If you're a strong problem solver, your resume needs to prove it!
Imagine this scenario: a supplier delivers the wrong piece of equipment, your deadline is tomorrow, and your logistics person is out sick. What would you do if you were the one who had to respond?
All businesses encounter problems at one time or another. That's why companies need high-quality employees on hand who can solve problems like shifting deadlines, equipment failure, and changing client needs. Those problem-solving skills can mean the difference between success and failure.
That's why today's employers are actively seeking candidates who possess these critical problem-solving skills.
In this post, we'll help you learn to identify, define, and present problem-solving skills in your resume.
Put simply, problem-solving skills help you overcome challenges and obstacles. They enable you to identify the core issue, propose solutions, choose the best option, and implement it.
When employers talk about problem-solving skills, they're usually referring to the ability to deal with challenging, complex, or unexpected situations. While they enable someone to assess and solve problems calmly, these skills can also be useful for relationship building and routine decision-making.
All companies experience challenges that can impact their operations and effectiveness. Those businesses will always need people to help them to find solutions to their problems. In fact, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' Job Outlook, 86% of employers look for problem-solving skills on student resumes.
Employers like to see good problem-solving skills because it also shows them you have a range of other talents, like logic, creativity, resilience, imagination, and lateral thinking.
Sometimes, a job description will plainly state the problem-solving skills that the job requires. More often, however, problem-solving is one of those skill sets that don't necessarily appear in the “requirements” section of a job post. Employers simply expect candidates to demonstrate an analytical mind. So, instead, they will describe those desired skills using other phrases.
In those instances, you can look for keywords to identify the skills the employer is seeking. When you find any relevant keywords in the job description, you'll be able to tell what skills you should highlight in the resume you send in.
It should be easy to highlight these skills during an interview, where you can describe a specific problem and paint a picture of how you successfully solved it. But it's also easy to find ways to illustrate your problem-solving on your resume.
Problem-solving skills sound like they're self-explanatory, but they can be difficult to describe without good storytelling. Unlike conceptual skills like abstract thinking and ideation, problem-solving skills are all about developing and implementing an action plan. That's why the best strategy to demonstrate your problem-solving skills is to tell a story: find specific examples of challenging scenarios and explain the plan you implemented and the results you achieved.
Many resumes will use terms like “critical thinker” or “problem-solver.” Instead, get specific by showing how you've used a skill in a way that has solved a problem at work.
Let's look at 4 places on a resume where you can describe your problem-solving skills.
The summary is a great place to present a core skill that has benefitted you and your employers. If you've been responsible for finding out-of-the-box solutions to unexpected problems or been a team leader known for adjusting to personnel or process challenges, this is the place to introduce those talents.
Example:
Solutions-driven sales specialist with 10 years of experience managing sales teams, analyzing markets, expanding market reach, and solving logistics issues. Extensive experience with rolling out new products and reinventing campaigns. Transformed market by 40% despite a period of intense market fluctuation.
The work experience section is the ideal place to list problem-solving skills that have contributed to proven solutions. When detailing past job roles, you can use details like percentages, dollar amounts, and specific scenarios to show how your ability to analyze issues, find options, and communicate action plans has solved problems.
Look at the following resume example. It shows how this candidate's ability to design solutions, optimize testing processes, and adjust the process to the client helped to optimize process efficiency and save the client money.
In addition, the candidate highlights his communication skills by showing that he can collaborate with clients to adapt processes to their needs.
Example:
Solar Engineer, Acme Corp, 2010 - 2020
Developed solution designs in collaboration with Software Architects that improved process efficiency by 150% and reduced costs by $300K
Supported testing on 3 large-scale projects to refine solutions and ensure they were fit for purpose and matched the customer's needs, resulting in $1M savings for the client
If problem-solving skills are needed for a particular role, the hiring manager will be looking for them in the skills section. The key, however, is to only list skills that specifically relate to the job posting.
