Sue, an ad agency executive, is in charge of growing customer relationships. Why? Because she has EI – emotional intelligence. She is able to relate easily to the customer and identify the customer's needs.

Emotional intelligence isn't just a buzzword. It can drive high value to an organization, but not everyone has it. To identify employees with high emotional intelligence, Promotional Consultant Today shares these four critical interview questions from Hubspot staff writer Karla Cook.

1. Can you tell me about a time you tried to do something and failed? Cook says that asking a candidate to explain a failed project is not only a great way to see how they cope when things don't go as planned, it's also an opportunity to see whether or not they're comfortable taking full responsibility for their actions.

Positive signs include a candidate who can clearly describe the failure without putting the blame on someone else. Cook states that even if some external factors played a hand in the mishap, you want a candidate who is comfortable being held fully accountable, and can fairly discuss the failed project.

2. Tell me about a time you received negative feedback from your boss. How did that make you feel? People with high emotional intelligence are able to deal with criticism and have the confidence to not only take negative feedback, but apply this to make improvements. While it might bother them emotionally or hurt their feelings, an emotionally intelligent person knows how to manage this with a level head. A good sign of an EI candidate is someone who can describe how he felt when receiving the feedback and how he managed the situation and made improvements moving forward. If a person thinks it was unfair and doesn't try to understand it from the manager's view, he might not have the emotional intelligence to step outside of his own perspective.

3. Can you tell me about a conflict at work that made you feel frustrated? It's inevitable. We all get frustrated at work at some point. This question allows you to evaluate how the candidate deals with work conflict and how they manage their emotions and respect the other person during the conflict.

Clark suggests that as they explain the conflict situation, consider the following four areas:

  • Can they clearly articulate the emotions they experienced during the conflict? (self-awareness)

  • Were they able to move past any negative emotions and work towards a resolution? (self-management)

  • Do they seem aware of the other person's motivations and challenges? (social awareness)

  • Were they able to mend the relationship and move past the conflict? (social skills)

4. Tell me about a hobby you like to do outside of work. Can you teach me about it? Ask a candidate to explain a hobby to you—anything they are interested in—and then during the process, ask them to re-explain or simplify their explanation. This forces the candidate to change their communication style during the process. Look to see how they manage this shift. Are they getting frustrated? Did they adapt quickly. Emotionally intelligent people are able to make these adjustments and easily read social cues.

Try these four interview questions on your next candidate and if you hire an emotionally intelligent individual, you'll enjoy the benefits of an employee who is dedicated, adaptable and productive.

Source: Karla Cook is a staff writer for agency content for Hubspot, an inbound marketing agency.