A Guide to Adding Problem-Solving Skills to a CV

What are Problem-Solving Skills?

Problem-solving skills are valuable for almost any job, regardless of your industry, role or seniority level. They refer to the ability to identify obstacles, analyse situations and provide logical, effective solutions that allow you to work efficiently and with minimal disruption. Employers hold problem-solving skills in high regard because they indicate that a candidate will be able to work independently and take the initiative.

A strong problem-solver can typically remain productive without supervision, even in challenging circumstances and environments. Being adept at solving problems in the workplace means you can make a valuable contribution to wider team success. Furthermore, combining problem-solving with other valuable soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, decision-making and interpersonal skills can mark you out as a strong candidate for leadership roles.

Types of Problem-Solving Skills

‘Problem-solving skills’ is an umbrella term for a whole variety of other useful workplace skills. As such, for employers to be sure that you possess the necessary problem-solving skills for the job, they’ll want to see more than simply ‘problem-solving skills’ listed on your CV. Instead, you’ll want to list a range of different soft skills that show you have the ability to adapt to challenges, solve problems and be as productive as possible. Some of the most effective CV skills that demonstrate problem-solving abilities include:

• Analytical skills: these valuable workplace skills involve analysing data and processes to find solutions to business challenges.
• Critical thinking skills: the ability to think critically involves being able to process information and draw connections between concepts and facts.
• Decision-making skills: being decisive in your decision-making is extremely valuable, as it can help your team to move forward, while indecision risks creating a stagnant, unproductive working environment.
• Creativity: possessing creative skills means being able to approach a task or challenge in new and different ways.
• Communication skills: A critical element of problem-solving is communicating to your colleagues, so you can move beyond a problem as a team. Useful communication skills include active listening, giving constructive feedback, presentation skills, non-verbal communication, written communication, oral communication, voice modulation, and rapport building.
• Collaboration: an effective problem-solver should always involve others in the process. While it can be tempting to take full responsibility for devising solutions to problems, and taking the accolades for yourself when they arrive, involving others is far more beneficial for an organisation overall.

Why Do Companies Need Employees with Problem-Solving Skills?

Problem-solving skills are becoming increasingly desirable for employers. In 2023, the World Economic Forum published its ‘Future of Jobs’ report, discussing the skills that will be most valuable for employees to possess in the future world of work (1). The top three skills listed all fit under the wider umbrella of problem-solving skills: ‘analytical thinking’, ‘creative thinking’ and ‘resilience, flexibility and agility’. Each of these skills equips employees to solve the problems they’ll encounter in the workplace.

The reason problem-solving and its associated soft and transferable skills are becoming more valuable over time is linked to the growing complexity and rapid evolution of working practices. With increasingly competitive markets, challenging and often volatile economic conditions and the rapid rise of technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), it’s easy to see why problem-solving skills, and other skills that make employees more resilient to challenges, are valued so highly. As such, including problem-solving skills on your CV can be beneficial for almost any job application.

Essential Problem-Solving Skills By Role

Take a look at these essential problem-solving skills for some of today’s most popular and competitive jobs:

Software engineer

• Debugging and troubleshooting: a critical element of software engineering work is identifying and fixing software issues by systematically analysing logs, error messages and user reports, then using debugging systems and testing to pinpoint the issue.
• Critical analysis of code efficiency: it’s essential to be able to evaluate code, assess its performance and improve its efficacy and scalability.
• Adaptability to new technologies: with new frameworks, software and programming languages emerging all the time, the ability to adapt and learn new technologies is essential.
• Logical reasoning: the process of applying a structured, logical approach to complex coding tasks and challenges. This approach means working smarter, anticipating problems and working through challenges in a measured, efficient manner.

Project manager

• Risk assessment and mitigation: a key element of project management is assessing and analysing risk, and implementing actions that mitigate those risks.
• Decision-making under pressure: the ability to quickly make measured, well-informed decisions can keep a project moving forward.
• Resource allocation: the problem of resource allocation is one of the key challenges to a successful, efficient project. Effective allocation of resources makes the most of your team and maximises productivity levels.
• Stakeholder management: day-to-day communication with clients requires problem-solving skills, to ensure you remain communicative, flexible and responsive to their needs.

Customer service manager

• Active listening: the ability to listen, evaluate and fully understand customer requests and complaints before deciding your course of action. Active listening also involves prompting the customer with questions and responses that encourage them to explain in more detail.
• Empathy and emotional intelligence: recognising customer emotions such as frustration, anger, disappointment, and adjusting your communication and approach to account for their emotions. This can lead to much more effective resolutions.
• Conflict resolution: resolving conflict in customer service scenarios requires de-escalation techniques and the ability to compromise to find mutually agreeable solutions.
• Adaptability to customer needs: you’re likely to encounter a variety of complaints and enquiries, from a variety of types of customer. Adapting to their needs gives you the best chance of resolving their enquiries.

