What Are Problem-Solving Skills? (Examples Included) - The ...

List of Problem-Solving Skills · Analysis · Research · Creativity · Collaboration · Organization · Decision-Making · Troubleshooting · Self-Reliance ... AboutUs Blog JobSearch ResumeAndCoverLetters JobInterviews CareerAdvice OurProducts CaseStudies InterviewQuestions JobDescriptions MembersLogin ContactUs WhatAreProblem-SolvingSkills?(ExamplesIncluded) MikeSimpson0Comments ByMikeSimpson Problem-solvingskillsareimportantnotjustforwork.InthewordsofKarlPopper,“Alllifeisproblem-solving.” Whatonearthdoesthatmean?Simplythatbeingalivemeansfacingchallenges.Withproblem-solvingskills,youcannavigateissueswithgreaterease,makinghardtimes,well,lesshard. Butwhatareproblem-solvingskills?Howdoyouknowifyouhavethemornot?Whydotheymattertoyourjobsearch?Andwhatshouldyoudoifyoudon’tfeelyoursareuptosnuff?Luckily,we’reabouttogetintoallofthat. Ifyou’recuriousabouttheworldofproblem-solvingskills,here’swhatyouneedtoknow. WhatAreProblem-SolvingSkills? Beforewedigintoanyexamples,let’sfocusfirstonanimportantquestion:whatareproblem-solvingskills. Toanswerthatquestion,let’sstartwiththebarebonesbasics.AccordingtoMerriam-Webster,problem-solvingis“theprocessoractoffindingasolutiontoaproblem.”Whydoesthatmatter?Well,becauseitgivesyouinsightintowhatproblem-solvingskillsare. Anyskillthathelpsyoufindsolutionstoproblemscanqualify.Andthatmeansproblem-solvingskillsaren’tjustonecapability,butatoolboxfilledwithsoftskillsandhardskillsthatcometogetherduringyourtimeofneed. Theabilitytosolveproblemsisrelevanttoanypartofyourlife.Whetheryourwritingagrocerylistordealingwithacarthatwon’tstart,you’reactuallyproblem-solving. Thesameistrueatwork,too.Mosttasksactuallyinvolveadegreeofproblem-solving.Really?Really. Thinkaboutitthisway;whenyou’regivenanassignment,you’rebeingasked,“Canyoudothisthing?”Doingthatthingistheproblem. Then,youhavetofindapaththatletsyouaccomplishwhatyouneedtodo.Thatisproblem-solving. Yes,sometimeswhatyouneedtohandleisn’t“challenging”inthedifficultysense.Butthatdoesn’tmeanitdoesn’tcount. Besides,someofwhatyouneedtodowilllegitimatelybehard.Maybeyou’regivenanewresponsibility,orsomethinggoeswrongduringaproject.Whenthathappens,you’llhavetonavigateunfamiliarterritory,gathernewinformation,andthinkoutsideofthebox.That’sproblem-solving,too. That’swhyhiringmanagersfavorcandidateswithproblem-solvingskills.Theymakeyoumoreeffectiveinyourrole,increasingtheoddsthatyoucanfindsolutionswhenevertheneedarises. HowAreProblem-SolvingSkillsRelevanttoaJobSearch? Alright,youprobablyhaveagoodideaofwhatproblem-solvingskillsare.Now,it’stimetotalkaboutwhytheymattertoyourjobsearch. We’vealreadytouchedononemajorpoint:hiringmanagersprefercandidateswithstrongproblem-solvingskills.Thatalonemakesthesecapabilitiesarelevantpartoftheequation.Ifyoudon’tshowthehiringmanageryou’vegotwhatittakestoexcel,youmaystruggletolandaposition. Butthatisn’ttheonlyreasontheseskillsmatter.Problem-solvingskillscanhelpyouduringtheentirejobsearchprocess.Afterall,what’sajobsearchbutaproblem–oraseriesofproblems–thatneedsananswer. Youneedanewjob;that’sthecoreproblemyou’resolving.Buteverystepisitsownuniquechallenge.Findinganopeningthatmatchesyourskills,creatingaresumethatresonateswiththehiringmanager,nailingtheinterview,andnegotiatingasalary…thoseareallsmallerproblemsthatarepartofthebiggerone. MIKE'STIP:Areyoutryingtolandareferralforajob?That’salsoa“problem”thatyouneedtosolve.Howdoyouapproachthememberofyournetworkabouttheopportunity?Istherelationshipstrongenoughtomakeyourrequestseemreasonable?Dotheyknowyouwellenoughtorecommendyouconfidently?Whatcanyousaytoenticethemtoreferyou?Whatcanyouoffertomakeitmoreworththeirwhile?Byfiguringouttheanswerstothosequestions,you’reusingaproblem-solvingapproachtosecurethatreferralandmayincreaseyouroddsofgettingone. So,problem-solvingskillsreallyareatthecoreofthejobsearchexperience.Byhavingstrongcapabilitiesinthisarea,youmayfindanewpositionfasterthanyou’dexpect. Okay,youmaybethinking,“Ifhiringmanagersprefercandidateswithproblem-solvingskills,whichonesaretheyafter?Arecertainproblem-solvingcapabilitiesmoreimportanttoday?IstheresomethingIshouldbegoingoutofmywaytoshowcase?” Whileanyrelatedskillsareworthhighlighting,somemaygetyoufurtherthanothers.Analysis,research,creativity,collaboration,organization,anddecision-makingareallbiggies.Withthoseskills,youcanworkthroughtheentireproblem-solvingprocess,makingthemworthwhileadditionstoyourresume. Butthatdoesn’tmeanyouhavetofocustheresolely.Don’tshyawayfromshowcasingeverythingyoubringtothetable.Thatway,ifaparticularhiringmanagerislookingforacertaincapability,you’remorelikelytotaponwhatthey’reafter. HowtoHighlightProblem-SolvingSkillsforJobSearch Atthispoint,it’sridiculouslyclearthatproblem-solvingskillsarevaluableintheeyesofhiringmanagers.So,howdoyoushowthemthatyou’vegotallofthecapabilitiestheyareafter?Byusingtherightapproach. Whenyou’rewritingyourresumeorcoverletter,yourbestbetistohighlightachievementsthatletyouputyourproblem-solvingskillstowork.Thatway,youcan“show”thehiringmanageryouhavewhatittakes. Showingisalwaysbetterthantelling.Anyonecanwritedown,“Ihaveawesomeproblem-solvingskills.”Thethingis,thatdoesn’treallyprovethatyoudo.Withagreatexample,youofferupsomecontext,andthatmakesadifference. Howdoyoudecideonwhichskillstohighlightonyourresumeorcoverletter?Byhavingagreatstrategy.WiththeTailoringMethod,it’sallaboutrelevancy.Thetechniquehelpsyouidentifyskillsthatmattertothatparticularhiringmanager,allowingyoutospeakdirectlytotheirneeds. Plus,youcanusetheTailoringMethodwhenyouanswerjobinterviewquestions.Withthatapproach,you’remakingsurethoseresponsesareon-point,too. Butwhendoyoutalkaboutyourproblem-solvingcapabilitiesduringaninterview?Well,there’sagoodchanceyou’llgetaskedproblem-solvinginterviewquestionsduringyourmeeting.Takealookatthosetoseethekindsofquestionsthatareperfectformentioningtheseskills. However,youdon’thavetostopthere.Ifyou’reaskedaboutyourgreatestachievementoryourstrengths,thosecouldbeopportunities,too.Nearlyanyopen-endedquestioncouldbetherighttimetodiscussthoseskills,sokeepthatinmindasyoupracticeforyourinterview. HowtoDevelopProblem-SolvingSkillsIfYouDon’tHaveThem Developingproblem-solvingskillsmayseemabittrickyonthesurface,especiallyifyouthinkyoudon’thavethem.Thethingis,itdoesn’tactuallyhavetobehard.Yousimplyneedtousetherightstrategy. First,understandthatyouprobablydohaveproblem-solvingskills;yousimplymaynothaverealizedit.Afterall,lifeisfullofchallengesthatyouhavetotackle,sothere’sagoodchanceyou’vedevelopedsomeabilitiesalongtheway. Now,let’sreframethequestionandfocusonhowtoimproveyourproblem-solvingskills.Here’showtogoaboutit. UnderstandtheProblem-SolvingProcess Inmanycases,problem-solvingisallabouttheprocess.You: Identifytheproblem Analyzethekeyelements Lookforpotentialsolutions Examinetheoptionsforviabilityandrisk Decideonanapproach Act Reviewtheoutcomeforlessons Byunderstandingthecoreprocess,youcanapplyitmoreeffectively.Thatway,whenyouencounteranissue,you’llknowhowtoapproachit,increasingtheoddsyou’llhandlethesituationeffectively. TryPuzzlesandGames Anyactivitythatletsyoutakethestepslistedabovecouldhelpyouhoneyourproblem-solvingskills.Forexample,brainteasers,puzzles,andlogic-basedgamescanbegreatplacestostart. Whetherit’ssomethingasstraightforward–butnonethelesschallenging–asSudokuoraRubik’sCube,orsomethingascomplexasSettlersofCatan,itputsyourproblem-solvingskillstowork.Plus,ifyouenjoytheactivity,itmakesskill-buildingfun,makingitawin-win. LookforDailyOpportunities