Problem Solving Skills: Definition & Examples for a Resume

They let you solve problems. The thing is—. Employers are literally fighting for candidates with highly developed problem-solving skills. So, ... Thissiteusescookiestoensureyougetthebestexperienceonourwebsite.TolearnmorevisitourPrivacyPolicyGotit!Asseenin:0likescommentsWhenyoucometothinkofwhatproblem-solvingskillsare,theanswerisprettymuchself-explanatory: Theyletyousolveproblems. Thethingis— Employersareliterallyfightingforcandidateswithhighlydevelopedproblem-solvingskills. So,here’sthequestion: Aretherereallysuchfewpeoplewhoknowhowtosolveproblems?Oraren’ttheyjustabletoshowthisontheirresumesconvincingly? Listen: Ifyouwanttofindouthowtodefineproblem-solvingskills,howtohighlightthemonyourresume,andhowtoimprovethem— You’reexactlywhereyouneed. Thisarticlewillshowyou: Whatproblem-solvingskillsare.Howtolistproblem-solvingskillsonaresume.Examplesofproblem-solvingskills.Howtoimproveyourproblem-solvingskills. Wanttosavetimeandhaveyourresumereadyin5minutes?Tryourresumebuilder.It’sfastandeasytouse.Plus,you’llgetready-madecontenttoaddwithoneclick.See20+resumetemplatesandcreateyourresumehere. Createyourresumenow Sampleresumemadewithourbuilder—Seemoretemplatesandcreateyourresumehere.Oneofourusers,Nikos,hadthistosay: [Iused]anicetemplateIfoundonZety.Myresumeisnowonepagelong,notthree.Withthesamestuff. Lookingforinformationonotherskills?Headstraighttooneofourguides: 99KeySkillsforaResumeOrganizationalSkillsProjectManagementSkillsMarketingSkillsCreativeThinkingSkillsCollaborationSkills 1Problem-SolvingSkills:List&DefinitionProblem-solvingskillsconsistofasetofskillsthathelpyouidentifytheproblem,proposesolutions,choosethebestone,andimplementit. Here’salistofskillsthatmaycomeinhandyateachstageoftheproblem-solvingprocess. Asyou’recreatingyourresume,theseexamplesmayhelpyoucompilealistofproblem-solvingskillsthatyouhave: Analyticalskills Thisisprettyself-explanatory.Tosolveaproblemyoumustbeabletoanalyzeitfromacoupleofangles.Youranalyticalskillsareexactlytheonesyouneedtoproposesolutionsandgettotheheartofthematter. Researchskills Asamatteroffact,theytieinnicelywithyouranalyticalskills.Youmustbeabletofindandusetherightresources,digdeepenoughtoextractthedatayouneed,andfindtherightpeopletobounceyourideasoffof.Researchskillsareanessentialcomponentoftheproblem-solvingskillset. Creativity Sometimesfindingtherightsolutionwillrequireyoutostepoutofyourcomfortzone,thinkoutsidethebox,andpushtheenvelope.Thisisonlypossiblewhenyourcreativethinkingskillsaresharpasrazors. Decision-makingskills Onceyounarrowdownyourchoicesandpinpointwhatcausestheproblem,youneedtomaketherightdecision.Remember:you’llbeheldaccountableforwhatyoudecideupon.Abaddecisionmayturnoutnottobehelpfulinfindingasolutioninthebestcase.Ormayaggravatetheproblemintheworst. Critical-thinkingskills Theartofproblem-solvingiscorrelatedwith yourabilitytothinkcritically.Ifyouhaveproblemswithseeingthebigpicture,youwon’tbeabletoidentifyalltheprosandconsofdifferentavenuesyoumightdecidetotake. Collaboration Rarelyisproblem-solvingasolitarytask,especiallyinthebusinesscontext. You needtoproveyouworkeffectivelyaspartoftheteamtoimplementyoursolutions. Communicationskills Lastbut definitely notleast.Noproblemwouldeverbesolvedifitweren’tcommunicatedeffectively.Period.Theimportanceofgoodcommunicationcanneverbeunderestimated.Allproblem-solvingstrategiesdependonsuccessfulcommunication. Asyoucansee,problem-solvingisrelatedtomanyotherkindsofskillsets.That'sbecauseittakesamasteryofmorethanoneskillsto solveaproblem.  