How To Use Emotional Intelligence For Your Job Search

Job searching is tough, especially if you’re not finding success. Maybe you’ve tried to network with others, but they aren’t taking your calls or responding to your emails. Or perhaps you feel like the competition in your field is too stiff and it’s hard to get ahead if everyone has similar experience levels.

In this case, what you need is an edge—something that will help set yourself apart from others and give you an advantage over applicants who may have more knowledge than you do about your industry or position. The best way to do this is by being savvy about how emotions play into job searches and professional relationships.

What is emotional intelligence (EQ)?

Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, understand, and manage your emotions. Emotional intelligence can help you be more successful at work, in your personal life, and in your job search process.

Emotional intelligence skills are essential for all types of jobs—from entry-level positions to management roles. These skills can help you communicate more effectively with coworkers and clients or customers; they’ll also help you recognize when others are struggling with their own emotions or finding it difficult to do their best work. And emotional intelligence skills will put you at an advantage over others when it comes time for promotions or job interviews because they’ll make it clear that you’re someone who cares about other people’s feelings and wants them to succeed as well!

Learn how you communicate.

In order to be a great communicator, you first need to understand how you communicate. Knowing your own style of communicating and how others perceive it will help you adapt your style so that people will want to work with—and listen to—you.

Start by knowing what kind of feedback works for you. If someone tells you something isn’t working right, ask them why they think that before judging their thoughts or opinions as wrong or offensive. Don’t take everything personally; instead, use it as an opportunity to learn about yourself and improve your communication skills in the future.

Also remember that not everyone is as sensitive as others; some people don’t care if people are blunt with them because they’re used to hearing bluntness all day every day from everyone around them! However, this doesn’t mean everyone else is like this either: many people prefer softening language when speaking face-to-face instead of being direct about things because it feels less confrontational (or even rude) than saying things straight out.”

Stay positive.

Stay positive. It’s easy to lose sight of your goals when you’re unemployed, but make a point of keeping them in mind. If you don’t have a goal for what type of job or work environment you want, start with small steps like revising your resume and networking with friends and family.
Don’t get discouraged by rejections—they’re part of the process! Don’t get too down on yourself if no one bites, either: the people who are hiring are looking for certain traits and skills that might not match up with yours exactly (yet), so keep trying until someone hires you!
If negative thoughts creep into your mind while job searching, push them aside as soon as possible—these kinds of thoughts can really drag down an otherwise successful search!

Know your strengths.

Knowing your strengths is the first step to using them. Knowing what you are good at will help you focus on the areas where you can use those strengths, and knowing what you aren’t good at will help guide your learning and development in that area. Once a person knows their strengths, they can also apply them more effectively in an interview setting.

Ask for feedback.

You have someone in your network who knows you best. Ask them for feedback on what you can do to improve your job search process and they will likely be able to offer some suggestions. But make sure that you don’t get defensive if they offer negative feedback. Not everyone is going to be as helpful or kind during this time as they could be, so don’t take it personally if someone offers an honest but harsh opinion about something that’s bothering them about your job search process. Instead, use these as opportunities for improvement and keep moving forward with your career goals!

Using emotional intelligence will help you in the job search.

Emotional intelligence is a skill you can use to improve your relationships and help you find the job you want. It’s not easy, but if you work on your emotional intelligence, it will help you:

Understand and manage your own emotions so that they don’t interfere with how well you communicate or perform in an interview.
Make better decisions about what jobs to apply for and what questions to ask during an interview.
Build strong relationships with potential employers and colleagues.

Don’t be afraid to do things.

You’ll be surprised at what you’re capable of when you put your mind to it, and once you discover your strengths and passions, they’ll become even better. If the job market is tight where you live, consider expanding your search into other cities or countries—there may be a great opportunity that’s worth a longer commute or relocation! Also keep in mind: most jobs are posted online now, so there’s no need for physical applications anymore (although some still prefer them). It’s easy enough for companies to reach out via email or phone call if they’re interested in speaking with an applicant further.

Keep track of what you’ve learned.

As you’re learning and experiencing, it’s important to keep track of your accomplishments. Writing things down will help you remember them, which is key if you want to be able to use the lessons later. Write a journal entry every day or two that includes:

Your goals and how far you’ve come in achieving them (for example, if your goal was “to learn more about emotional intelligence,” jot down what tools you used and how well they worked)
Any achievements or milestones along the way (for example, if your goal was “to learn more about emotional intelligence,” write down when/where/how many times you read a book on the subject)
The steps taken toward achieving these goals

Use your emotions to inform your decisions.

While your emotions are an important part of your life, they can be misleading. Don’t let them take over and rule you. Instead, use them to inform your decisions.

For example, if someone tells you something that makes you feel insulted or angry, don’t automatically assume it is true just because of how it makes you feel. Instead, think about why they said those things and whether they were actually insulting or upsetting in some way. If there was no reason behind what they said (e.g., if the person didn’t even realize how insulting or upsetting their words were) then maybe it was just a miscommunication between the two of you because one person didn’t understand another’s intentions well enough yet (which happens often when people meet for the first time).

Figure out when you work best and plan accordingly.

For many people, the first step in understanding their own productivity is simply to figure out when they’re most productive. If you know that you are at your best early in the morning, for instance, plan your days around that.

If it turns out that you’re not particularly productive at certain times of day—and this could be different from person to person—it may be worth trying to change things up a bit. For example, if working at night helps keep you focused and organized but makes it harder for you to get some sleep before an early meeting or class, consider making changes so that these important parts of your life aren’t affected by whatever else is going on at work during those hours

Look for ways to make connections.

If you’re looking for a job, the best way to find one is by matching your interests, skills and personality with the needs of a specific company. Think about how much time you spend at work (and away from home). You want it to be satisfying, meaningful and fun. If it isn’t already on your list of things that make you happy in life, then don’t expect it to become so just because there’s money involved.

While applying for jobs may seem like an impersonal process sometimes (especially if no human being is reading what you’ve written), this can actually work in your favor if done right: You’ll have more control over how potential employers perceive you than they do over how they perceive other candidates. The trick here is knowing what kind of information will sell yourself best without seeming like bragging or exaggerating—or worse yet sounding fake! And remember that luck has nothing to do with landing any particular position: It’s all about timing and perseverance!

The job search can be a stressful experience, but it doesn’t have to be. By using your emotional intelligence, you can stay positive, focused and productive as you navigate through this process. You will also discover that the more aware of your emotions and how they affect your decisions, the better equipped you will be in any setting (not just work). Don’t forget that there are always ways to improve your EQ skills—and those improvements may very well come from practicing new ones while job searching!