Ifyou’relookingforapracticalapproach,you’reinluck.Youcanalsolookatthevariouschallengesyoufaceduringthedayandthinkabouthowtoovercomethem. Forexample,ifyoualwaysexperienceamid-dayenergyslumpthathurtsyourproductivity,takeadeepdiveintothatproblem.Definewhat’shappening,thinkaboutwhyitoccurs,considervarioussolutions,pickonetotry,andanalyzetheresults. Byusingtheproblem-solvingapproachmoreofteninyourlife,you’lldevelopthoseskillsfurtherandmakeusingthesecapabilitiesahabit.Plus,youmayfindwaystoimproveyourday-to-dayliving,whichisanicebonus. Volunteerfor“Stretch”Projects Ifyou’recurrentlyemployed,volunteeringforprojectsthatpushyouslightlyoutsideofyourcomfortzonecanhelpyoudevelopproblem-solvingskills,too.You’llencountertheunknownandhavetothinkoutsideofthebox,bothofwhichcanboostcriticalproblem-solving-relatedskills. Plus,youmaygainothercapabilitiesalongtheway,likeexperiencewithnewtechnologiesortools.Thatmakestheprojectanevenbiggercareerbooster,whichisprettyawesome. ListofProblem-SolvingSkills Alright,we’vetakenaprettydeepdiveintowhatproblem-solvingskillsare.Now,it’stimeforsomeproblem-solvingskillsexamples. Aswementionedabove,thereareatonofcapabilitiesandtraitsthatcansupportbetterproblem-solving.Byunderstandingwhattheyare,youcanshowcasetherightabilitiesduringyourjobsearch. So,withoutfurtherado,hereisaquicklistofproblem-solvingskillexamples: Analysis Research Creativity Collaboration Organization Decision-Making Troubleshooting Self-Reliance Self-Motivation Communication AttentiontoDetail Testing Brainstorming Forecasting Planning ActiveListening Accountability Resilience Diligence Patience Open-Mindedness CriticalThinking Agility Flexibility Doyouhavetoshowcaseallofthoseskillsduringyourjobsearchindividually?No,notnecessarily.Instead,youwanttohighlightarangeofcapabilitiesbasedonwhatthehiringmanagerisafter.Ifyou’reusingtheTailoringMethod,you’llknowwhichonesneedtomaketheirwayintoyourresume,coverletter,andinterviewanswers. Now,arethereotherskillsthatsupportproblem-solving?Yes,therecertainlycanbe. Essentiallyanyskillthathelpsyougofromtheproblemtothesolutioncan,initsownright,beaproblem-solvingskill. Alloftheskillsabovecanbepartoftheequation.But,ifyouhaveanothercapabilitythathelpsyouflourishwhenyouencounteranobstacle,itcancount,too. Reflectonyourpastexperienceandconsiderhowyou’venavigatedchallengesinthepast.Ifaparticularskillhelpedyoudothat,thenit’sworthhighlightingduringajobsearch. Ifyouwouldliketofindoutmoreaboutskillstoputonaresume,we’vetakenacloselookatthetopicbefore.Alongwithproblem-solvingskills,wedigintoavarietyofotherareas,helpingyouchoosewhattohighlightsothatyoucanincreaseyouroddsoflandingyourperfectjob. PuttingItAllTogether Ultimately,problem-solvingskillsareessentialforprofessionalsinanykindoffield.Byhoningyourcapabilitiesandshowcasingthemduringyourjobsearch,youcanbecomeastrongercandidateandemployee.Intheend,that’sallgoodstuff,makingiteasierforyoutokeepyourcareerontracktoday,tomorrow,andwellintothefuture. Goodluck! MikeSimpson(Co-FounderandCEO)Co-FounderandCEOofTheInterviewGuys.com.MikeisajobinterviewandcareerexpertandtheheadwriteratTheInterviewGuys.com. HisadviceandinsightshavebeensharedandfeaturedbypublicationssuchasForbes,Entrepreneur,CNBCandmoreaswellaseducationalinstitutionssuchastheUniversityofMichigan,PennState,Northeasternandothers. LearnmoreaboutTheInterviewGuysonourAboutUspage. AboutTheAuthor MikeSimpson Co-FounderandCEOofTheInterviewGuys.com.MikeisajobinterviewandcareerexpertandtheheadwriteratTheInterviewGuys.com. HisadviceandinsightshavebeensharedandfeaturedbypublicationssuchasForbes,Entrepreneur,CNBCandmoreaswellaseducationalinstitutionssuchastheUniversityofMichigan,PennState,Northeasternandothers. LearnmoreaboutTheInterviewGuysonourAboutUspage. 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