Remember, it's crucial to tailor each resume to a specific job advertisement, including the skills section. This is obviously easier if the job post explicitly lists desired skills. If it doesn't, look for keywords in the bullet points of the requirements part of the job description to find specific problem-solving skills to include in your resume.
There are both soft skills and hard skills that can be defined as problem-solving skills. “Test development” can be trained, but “troubleshooting” improves with experience. When considering which skills you possess, look at both categories.
Example:
SKILLS
Data analysis / Process analysis / Project design / Solution design / Test development / Benchmark development / Troubleshooting / Collaboration
A notable achievements section isn't always necessary, but some resumes can benefit from including one. If, for example, you're using a functional resume format for a career change resume or you're a senior executive looking to emphasize career highlights, an accomplishments section can really highlight those skills in action.
If you're using this section to focus on your problem-solving skills, describe accomplishments with demonstrable results.
Example:
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Problem-solving skills can range from detail-oriented diagnostics to team leadership. Here's a list of skills involved in various stages of the problem-solving process. When crafting your resume, look to these examples to see what problem-solving skills you might have.
Research skills are an essential component of the problem-solving skill set, enabling you to identify and understand the root cause of an issue. Research involves gathering data and information, consulting with more experienced colleagues, acquiring knowledge online or from external sources, and collating newfound data for dissemination. This skill is about the ability to find and use the right resources, extract the data you need, and brainstorm with the right group of people. This means:
The first step in finding a solution is an effective analysis of the problem. To solve a problem, you must be able to analyze it from every angle. Your analytical skills will also help you identify and propose solutions that can resolve the problem.
Analytical skills allow you to assess data and processes to find solutions to a company's challenges. These include:
Critical thinking is the ability to process details with a particular flow and draw connections between concepts and facts. In other words, it's “thinking about thinking” – or finding and fixing flaws in the way we think.
The ability to think critically is the foundation of problem solving. Unless you can see the big picture, you won't be able to identify the pros and cons of different action plans.
Decision-making is the ability to choose solutions to problems. Simply stated, it's taking the relevant collected data, considering multiple viewpoints, and making an informed choice.
Once the choices are narrowed down, you'll need to pull the trigger – knowing you'll be held accountable for the decision. At times, you may need to make these decisions quickly, even if the wrong decision might make the problem worse. The ability to make proper use of your research and analysis to select the best action plan is a valuable skill. Components of this skill include:
Sometimes, the best solution is only found by thinking outside the box. That demands creativity.
Creativity is the ability to approach a task or a challenge in a different way. In other words, it's possessing the imagination to generate new ideas and find interesting approaches and unique perspectives. Creativity is often described as
Strong communication skills are vital during all phases of problem solving:
No problem would ever be solved without good communication skills at work.
Communication skills, however, include a much broader array of abilities beyond just speaking clearly. They also encompass listening in ways that make your colleagues feel heard, body language that puts your audience at ease, and vocal pitch adjustments to make your point land better. Here are a few common communication skills:
In the business world, most problems are solved by teams of dedicated personnel, working in collaboration with one another. When highlighting this skill, you need to show how you've worked effectively as part of a team to generate and implement solutions.
Collaboration, by definition, means working with one or more individuals to complete a task. In the workplace, collaboration can be brainstorming ideas, delegating tasks to individual strengths, layering pieces of a process, or bringing together the team to understand the bigger picture.
When people work together, they're more effective at problem solving than when attempting to go it alone. Successful collaboration with your coworkers also increases their motivation and engagement at work, making them feel like they're an important part of the team.
In an increasingly complex business environment, the ability to solve problems is more important than ever before. As a result, including these high-value problem-solving skills on your resume can help to ensure that employers recognize your full value proposition as a prospective new hire. That, in turn, can help to separate you from your competition and increase your odds of landing an interview and job offer.
If you want to make sure that the problem-solving skills in your resume are making the right impression on employers, take a few moments to get your free resume review from our team of experts today!
