Eventually, many job seekers are able to move beyond these barriers, but those who develop and use their emotional intelligence throughout the job hunt are most likely to score better jobs in less time, according to Lisa Caldas Kappesser, author of The Smart New Way to Get Hired.
Kappesser describes emotional intelligence as a group of four skill sets or competencies that, when used together effectively, can help people achieve their goals, including landing a new job. These four skill sets include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skills. According to Kappesser, these skill sets are all involved in the process of overcoming obstacles.
“Using self awareness, you identify and understand the obstacle. Using self-management, you manage your emotions while dealing with stressors and taking action to manage the problem. When dealing with obstacles outside of yourself, you use social awareness to assess people or the environment. You must also use social skills to manage others,” explains Kappesser.
In her book she suggests the following emotional intelligence techniques to help individuals overcome roadblocks in the job hunt:
Embrace obstacles and change. Use your EQ (emotional intelligence) skill of adaptability. Be aware of your thoughts and feelings and direct yourself. When faced with change, you sometimes might want to deny it or fight it. This is a normal reaction. Embracing the change, however, allows you to use your energy to deal with it rather than using your energy to avoid or fight it.
Stay positive. Use your emotional intelligence skill of optimism. Remember that negative thoughts lead to negative feelings and thus impact your behavior in a negative way in the opposite direction of your goal.
Keep a sense of humor. Use your emotional intelligence skill of emotional self-control. Avoid negative thoughts. Keep things in perspective, and don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t try to do it all and do it perfectly.
Take care of yourself. Use your emotional intelligence skill of stress management. You will be able to deal with stress and challenges more effectively if you are healthy. To maintain your health, see your doctors and dentist regularly, get plenty of sleep, watch your diet, exercise and schedule fun activities with family and friends.
Develop what you lack. Use your self-awareness and self-assessment skills to identify whatever it is that is keeping you from achieving your goal, and then work to develop that area. If you lack education, go back for more. If you lack experience, volunteer to get it.
