{
    "componentChunkName": "component---src-templates-blog-page-js",
    "path": "/blog/what-does-it-take-to-thrive-in-a-people-centric-position",
    "result": {"data":{"contentfulSkillmeterBlogPost":{"url":"what-does-it-take-to-thrive-in-a-people-centric-position","title":"What Does It Take to Thrive in a People-Centric Position?","description":{"description":"People skills are tricky. They are difficult to define, hard to develop. The traditional school of thought has long been that you either have them or you don't. The actual reality is a little complicated.\nPeople skills, often lumped into the loosely defined category of soft skills, can be developed, though to do so requires active thought and effort. \nThese are traits you won't necessarily learn in a classroom. In the next few headings, we take a look at what it takes to thrive in a people-centric environments including everything from counseling to corporate positions, and how you can develop those qualities actively as a professional."},"body":{"body":"People skills are tricky. They are difficult to define, hard to develop. The traditional school of thought has long been that you either have them or you don't. The actual reality is a little complicated.\n\nPeople skills, often lumped into the loosely defined category of soft skills, can be developed, though to do so requires active thought and effort. \n\nThese are traits you won't necessarily learn in a classroom. In the next few headings, we take a look at what it takes to thrive in a people-centric environments including everything from [counseling](https://online.walsh.edu/blog/top-3-counseling-professions) to corporate positions, and how you can develop those qualities actively as a professional.\n\n### What Jobs Are Considered People-Centric?\n\nThere are many different positions that can be considered people-centric. Human resources departments are a good example. Also relevant, of course, are healthcare roles, social work roles, [speech-language pathology roles](https://onlinelearning.csuohio.edu/blog/nine-broad-areas-knowledge-speech-language-pathology), or education positions. \n\nAnything where the focus of your effort is not necessarily on a project, but on a person.\nThat said, a people-centric role doesn't always require working in a helping profession. It can also mean working within a team environment. For example, a manager, a project leader, or a related position could all be considered people-centric roles.\n\n### Overview: What Skills Do You Need for a People-Centric Position?\n\nTo be a great people-centric professional, you need to be able to do several things:\n•\tCommunicate clearly in a way that succinctly captures all of the necessary details.\n•\tLead empathetically in a way that ensures that everyone on your team feels seen and valued as a person as well as a professional.\n•\tManage projects efficiently so that they're completed not only well, but in an appropriate time frame.\n\nWhen you're working with people, there's an added aspect of volatility that can be difficult to plan for. \n\nEven within the considerations we described above, there will be nuance based on the situation and on who you're talking to. \n\nSome team members will respond best to a certain style of communication, while others might prefer something a little different. \n\nAs a leader, you need to be able to recognize these distinctions and respond to them appropriately.\n\nIn the next few headings, we'll look at how to develop these valuable soft skills, and also how you can demonstrate them on a job application.\n\n### Step One: Developing Communication Skills\n\nTo become a good communicator, you first need to become a great listener. Active listening is one of the most valuable professional communication skills for several reasons:\n•\tIt ensures that you are actually understanding what the people you work with are saying.\n•\tIt allows your co-workers or team members to feel heard and valued.\n•\tIt makes them more likely to listen actively to you.\n\nActive listening is not just about paying very close attention. It's also about deliberately signaling to the person you're communicating with that you've heard them. \n\nThis means making eye contact, providing visual cues to signal your interest, and restating what they've said back to them.\n\nIt can take practice to master, but simply by setting out to listen actively, you'll do better than you have in the past.\n\n### Step Two: Manage Your Time Effectively\n\nTime management is a bit of an elusive skill in that it's difficult to fully define. Have you managed your time well if you're meeting all of your deadlines and showing up to work on time, or is there more to it than that? \n\nDo you not only need to complete work when it's expected of you, but also to maximize the efficiency of every second? What's realistic and what your boss might say could be two different things.\n\nEven really hardworking professionals will fail to fully seize the value of every second, but good time management at least means accomplishing a few things:\n•\tGetting to work on time, attending meetings as expected, and working well with deadlines.\n•\tJuggling multiple projects at once in a way that logically reflects their priority and their differing deadlines.\n•\tRefining your workflow over time with the goal of improved efficiency.\n\nThis doesn't mean perfecting your process on day one, but rather adopting an attitude of continuous learning and improvement.\n\nIf you're not only meeting your deadlines but regularly innovating, you'll be a valuable teammate and an excellent project leader.\n\n### Step Three: Be the Most Helpful Person in the Room\n\nThis is not only a great way to gain recognition from your coworkers, but it's something that will naturally be attractive to employers as well. Your boss will like the idea of promoting someone who consistently takes on responsibility, is helpful to coworkers, and is well-liked.\n\nYou can develop that persona by volunteering for higher levels of responsibility, assisting coworkers whenever possible with their own projects, and generally asking for ways that you can be of greater assistance.\n\nThis pairs well with the other steps that we've described so far. For example, if you're ahead of your deadlines, go speak to your boss and say, “Hey, I finished that work you gave me. Do you have anything else for today?” It demonstrates your time management, your communication, and your general helpfulness all in one move.\n\nYes, it means working harder, but it also opens doors to the promotion track over time.\n\n### How to Highlight These Skills on a Resume\n\nOne of the tricky things about people skills is that they're difficult to objectively quantify in a way that is helpful on a job application.\n\nIt helps to document any relevant experience that you have. For example, if you've worked with people as a tutor, as a camp counselor, or at a daycare, those can be relevant sources of experience.\n\nFailing this, you can also reference professional scenarios in the context of how they highlight a specific skill. \n\nFor example, projects that require high levels of communication, collaboration, or time management are good things to point out when you are applying to a job with a human-centric angle to it.\n\nWhen it comes to filling out a job application, don't be afraid to get creative in terms of how you reference previous experiences. \n\nContrary to popular belief, many hiring managers understand that they might not find an exact fit for what they're looking for, but if you can show that you at least understand the skills and qualities that they're after, it may go a long way toward helping your application stand out."},"authorName":"Andrew Deen","authorBio":null,"publishedOn":"2026-02-25T10:00+01:00"}},"pageContext":{"id":"aef957b7-9dea-5bdb-84c2-ec1dec3268eb"}},
    "staticQueryHashes": []}