Let'sconsiderthisfurther— Recentstudiesonemployabilityskillssuggestthatproblem-solvingskillsconsistoftwomaincomponents: identifyingtheproblem,decidingonthebestsolution. Eachoftheseisasimportantastheother. Wecandefine"theproblem"asanydiscrepancybetween“whatis”and“whatwe’dlikeittobe.” Theproblem-solvingprocesswouldinvolveanalyzingthesituation,understandingit,andcomingupwithanactionplan. Infact— Youcancomeupwithseveralpossibleactionplansbasedonyourassumptionsaboutwhattherootcauseis. Thisiswhendecision-makingskillscomeinhandy. Ifyouhaveagoodunderstandingofthesituationanditsimplications,you’llbeabletodecideontherightcourseofactionmoreeffectivelyandefficiently.So,when youcometothinkofit,there’snosuchthingasasingleproblem-solvingskill. Decision-making,analytical,andproblem-solvingskillsareallinterrelated. Infact,we’llbetakingacloserlookatthisinSection3ofthisarticle. Butfirst,we'll takeacloserlookathowtohighlightyourproblem-solvingskillsonaresume. 2ProblemSolvingSkills—ResumeExamples Wonderingwhyyoushoulddemonstrateproblem-solvingskillsonaresume? Employerslovethem. Infact— Studiesinvariablyplaceproblem-solvingsomewhereatthetopoflistsofskillsinhighdemandamonghiringmanagers. What’smore— It’shardtofindajobofferthatdoesn’tmentionproblem-solvingskillsaspartoftheemployer’srequirements. So,naturally,thenextquestionis: Howtolistproblem-solvingskillsonaresume? Well— Eventhoughthere’snosinglebestanswertothisquestion— There’sagoodstrategythatalwaysworks. It’scalled:tailoryourresumetothejobdescription. Now— Therearemanyjobsthatrequireyourproblem-solvingskillstobesecondtonone.Forexample: QASpecialistInvestmentBankerBusinessSpecialistConsultantCFOInteriorDesignUXDesignerResume&UIDeveloperWebDesignerProfessorTeacherElectricalEngineerDataScientistNetworkEngineerRecruiter Thejobadsforsuchpositionsincludeentirelistsofproblem-solvingskillsthatrecruiterswanttoseeonyourresume. Here’sanexampleofajobdescriptionforthepositionofabusinessanalyst: Collaboratewithsolutionarchitectstodevelopsolutiondesigns,anddeveloperstoensuresolutionsmeetthebusinessrequirements.Establishhigh-qualityuserrequirementsandfunctionalrequirementsonthebasisofidentifiedbusinessneeds.Evaluateinformationgatheredfrommultiplesources,reconcilingconflicts,anddecomposinghigh-levelinformationintodetails.Abstractingupfromlow-levelinformationtoageneralunderstanding.Distinguishinguserrequestsfromtheunderlyingtrueneeds.Createworkeffortestimations.Supporttestingprocessonprojectstoensurethesolutionisfitforpurpose.ResponsibleforensuringthatthefinalsolutionmatchestheURSandmeetsthecustomer'sneeds. Bythelookofit,youcaneasilysaythatabusinessanalystisaprofessionalproblemsolver. Now— Beforewemoveon,youneedtoknowonething: Almost allFortune500companiesusetheATS(ApplicantTrackingSystem)toinitiallyscreenresumesforkeywords. Ifyourresumedoesn’tcontaintheproblem-solvingkeywordstheATSislookingfor,you’relikelytoendupintherejectedfolder. Toavoidthis,youneedto— Usetheresumekeywordsfromthejobadinyourownjobdescription. Theexperiencesectionofyourresumecouldreadsomethinglikethis: ProblemSolvingSkillsonaResume—Example Developedsolutiondesignsincollaborationwithsoftwarearchitectsthatimprovedprocessefficiencyby150%andreducedcostsby$300K.Supportedtestingon3+large-scaleprojectstorefinesolutionsandensuretheyfitthepurposeandmatchthecustomer’sneeds.Thisresultedin$1Msavingsfortheclient. Thiswayyoucanbesurethat: therelevantkeywordsarethere,you’veincludedtheproblem-solvingskillsthehiringmanagerisafter. ProTip:Describeyourpastdutiesandresponsibilitiesintermsofachievements. Butitdoesn’tendhere. Youcanputyourbestproblem-solvingskillsinaseparatekeyskillssectiontomakethemevenmorevisible. Butdon’tputanyrandomsoftskillsthere. Takeanotherlookatyourjobdescription,extracttheessence,andusesomeproblem-solvingskillssynonymstointroduceabitofvarietytoyourresume: