Job-hunting? It's time to get in touch with your EI

Looking for a job in this buttoned-up marketplace? Here are some essential selling points if you get that golden face-to-face interview:

• I admit to and learn from my mistakes.

• I keep my emotions in check and have thoughtful discussions on tough issues.

• I listen as much or more than I talk.

• I take criticism well.

• I show grace under pressure.

In other words, let 'em know that your cup of EI -- emotional intelligence -- runneth over.

Its results weren't even close. Fully 71 percent of employers said they valued emotional intelligence (also called EQ) over IQ. Fifty-nine percent of employers said they would not hire someone who has a high IQ but a low EI.

This is not to say that emotion-savvy workers aren't also smart nor that smart workers lack emotion. But look around you: We generally lean toward one "quotient" or the other, which is why we often drive our co-workers, bosses, subordinates (spouses, children, in-laws ... ) crazy.

Under normal circumstances, workplaces can't survive without E's and I's. In today's fiercely competitive post-recession economy, according to CareerBuilder at least, EI rules.

"As an employer, I can say, 'Gosh, I have a lot of choices, a lot of people who are qualified,' " said Twin Cities CareerBuilder sales director Greg Avallone.

So why not choose someone with a robust EI who is more likely to stay calm under pressure, resolve conflicts, show empathy to co-workers, lead by example and make more thoughtful business decisions?

"My sense is that managers and leaders, all pushed to the same high levels of stress, want people who aren't going to be a problem. They want employees with more flexibility, resilience and interpersonal communication skills who can also get the job done well. When you look at how tamped down people are, doing more with less is the new normal. That level of intensity forces some of those EQ factors up a bit."

Rebecca Hawthorne, director of the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership program at St. Catherine University, www.stkate.edu/academic/maol, is hearing the same thing from human resources professionals.

They tell her, "When we're going through piles of resumés, we're looking for attributes that set people apart." Once, emotional intelligence was considered a "soft skill," nice but not essential. Today, that "soft skill" is what brings business in the door and steadies nervous workers.

"You can train people in technical skills, financial analysis or strategic planning," Hawthorne said. "But people with highly developed EI are very good at recognizing commonly shared values and moving an organization forward."

So what about that thoroughly modern roadblock? How do you emphasize your superhuman EI when forced to apply for job after job online?

Hawthorne agrees that an online application "makes it challenging for people. I hear a great deal of frustration from employees who say technology is creating a barrier. Technology is a tool to help you sort, but it still comes down to the employer's judgment."

Hawthorne already sees the pendulum swinging back in subtle ways, such as job listings on Craigslist, with the requirement that applicants "must appear in person."

The current love affair with EI, Hawthorne predicts, also will swing back as the job market picks up. She hopes that pendulum rests somewhere in the middle, where companies fare the best.

"This is not an either/or but a both," Hawthorne said. "Competency and intelligence are critical assets, as are self-awareness and an appreciation of one's colleagues. We have to figure out how to leverage people's intellectual beings as well as their emotional beings to accomplish extraordinary things."