Problem Solving Skills: 3 Examples (Great For A Resume)

A good problem-solving process involves four fundamental stages: problem definition, devising alternatives, evaluating alternatives and then ... WikiJobFreeManagementeBooksEntrepreneursLeadershipManagementTechniquesStrategyTeamManagementCareerCareerAdviceIndustriesInterviewAdviceApplicationAdviceAptitudeTestsInternshipsFinancialTermsFeaturesPostgraduateTradingCoursesFreeAptitudeTestsNumericalReasoningVerbalReasoningDiagrammaticReasoningMechanicalReasoningLogicalReasoningSituationalJudgementWatsonGlaserInductiveReasoningAbstractReasoningIn-trayExerciseAllAptitudeTestsCompetenciesKeyCompetenciesCoreCompetenciesInterpersonalSkillsSoftSkillsCommunicationTransferableSkillsTechnicalSkillsProblemSolvingAllCompetenciesInterviewQuestionsWhatareyourstrengths?Whatareyourweaknesses?Whatisyourgreatestaccomplishment?QuestionstoaskyourinterviewerWhyareyouapplyingforthisposition?Whatmakesyouunique?Whatinterestsyouaboutthisjob?Wheredoyouseeyourselfinfiveyears?Allinterviewquestions×CloseProblemSolvingSkills&ExamplesProblemSolvingSkills&ExamplesInterviewAdviceCompetenciesUpdated1November2021WrittenbytheWikiJobTeamFactCheckedbyBiancaPrainoMApgDipInthisarticleSkiptosectionWhatKindofProblemsTypicallyAriseinaProfessionalContext?ProblemSolvingforManagersHowtoImproveProblem-SolvingSkillsWhatAreProblem-SolvingQuestions?WhyAreEmployersInterestedinTestingYourProblem-SolvingSkills?WhatFormDoProblem-SolvingQuestionsTake?PastChallengesSituationsSpecifictotheJobQuestionsThroughouttheApplicationProcessHowtoAnswerProblem-SolvingQuestionsQuestion1Question2Question3Tips,CommonMistakesandFurtherPracticeDo:Don't:HowtoDemonstrateProblem-SolvinginYourCVorCoverLetterTherearemanydefinitionsofproblem-solving–butatabasiclevel,itfocusesontheabilitytoaccuratelyassessasituationandarriveatapositivesolution. Solvingproblemsisananalyticalskillthatmanyemployerslookforwhenreviewingcandidateapplicationforms.Thisparticularskillisn’trestrictedtoasinglesector,industryorrole,thoughemployersintheengineeringandlegalindustries,inparticular,tendtolookforproficiency.Consequently,questionsaboutyourproblem-solvingabilityarecommonplaceininterviews. Strongproblem-solvingskillscanbehugelybeneficialforyourcareer.Ineverysector,problemsareinevitableandwillariseinoneformoranotherasyougoaboutyourday-to-dayduties.Whenproblemsdooccur,employeesareexpectedtousetheirinitiativeanddevelopsuitablesolutionstoavoidthesituationescalatingintosomethingmoreserious.WhatKindofProblemsTypicallyAriseinaProfessionalContext? Therearemanysituationswhereproblemscouldpresentthemselvesintheworkplace,fromaclient'sconcernthroughtoassistingatechnicalteamresolveawebsiteordatabaseerror.Theissuesthatyoucomeacrosswilloftenvaryincomplexity,withsomesituationsrequiringasimplesolutionandothersdemandingmorethoughtandskilltoovercome. Businessmanagerswillspendalotoftheirtimesolvingproblemsandconsequentlyrequiretheiremployeestobecreativeandintuitivewhenitcomestoaddressingthem.Beingconfidentinyourapproachisreallyimportant,andasyoulearnwhichprocessesaremosteffectivetoovercomeobstacles,soyourconfidencewillgrow.Withoutsuitableprocessesinplace,yoursolutionsmayfailortheycouldevencreateadditionalproblems. Agoodproblem-solvingprocessinvolvesfourfundamentalstages:problemdefinition,devisingalternatives,evaluatingalternativesandthenimplementingthemostviablesolutions. Managersarelookingforrecruitswhocanbecreativeandintuitivewhenitcomestoaddressingbusinessproblems.AlsoAwesomeProblemSolvingforManagersThiseBookdescribessixkeyprinciplesforproblemsolvingthatallsuccessfulmanagersshouldknow.Problemsareaninevitableconsequenceofbusinessandthefollowingtechniqueswillhelpyoutoidentifyandresolvetheminastructuredway.DownloadtheFreeeBookNowHowtoImproveProblem-SolvingSkills