Leveraging Your Emotional Intelligence in Your Career TransitionFebruary 3, 2015

Author: Jane Ryan, MS, and PhD Candidate Psychology 2015

Have you ever wondered why some people are able to quickly build rapport with others and why some struggle with making a connection and strong first impression? Your career transition and emotional intelligence share something in common that can help address the differences in human behaviors and ones ability to quickly build rapport and connect in meaningful ways. The commonality is the need to know more about who we are and to know more about others so that one can quickly align themselves and create a clearer picture of who they are (self awareness) and whom they are talking to (awareness of others). For example, what I am passionate about and what gives me energy may be very different from the person I am networking or interviewing with. Therefore, how quickly I can align with whom I am speaking with can make a huge difference in how well I can make a positive first impression. Strengthening one’s emotional intelligence (EI) is a skill that can be leveraged during one’s career transitions and throughout life that will increase your odds of making a good first impression.

Without strong EI the odds of effectively communicating and making a strong first impression fade compared to someone who has strong EI. There is a plethora of research about the importance of strengthening your emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman posits, “Emotional Intelligence is just as important if not more important than one’s IQ” (Goleman, 1995). Through extensive research, Goleman’s studies continue to prove this is true and why we should care about strengthening our own

emotional intelligence. With that said, a gap in research exists between understanding this conceptually and being able to apply it effectively. Here are a few techniques you can apply that will help you strengthen your EI. The following techniques may appear elementary or familiar to some, yet when applied consistently day in and day out these techniques can strengthen your emotional intelligence.

Techniques to Strengthen Emotional Intelligence include but are not limited to:

– 5W’s and HOW (Who, What, When, Where, Why, & How)– Listen Actively– Question Effectively– Paraphrase and Validate– Think Critically and Creatively– Read and Apply Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People– Understand Personalities (yours and others)– Stop, Breathe, Think then Speak (SBTS)– Connect, Converse, Create– Reflective Journaling

If you would like to learn more about these techniques and dive deeper into each one, I am happy to provide a workshop on “How to Strengthen Your Emotional Intelligence” in person or via web to your group. Let me know.

Contact:JaneRyan@Outlook.ComTwitter @jryanjaneBlog at janeryanblog.wordpress.comLinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/janeryan001/en