A range of skills is needed to practice industrial organizational psychology. Regardless of the work an industrial organizational psychologist performs, they need a strong set of interpersonal, cognitive, and technical skills. In this blog, I will review three critical skill sets industrial organizational psychology professionals need. I chose these particular skills because of their relevance across a broad range of jobs in industrial organizational psychology. They will also continue to be importance to the current and future work environment (2022 and beyond). Depending on the specific job within industrial organizational psychology, you will need additional skillsets. I will cover factors to consider when determining what skills are needed.
Interpersonal Skills
Arguably, one of the most important skills you will need to practice in the field of industrial organizational psychology are interpersonal skills. Interpersonal
skills include those needed to communicate effectively and develop and
maintain relationships. The specific types of communication skills needed in
various jobs within the field vary. Key skills that would be beneficial across jobs include written communication, oral communication, and active listening.
Written Communication
Written communication involves being able to share information with other people through words on paper or screens. Email communication, text messaging, and instant messaging are all forms of written communication. Professionals working across the field use these mediums to share information and ask questions related to their projects. Being able to share information about project updates, request information from others to complete work tasks, and share ideas all require strong written communication skills.
Oral Communication
Those working in industrial organizational psychology must also be able to communicate ideas clearly using oral communication. Sharing information through written communication often allows the sender time to compose a message. Oral communication, outside of planned presentations, often does not offer the luxury of planning time. Being able to speak clearly, in the moment, is valuable for those working in industrial-organizational psychology.
Last, but certainly not least, is active listening skills. Industrial-organizational psychology professionals must often gather information from others, whether clients, peers, or their own managers. For example, a consultant must listening carefully to clients and other stakeholder to identify the problems they wish to solve and understand the client and stakeholder’s priorities. Being able to focus on the messages that others are conveying and making sense of these accurately is critical.
Cognitive Skills
What gives the industrial organizational psychology professional strong expertise is their ability to use their psychology knowledge to solve problems. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are cognitive or mental skill sets that allow the industrial-organizational psychology professional to understand the nature of organizational problems, assess risks and benefits, and apply effective solutions to solve problems. Critical thinking refers to the ability to analyze information in a methodical way to establish an accurate understanding of something. Problem-solving may involve critical thinking. However, it extends to other cognitive processes involved in identifying core issues and delivering effective solutions to address them.
Graduate-level training in industrial and organizational psychology should strengthen your critical thinking skills. You will likely complete assignments and engage in coursework that will require you to engage in critical thinking. Your mentors and professors will also likely provide feedback that helps you to learn how to engage in critical thinking. You may also want to strengthen these skills on your own. Check out the resources and courses available through the Foundation for Critical Thinking as well.
Industry-Related Technical Skills
Those interested in a career in industrial organizational psychology must have technical skills that they gain through some form of formal
education in this discipline. Technical skills in this sense refer to those specific to the field of industrial-organizational psychology. Being able to conduct a formal job analysis is an example of an industry-specific technical skill that sets industrial organizational psychology professionals apart from professionals working in allied fields.
Closer to what the word “technical” denotes, industrial-organizational psychology professional must also have data analytic skills. The field of industrial organizational psychology has always embraced statistical analysis. Formal education programs, such as master degree or doctoral education programs in this field often have a strong emphasis on statistical analysis, with several courses devoted to analytics. Data analytic skills are going to be increasingly in-demand for those working in this field. These skills allow industrial-organizational psychology professional to make decisions and present problem solutions that are grounded in evidence.
If completing a formal graduate degree is not in your future, you can develop technical knowledge and skills through self-paced study and MOOCs. For example, you could complete a Google Analytics Certificate through Coursera to learn more about how to make data-driven decisions.
Factors to Consider in Identifying Skills for Industrial-Organizational Psychology
If you are exploring a career in industrial organizational psychology either as a new professional or a career-changer, you may be wondering what skills are most important to invest in learning. Alternatively, you may be wondering whether your skills and strengths align with positions in this field. Interpersonal, cognitive, and technical skills are important across a range of industrial organizational psychology jobs. However, their degree of importance and the presence of other necessary skills will vary.
To identify the most important skills for your current or future career in industrial organizational psychology, I would highly recommend reviewing specific job descriptions of roles you would like to pursue. Examine specific job roles or functions to see what skills sets align. The field of industrial organizational psychology is quite diverse. One thing you will notice is that some jobs in the field require much stronger technical skills, and others communication skills.
If you are more of a behind-the-scenes, technical person, there are plenty of roles that require strong analytic skills in industrial organizational psychology. For example, most jobs with “analyst” as part of the title will typically emphasize more technical skills. Whereas, jobs focused on change management may require more sophisticated communication and persuasion skills. Regardless of your skill strengths, if you have an interest in applying psychology to help solve workplace problems, you can likely find a good fit in our diverse field.
Conclusion
I would recommend researching particular career paths within industrial-organizational psychology looking for trends on the skills required. For example, you could explore job advertisements through Indeed, LinkedIn, or the SIOP I-O JobNetwork to identify skills needed through job advertisements. Industrial-organizational psychologists who are working as “Personnel Psychologists” for the federal government will require different skills than a “Learning and Development Manager” working for a Fortune 500 company. You may also want to explore the O*NET website and see the complete list of knowledge, skills, and abilities experts say are needed to be successful in this field.
Are you currently working in the field of industrial organizational psychology? Please share in the comments your thoughts on the most critical skills needed in the field today.