Thereareseveralwaysyoucanimproveproblem-solvingskills.Ithelpstoapproacheachproblemthroughaseriesoflogicalsteps. First,identifywhattheproblemis.Thisrequiresexaminingaparticularsituationtodeterminewhatspecificallyiscausingtheproblem. Ratherthanlookingataproblematicsituationasawhole(forexample,acustomerisupset),trytobreakitdownanddeterminethecauseoftheproblem(whyisthecustomerupset?).TheFiveWhys(or5Whys)techniquecanbehelpfulhere,whichessentiallyinvolvesasking'why'fivetimestodeterminetherootofaproblem. Theremaybeseveralelementscausingtheproblemoronespecificelement.Eitherway,breakingaproblemdownintosmallerpartsmakesitmucheasiertosolveeachoftheelementsorissuescontributingtotheproblem. Next,comeupwitharangeofpotentialsolutions.Techniquessuchasproblemtreeanalysisandmindmappingcanhelptolayoutproblemelementsandpotentialsolutions. Someofthepotentialsolutionswon'tbeaseffectiveasothers,andthat'sokay.Thegoalatthisstageistoevaluateeachpotentialsolutionanddeterminewhichoneislikelytobethemosteffectiveatsolvingtheproblem.Youmayrequireseveraldifferentsolutionstosolvedifferentelementsoftheproblemasawhole. Onceyouhavedecidedonasolution,followastep-by-stepplantoimplementthatsolution.Justasbreakingdownaproblemintokeyelementsmakesiteasiertoidentifysolutions,anactionplanwithvariousstepsmakesiteasiertoimplementthosesolutions. WhatAreProblem-SolvingQuestions? Questionsaboutproblem-solvingwilltypicallyarisewithinacompetency-basedinterviewandwillrequireyoutodemonstrateyourparticularapproach. Questionsaboutproblem-solvingcanbeaskedinarangeofdifferentways,butsomecommonexamplesofproblem-solvingare: Howdoyousolveproblems? Givemeanexampleofaproblemyouhavefacedinthepast,eitheraspartofateamorasanindividual.Howdidyousolvetheproblem? Whatdoyoudowhenyoucan'tsolveaproblem? WhyAreEmployersInterestedinTestingYourProblem-SolvingSkills? Effectiveproblem-solvingrequiresacombinationofcreativethinkingandsoundanalyticalskills.Employerslookforhireswhocandemonstrateeachoftheseskillsintheworkplacetodeliverpositiveoutcomes. Managerswouldfarratheremployamemberofstaffwhocantakeactiontoresolveaproblemthansomeonewhodoesn'tactandreliesonsomeoneelsetothinkofasolution.Evenifitisn'toutlinedasarequirementinajobdescription,manyemployerswillstillbeevaluatingyourproblem-solvingabilitythroughouttheapplicationprocess. Effectiveproblemsolversarethosewhocanapplylogicandimaginationtomakesenseofthesituationanddevelopasolutionthatworks.Evenifitdoesn'tproveassuccessfulasyouhadhoped,resilienceisimportant,soyoucanreassessthesituationandtryanalternative.WhatFormDoProblem-SolvingQuestionsTake? Ifproblem-solvingskillsareanintegralpartofyourrole,itislikelythatyouwillhavetocompletesomekindofassessmentduringtheapplicationprocess.Thereareanumberofformsthataproblem-solvingquestioncantake,butthemajorityofthemwillbescenario-based. Employersmaybaseproblem-solvingquestionsaroundthreemainareas: Howyouhaveapproachedsituationsinthepast Howyouwouldmanageaproblemthatwouldariseaspartofthejob Howyouhandleproblemsthroughouttheapplicationprocess PastChallenges Someemployersbelievethatthewayyouapproachedasituationinthepastisagoodindicatorofhowyouwillapproachachallengingsituationinthefuture.Thereforethebestwaytounderstandhowsomeonewouldrespondtoaspecificscenarioistoaskaquestionsuchas'explainanoccasionwhen…’ Astheemployerwantstoassessyourproblem-solvingskills,theymayaskyoutooutlineasituationwheresomethingwentwrongandwhathappened.Thiscouldbeanexampleofatimewhenyoufacedsomethingunexpected,oryouwereapproachedbyaclientaboutaconcern. SituationsSpecifictotheJob Managerswilloftenrelateoneormorequestionstotheroleyouareapplyingfor.Sometimesthismaytaketheformofaquestionaboutwhattheapplicantwoulddoiftheyhadtoomuchortoolittleworktocomplete. Thesetypesofquestionsusuallybeginwiththerecruiteraskinghowyouwoulddealwithaspecificsituationfollowedbysomekindofchallenge.Forexample,howyouwoulddealwithacolleaguewhowasrelyingonyoutodoalloftheworkorfallingshortofatarget. QuestionsThroughouttheApplicationProcess Althoughthesearen'tquestionsassuch,theymaybeusedbysomerecruiterstoseehowyouhandleunexpectedchanges.Thiscouldberearrangingthetimeofyourintervieworsendinganemailwithoutattachingsomethingimportant.Bothofthese-eveniftheyareunintentional-couldbeusedasawaytoassesshowyouapproachsomethingthatisunforeseen. HowtoAnswerProblem-SolvingQuestions Ifyouknowthatyouarelikelytofaceproblem-solvingquestionsintheapplicationprocess,it’sgoodpracticetoresearchthetypicalquestionsandscenariosthatcandidatesarepresentedwith.Thiswillnotonlyincreaseyourconfidencebutalsohelpyoutorefineyouranswersandprovideastrongerresponse.Inthissectionweprovidethreeexamplesofcommonquestionsandsuitableresponses: Question1 Youhavebeenaskedtoscheduleinarushprojectbutyoucannotcompletethepieceofworkyouneedto,sinceyourequireinformationfromanothercolleaguewhoisnotcurrentlyavailable.Howwouldyoudealwiththesituation? Answer: Thebestoptionherewouldbetoreassessthesituation.Arethereanyotherelementsoftheprojectthatyoucancontinuewithuntilyourcolleaguereturns?Ifthisisn'tanoption,youshouldexploreeveryavenuetotryandcontactthemorsomeoneintheirteamwhocouldhelp. Question2 Youareworkingonaprojectandhalfwaythroughyourealisethatyouhavemadeasignificantmistakethatmayrequireyoutorestarttheprojecttoresolveit.Howwouldyouapproachthissoyoustillmetthedeadline? Answer: Stopwhatyouaredoingandevaluatethemistake.Isitsmallenoughtoresolvewithouttakingtoomuchtime?Ifso,resolvethemistakeandmoveon.Alternatively,ifthereisnootheroptionthantoreworktheproject(whichmayimpactonmeetingthedeadline),thefirstthingtodoisnotifyyoursupervisor.Youmayneedtorescheduleyourdayorworklongertofinishtheprojectandmeetthedeadline. Question3 Howwouldyoudealwithacustomerwhowasn'thappywithyourservice,eventhoughyouhaven'tdoneanythingwronganditisthecustomerwhohasmadethemistake? Answer: Nomatterhowupset,abruptorangrythecustomeris,itisuptotheemployeetomakesuretheyaretreatedwithrespect.Thebestwaytodothisistobeattentiveandshowgenuineconcernfortheirproblem.Itistheroleofanemployeetoturnanegativesituationintoapositive.Ifyoureffortsstillfail,notifyyoursupervisorasafinaloption. Tips,CommonMistakesandFurtherPractice Whenitcomestoansweringquestionsaboutproblem-solvingskills,werecommendthefollowing; Do: Selectastrongexamplethattrulydemonstratesyourproblem-solvingabilityinapositivemanner. Chooseexamplesthatarerelevanttothejobyouareapplyingfor.Ifyouareapplyingforaproject-basedposition,giveanexampleofhowyouresolvedaproblemwithaworkoracademicproject. Bespecificwithyourresponsesanduseanexamplewithenoughdetailtoshowhowyouapproachsituationsandthewayyouthink.Takethetimetocomeupwithpossibleanswersandscenariosbeforetheinterview. Makesuretheproblemisunique.Ifyouhaveaproblem,simplycallingsomeoneelsetosolveitisnotimpressive.Thebestanswerswillshowtailoredsolutionstotasksthatmayseemmundane. Makesuretheproblemissimple.Ifyouhaveswitchedfromalegalcareertoanengineeringcareerandyourproblemislegalinnature,ensureyourproblemiseasytounderstandandexplainittoyourinterviewerwithoutusingjargon. Don't: Chooseaweakorboringproblem,oronethatreflectsyouinanegativeway. Generaliseyouranswerswithresponsessuchas‘youconsideryourselftobeagreatproblemsolver’or‘youregularlysolveproblems’.Youneedtodemonstratehowyousolveproblemseffectively. Raiseanyareasofconcernbygivingexamplesofnegativesituationsthatwerearesultofyourownactions,evenifyousolvedaproblemsuccessfully. Nomatterhowinterestingthestorythatyouhavetotellis,don’tspendtoomuchtimeprovidingtoomuchdetail,becausetherecruiterwillsoongetbored.Keepyouranswershortandtothepoint. HowtoDemonstrateProblem-SolvinginYourCVorCoverLetter Duringyourwrittenapplicationandatinterview,employerswillexpectyoutoevidenceyourproblem-solvingskills.Inyourwrittenapplicationyoushoulddemonstratethemviarelevantkeywords,statementsandachievements.Ifyousolvedaproblemandithadapositiveimpactonthebusiness–suchasimprovedcustomerservicestandardsorresourcesavings–saysoonyourCV. IfyouareinvitedtoaninterviewtrytousetheSTARtechniquetostructureyouranswers.ThistechniquefocusesyourresponsesonaSituation,Task,ActionandResult.Followingthisprocesswillhelpyouranswerstobefocused,conciseandstrong. Whereproblem-solvingisamainelementofyourrole,anemployermayincorporatearelevantpsychometrictestand/oranactivitytocarefullyassessyourproblem-solvingskills.HowstrongisyourCV/Resume?Getafree,confidentialreviewfromanexpert.Don’tfillthisoutifyou’rehuman:GetafreereviewReadThisNextYoumightalsobeinterestedintheseotherWikiJobarticles:Problem-SolvingInterviewQuestionsandAnswersCompetency-BasedQuestionsSoftSkillsListInterpersonalSkillsTransferableSkillsCoreCompetenciesFunnyInterviewQuestionsDeductive,InductiveandAbductiveReasoningintheWorkplaceOrexploretheInterviewAdvice/Competenciessections.