ProblemSolvingSkills—ResumeExample DataanalysisProcessanalysisProjectdesignSolutiondesignTestdevelopmentBenchmarkdevelopmentTroubleshootingCollaboration Theproblem-solvingskillslistaboveisentirelybasedonthetwoaforementionedexperiencebulletpoints. Thebestpart? Iftherecruiterdecidestoaskyousituationalorbehavioralproblem-solvingquestionsrelatedtoanyoftheskillsonthelist— You’llbeabletoanswerthembyreferringtoabulletpointinyourexperiencesection. Soifyouhearsomethinglike:Tellmeaboutasituationwhenyourdataanalysisandsolutiondesignskillsmadeadifference. Youcanfocusontellingtherecruiterwhatstepsyoutookspecificallytoimproveprocessefficiencyby150%andreducecostsby$300K. Infact— Wehaveaseriesofdedicatedguidesthankstowhichansweringanyinterviewquestionwillbeapieceofcake: STARMethodforAcingBehavioralInterviewQuestions[25+Examples]20SituationalInterviewQuestionsandAnswerstoNailYourInterview"WhatAreYouPassionateAbout?"[InterviewQuestion&BestAnswers] Itmaybehardtobelieve— Butthere’sonemoresectiononyourresumeyoumightwanttopopulatewithsomeofyourproblem-solvingskills. Theresumeobjectiveorsummary. Here’swhatitcouldlooklike: ProblemSolving—ResumeObjectiveExample Aseniorbusinessanalystwith7+yearsofexperienceandexcellentcommunicationskills.EagertojoinGenentechtosupportsolutionlifecyclemanagementandparticipateinexecutingstrategicinitiatives.Inpreviousrolesidentifiedamajorbottleneckgeneratinga$200Kmonthlyrevenueloss,anddesignedasolutiontoeffectivelypreventit. Asyoucanseeinthisexample,youcancallyourproblem-solvingskillsbynameandputthemattheverytopofyourresume. Plus— Takeanotherlookatthejobpostingtoseeiftheemployerislookingforsomeotherkeyskillsaswell. Inthisparticularcase,strongcommunicationskillswereofutmostimportance.So,whynotincludetheminthecareersummaryorobjective? Needmoreideas?Here’salistofkeywordsyoumayfindusefulwhendescribingyourproblem-solvingskills: Problem-SolvingSkills—KeywordsforaResume AnalyzingBrainstormingCriticalthinkingDecisionmakingDesigningDrawingconclusionsExperimentingFocusInnovationInsightListeningLogicalreasoningNegotiationObservationOrganizationPersistencePersuasionQuestioningSchedulingTesting  Whenmakingaresumeinourbuilder,drag&dropbulletpoints,skills,andauto-filltheboringstuff.Spellcheck?Check.Startbuildinga professionalresumetemplatehereforfree.CreatemyresumenowWhenyou’redone,Zety’sresumebuilderwillscoreyourresumeandtellyouexactlyhowtomakeitbetter. 3HowtoImproveProblem-SolvingSkills Beforewemoveontothehowpart— Let’sstartwithwhy. Listen: Problem-solvingskillsarevital. Studiesshowthatifwecomeupwiththewrongsolutionswemayunknowinglyaggravatetheproblemsinthelongrun. What'smore— Otherresearchshowsthatofallemployabilityskills,problem-solvingskillsaretheonesthatmanagersfindinsufficientlydevelopedamongthestaff. Thereasonforthisisthatemployeesareoftenafraidthatthesolutionstheyproposewillleadtotheproblem...becomingworse. We'vecomefullcircle! Thisiswhycandidatesandemployeeswithhighlydevelopedproblem-solvingskillsaresodesirable. Ifyou'rewonderinghowtoimproveyourproblem-solvingskills— Theanswerissimple. Practicemakesperfect. Butnotjustanypractice. It'snotenoughtosay:Fromnowon,I'llbesolvingproblemseverydaytobecomeamasterproblem-solver. Well— Truthbetold,you’realreadydoingthis. Afterall,lifeisonebigproblem-solvingskilltraining! But— Youdon'tseemtobetoohappywiththeresultsifyou'rereadingthis. Here'swhatyouneedtodo: Adaptamethodicalapproachtoproblem-solving. OneofthebestmethodologieswasputforwardbytheeminentmathematicianGeorgePolyabackin1945inhisfamousbookHowtoSolveIt. Polyasuggestedfourstepsyoumusttaketosolveproblemseffectively. 