Data analyst

• Pattern recognition: recognising patterns, identifying trends and spotting anomalies in data are all critical to effective analysis, and equip data analysts with the ability to garner valuable insights from a dataset.
• Data interpretation and visualisation: taking raw data and transforming it into something that’s easy-to-understand, engaging and tells a story is a highly valuable skill for analysts. This also includes the ability to present data insights in a visual format.
• Statistical analysis: the ability to apply probability tests and statistical analysis techniques to extract insights from data is essential for any role in data analysis.
• Attention to detail: data analysis requires a meticulous, methodical approach to spotting inconsistencies in data, to ensure your analysis is as valid and accurate as possible.

Marketing manager

• Consumer behaviour analysis: analysing consumer behaviour requires the ability to understand complex motivations and decision-making processes, and to tailor marketing strategies accordingly.
• Creativity: the ability to develop creative ideas for campaign strategies can give you the edge over competitors and impress clients.
• Competitor analysis: analysing and evaluating the work of your competitors can help to adjust campaign strategies to gain a competitive advantage.
• Budget allocation: spending campaign budgets efficiently is a critical element of maximising profitability. This includes planning, allocating resources and tracking metrics to ensure spending remains under control.

How to Include Problem-Solving Skills on a CV

The way you illustrate your problem-solving skills on your CV will play a major role in its impact on employers. Rather than simply listing ‘problem-solving skills’ in your skills list, it’s essential to show the various elements that make you a strong problem solver, whether these are hard or soft skills. Like any skills for your CV, you’ll also want to show evidence and examples of how you’ve used problem-solving to good effect in your career. Follow these tips to maximise the impact of your problem-solving skills on your CV:

• Use specific examples and storytelling: always back up your skills with specific examples and evidence to show their impact. This could be performance data, customer satisfaction figures or feedback from a client or employer on the impact of your problem-solving.
• Use the STAR method: the STAR method is a useful technique for ensuring you properly explain and evidence the skills you list on your CV. For each experience or career achievement, describe the specific problem and explain the plan you implemented to solve it.
• Reference specific training related to problem-solving skills: if you’ve taken part in any professional development or training courses related to problem-solving, adding these to your CV can help your chances of success. This might include project management training, conflict resolution training or specific technical courses and certifications.
• Use keywords to avoid repeating ‘problem-solving’: identify keywords and phrases that have the same, or similar meaning to ‘problem-solving’, to avoid over-use of the phrase. Skills such as ‘conflict resolution’, ‘project management’, ‘customer service’, ‘analytical skills’ and many others all imply a level of problem-solving competence.

Problem-Solving Skills in Different CV Sections

You can reference problem-solving skills throughout your CV. Depending on the CV format you choose, consider adding problem-solving skills to these sections:

• CV Summary: if problem-solving skills are some of the most critical skills for the job, highlight one or two key skills that have contributed to proven solutions in your career to date.
• Work Experience: show evidence of how your problem-solving skills have led to positive outcomes in different roles, and for different organisations. This will give employers a strong impression of your ability to use problem-solving skills to good effect in the workplace.
• Skills Section: tailor the skills section to the job description and list both soft and hard skills that relate to problem-solving.
• Notable Achievements: if you add an achievements section, this gives you the chance to describe key accomplishments with demonstrable results in previous jobs, where problem-solving made the difference.

Tips for Highlighting Problem-Solving Skills

Follow these quick tips for highlighting your problem-solving skills on your CV:

• Tailor your CV to the job description: if the job description lists problem-solving skills as central to the role, make sure your CV focuses heavily on problem-solving and related hard and soft skills.
• Analyse the job description for relevant keywords: review the job description closely, and consider using an AI assistant to identify keywords and themes related to problem-solving.
• Use action verbs: adding action verbs throughout your CV shows your impact, and they can reflect your problem-solving skills. Use verbs like ‘analysed’, ‘developed, ‘implemented’, ‘improved’, ‘increased’, ‘managed’, ‘optimised’, ‘resolved’, ‘simplified and ‘streamlined’.
• Quantify your achievements: wherever possible, add evidence and data to provide a clear sense of your impact and support your claims around problem-solving skills.

Employers hold problem-solving skills in high regard because they indicate that a candidate will be able to work independently and take the initiative.

Key Takeaways for Adding Problem-Solving to Your CV

Including problem-solving skills on your CV is a sure-fire way to show employers you have what it takes to thrive in the workplace. Add both hard and soft skills that show how you approach problem-solving, together with examples and evidence of when you’ve used problem-solving skills to positive effect in your career. Using a CV maker like CVwizard can help you to create a professional CV that showcases your best skills and achievements. Sign up today to access CV examples and templates, and various other tools to enhance your job applications.

Sources:

(1) World Economic Forum, Future of jobs 2023: These are the most in-demand skills now - and beyond