Hiring in Services Business The role of “Emotional Intelligence”

From the recruiter’s point of view, academic performance or work experience of applicants is not is necessary but  not sufficient. What is needed is an ‘edge’ and that could be ‘Emotional Intelligence’ ( Daniel Goleman defines it as the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others). While hiring, there are five characteristics that recruiters need to look out for.

1.      A person who is is self-aware has an accurate understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses. This is likely to make her more receptive to feedback and correction by others and enables him to learn from past mistakes.

2.      The ability to manage one’s emotions in order to adapt to the needs of the external people and circumstances.

3.      Motivation is the ability of the individual to initiate actions that will benefit the organization as well as achieve personal goals.

4.      Empathy is the ability of an individual to understand how others think or feel about a particular situation from their point of view. This is handy when the individual is interacting with diverse groups and people. .

5.      Social Skills means the ability to manage one’s relationships, communicate effectively and understand the networks within the organization.

Remember, Intelligence Quotient (IQ) remains fairly stable after a certain age but EI evolves and can be learnt over time.