1.Understandtheproblem. Seemsobvious,right? Well— Ifthiswassoobvious,whywouldpeoplehavenofaithintheirproblem-solvingskills? Athoroughunderstandingofthechallengeyou'refacingisvitalinfindingtherightsolution. ThisiswhyPolyasuggestsyoustartwithaskingyourselfthesequestions: Doyouunderstandthewordsinwhichtheproblemisexpressed?Whatexactlyareyourequiredtodo?Canyoudescribetheprobleminyourownwords?Canyouillustratetheproblemwithapictureordiagram?Doyouhavealltheinformationnecessarytosolvetheproblem? 2.Deviseaplan. Onceyouunderstandthenatureoftheproblem— Youmustcomeupwithaplan. Polyasuggestsanumberofstrategiesyoucanadopt.Here’salookatsomeofthem: GuessandcheckDrawapictureLookforpatternsEliminatepossibilitiesMakealist And— Beingenious Askyourselfmorequestions: Whataretheconnectionsbetweenthedataandtheunknown?Haveyouseenasimilarproblembefore?Haveyoutakenalookattheproblemfromdifferentperspectives?Canyourestatetheprobleminseveraldifferentways?Canyousolveasimplerproblem? Comingupwiththebeststrategycomesintimeandrequiresyoutothinkincreativeways. Remember: Themoreproblemsyousolve,theeasieritwillbeforyoutoidentifythestrategiesthatworkforyou. 3.Carryouttheplan. Aftertheconceptualstage,implementingtheplanmayfeellikeapieceofcake. Asyou’recarryingouttheplan,keepcheckingifitbringsaboutthedesiredresultseachstepoftheway. 4.Lookback. Oncetheproblemissolved— Inspectyoursolution. Findoutwhatworkedandwhatdidn’t. Isitpossibletoreapplyyoursolutiontosolvingarelatedproblem? Andfinally— Checkoutthesesimpleyetcreativetipstoimproveproblem-solvingskills,trainyourbrainandlearnnewstrategies: Danceandlistentomusic(theysupposedlystimulateneuralconnections.)Playlogicgamesanddoingpuzzles.Getagoodnight’ssleep.Observeyourcircadianrhythmandfollowingitspatterns.Dophysicalexercise,suchasyogaorsoccer.Notedownyourideas. Yourproblem-solvingskillsarejustapartofaskillsetthatturnsyouintoahighly-employablecandidate.Plus,agreatcoverletterthatmatchesyourresumewillgiveyouanadvantageoverothercandidates.Youcanwriteitinourcoverletterbuilderhere. Here'swhatitmaylooklike: Seemorecoverlettertemplatesandstartwriting. KeyTakeaways Here’saquicksummaryofallyouneedtorememberaboutproblem-solvingskills: Problem-solvingskillsareoneofthekeyemployabilityfactorsasidentifiedbyseveralindependentstudies.Theyconsistofasetofinterrelatedabilitiesthatallowyoutosolveproblemseffectively.Employerslookforcandidateswithgoodproblem-solvingskills.Youcanshowyourproblem-solvingskillsonaresumeinmanyways.Justmakesureyouidentifytherelevantones.Thebestwaytoimproveyourproblem-solvingskillsisbyapproachingproblemsinamethodicalway.Practicemakesperfect! Doyouhaveanyquestionsaboutproblem-solvingskills?Maybeyou’dliketosharesometipsonhowtodevelopthem?Giveusashoutoutinthecommentsbelow!We’dlovetohearfromyou!Ratemyarticle:problemsolvingskillsAverage:4.57(35votes)ThankyouforvotingMaciejDuszyńskiMaciejisacareerexpertwithasolidbackgroundintheeducationmanagementindustry.He'sworkedwithpeopleatallstagesoftheircareerpaths:frominternstodirectorstoC-suitemembers,henowhelpsyoufindyourdreamjob.Don'tmissoutonexclusivestoriesthatwillsuperchargeyourcareer!GetaweeklydoseofinspirationdeliveredtoyourinboxMustbeavalide-mailaddress.Join1,000,000+subscribersGreattohaveyouonboard!Checkyouremail&enjoyournewsletter.SimilararticlesThewayyouintroduceyourselftotherecruiterisinstrumentalinlandingthejob.We’llshowyouhowtonailthe“Tellmeaboutyourself”interviewquestion.AresumeisaCV...exceptwhenitisn't.Findoutwhatthedifferencebetweenacurriculumvitaeandaresumeistomaximizeyourchancesoflandingthejobinanyindustry,notjustacademia.Absolutely100%freeresumetemplatesfor2021.Downloadable,printable,andexportableindifferentformats.