. As can your verbal and body language.
Interpersonal skills go beyond technical expertise, demonstrating your ability to collaborate effectively and navigate workplace dynamics. They are essential for achieving professional goals and excelling in almost any role, as they enable you to understand the needs of colleagues, adapt your workflow accordingly, and deliver results within the given context.
Even if much of your work is independent, the success of a team is often interdependent. If the team’s objectives are not met, it can reflect poorly on everyone, including you. However, by actively supporting your colleagues, you contribute to the team’s overall success, strengthening your department’s performance and enhancing your value to the organisation.
Moreover, strong interpersonal skills improve your ability to engage with customers and stakeholders. By identifying underlying issues and applying a more empathetic approach, you can develop more effective solutions, ultimately saving time and resources—advantages that may be overlooked by those with weaker interpersonal abilities.
Many people assume that interpersonal skills cannot be effectively showcased in a resume, but this is far from true. There are several sections within a resume where you can integrate examples of your interpersonal skills, helping to strengthen your application and demonstrate your ability to collaborate, communicate, and problem-solve effectively.
Below are key ways to incorporate interpersonal skills into your resume:
Your personal statement or opening summary is the ideal place to highlight your interpersonal skills. Many candidates make the mistake of simply listing these skills in a generic manner, but providing concrete examples with measurable results can set you apart.
For example, rather than stating that you have ‘strong empathy and active listening skills,’ you could say:
“Demonstrated strong empathy and active listening skills when supporting customers, leading to a 95% satisfaction score in post-service surveys.”
Alternatively, if teamwork and motivation are key strengths, you might say:
“Highly motivated team player who successfully led a project to completion ahead of schedule, receiving commendation from senior management for efficiency and collaboration.”
As this is one of the first sections hiring managers will review, incorporating specific evidence of how your interpersonal skills have had an impact can make a powerful impression.
The work experience section provides another opportunity to showcase interpersonal skills in action. Rather than vaguely mentioning teamwork or leadership, use specific examples to illustrate how you applied these skills in professional settings.
For example, instead of stating:
“Worked in a customer service role and handled complaints.”
You could say:
“Led a customer service team in resolving complaints 30% faster by introducing a structured feedback system, improving customer retention rates.”
Similarly, if collaboration is a key strength, you might include:
“Provided critical support to colleagues by managing overflow casework, reducing team backlog by 20% and improving overall efficiency.”
Since space is limited in this section, keep examples concise while ensuring they highlight real contributions.
The skills section is often underutilised, with many candidates simply listing interpersonal skills without context. Instead of a basic list, add brief explanations demonstrating how you have applied each skill effectively.
For instance, rather than writing:
You could refine it as follows:
Adding context makes your skills more meaningful and demonstrates their real-world impact.
Interpersonal skills are a vital component of any job application, and incorporating them effectively into your resume can significantly enhance your chances of securing an interview. While some candidates find it challenging to highlight these skills in a structured way, using specific examples within key sections—such as the opening statement, work history, and skills section—can make your application stand out.
By providing evidence of how you have successfully applied interpersonal skills in past roles, you demonstrate your ability to contribute positively to a workplace, making you a more compelling candidate for the role.
