Boost Your Career by Highlighting Your Cognitive Ability

When you’re thinking about skills to boost your career, you probably focus on the most obvious ones – technical know-how, communication, and teamwork. There’s one that you may not stop to consider: cognitive ability. It plays a big role in how well you learn, solve problems, and grow in your job. What’s more important? It’s exactly what employers look for! 

What is cognitive ability?

Cognition is an umbrella term that describes all of the various mental processes the brain uses to acquire, retain, and apply knowledge. Everything your mind works to accomplish is done through the use of your cognitive ability. 

As a result, your cognitive capacity has a direct impact on your ability to learn new information, commit that knowledge to memory, and use it to solve problems and carry out day-to-day tasks. You use your cognitive abilities to make sense of what’s going on and get things done.

Scientists have long debated the extent to which cognitive ability is innate and whether people can improve those abilities past a certain age. However, studies have suggested there are ways to boost cognitive performance, even after people reach adulthood. 

So, what does cognitive ability mean for your career? In short, a lot! The stronger your cognitive skills, the better you can adapt, learn new tools, and perform under pressure.

Why is it important?

Employers care about how you think. That’s why cognitive ability is often tested during hiring – even if they don’t call out directly that’s what they’re doing. Strong cognition helps you stay sharp, keep up with change, and find better ways to get work done. It also shows you can grow with a company, not just do the job today.

What are the main types of cognitive skills?

To better understand cognitive ability, it's helpful to consider the main types of cognitive skills. These are the core thinking skills your brain uses to take in information, store it, and use it effectively.

Memory recall: short and long-term

Memory skills are some of the most important abilities you possess. Without them, there would be no learning and no advancement, as every experience and scrap of processed information would be forgotten. Memory includes both short-term and long-term recall. 

• Short-term memory helps you retain recently acquired information

• Long-term memory refers to your capacity for cataloging and retaining information over time

Both are key parts of cognitive ability.

Focus

Your ability to pay attention is an important part of cognition too. It comes into play when you’re learning something new, processing information, and applying knowledge to create plans or resolve problems. Like memory, there are different levels of focus that range from the ability to pay attention to only one task at a time to a capacity for dividing your attention between multiple tasks. 

Food for thought: Your ability to focus is often one of the first things employers notice in interviews.

Information processing

One of the most vital cognitive abilities involves information processing. No matter how well you pay attention or commit information to memory, those facts would be useless without the ability to process that data. 

Strong processing abilities allow people to quickly understand new data as they encounter it and use that new information to resolve problems or develop plans. If you’ve ever picked up a new software tool quickly, that’s a cognitive ability example in action.

Executive-level thinking

One category of cognition that deserves its own explanation relates to those cognitive skills that can help you engage in higher-level planning and strategizing. For example:

• Mental flexibility - an ability that can help with adapting to new situations and paradigms

• Anticipation - the mental ability to recognize patterns and predict likely outcomes

• Decision-making - the ability to make sound decisions to facilitate problem solving 

• Emotional control - the ability to recognize your own emotional state and regulate it to achieve your ends

• Prioritization - the ability to break large tasks into smaller goals and determine which ones need to be prioritized for maximum productivity

• Inhibition - a necessary talent for exercising self-control over base impulses

Problem solving 

Problem solving abilities pull everything together and relate to your capacity for applying knowledge, logic, and reason to analyze situations and create solutions that overcome identified challenges. It’s one of the top skills employers look for and it’s one of the best ways to show cognitive strength on your resume. 

Can your cognitive ability be improved?

Yes! Even as an adult, you can strengthen your thinking skills. Science continues to show that brain function can improve with the right habits. As the world learns more about cognition, the emphasis on maintaining brain fitness and strengthening these mental processes will likely continue to increase. That's great news for everyone! 

So if you’re wondering how to sharpen cognitive skills, here are some proven strategies:

Get some exercise!

Scientists have discovered that regular physical exercise can be an important tool for long-term brain health. Daily walks, light resistance training, or just playing fetch with the dog can all improve blood flow, stimulate the muscles, and aid in the maintenance of critical motor skills.

Play brain games

Most experts agree that your brain needs regular exercise to remain in top shape, in much the same way that your body needs exercise. Try to incorporate brain games into your routine, or even regular card or board games. This type of mental exercise can help to strengthen memory, pattern recognition, and critical thinking skills.

Eat right and get the sleep you need

Healthy living translates into positive results for your body and brain. Try to incorporate more whole foods into your diet and make sure that you're getting the fluids you need for optimal health. In addition, avoid depriving yourself of the sleep you need to stay at the top of your game.

Manage stress 

Make a real effort to reduce stress from your life. Stress-relieving techniques can include things like daily meditation, stretching, listening to relaxing music, or just taking up a new hobby. Stress taxes both the body and mind and can lead to a variety of ailments.

Keep learning

Make sure that you never stop experiencing new things. 

• Read new books. 

• Explore new hobbies. 

• Challenge yourself to learn a new skill. 

When you were a child, your mind was constantly challenged with new information and new ideas that challenge constant growth and development. Learning should be a lifelong journey because stretching your mind helps maintain and grow your cognitive ability. 

What cognitive abilities are employers looking for?

Today's employers need employees with strong cognitive ability. The problem is that you're unlikely to see many job postings that explicitly use the words “cognitive skills” in their descriptions. Instead, they may include references to skills like:

• Adaptability

• Strong communication

• Active listening

• Problem solving

• Conflict resolution

• Strategic planning

• Technical writing

• Teamwork

• Creative thinking

• Data analysis

• Decision-making

Even math skills fall under cognitive ability, especially when you’re analyzing patterns or solving problems. So if you’re wondering, “Is math a cognitive skill?”—the answer is yes.

You don’t have to list “cognitive ability” on your resume, but you should know how to recognize and highlight the skills that show it. Employers want people who think clearly, adapt fast, and keep learning.

How to include cognitive ability in your resume

So, how can you effectively highlight your cognitive ability in your resume? One thing you should not do is to include any claims that boast about your cognition – it’s not a buzzword after all. Instead, focus on what you’ve done and let your actions show your thinking skills. 

For the skills section, include two or three skills like “problem-solving,” “data analysis,” or “strategic planning.” Be sure to use language that matches the verbiage in the job description. 

You can then add one or two of those skills to your work experience section, by including them as bullet points. Make sure to include quantifiable results that highlight the value that those skills provided for your employer. 

Here are a few examples: 

• Led a team using creative problem-solving to develop a data analysis system that expedited the customer onboarding process, reducing onboarding time by 22% and increasing client retention by 12%

• Streamlined reporting process by identifying workflow gaps to cut weekly data processing time by 30%.

• Anticipated client needs and adapted outreach strategy, leading to a 15% increase in customer engagement over two quarters.

• Created a cross-functional training program after analyzing skill gaps that improved team performance metrics by 18%.

• Used cognitive flexibility to switch project priorities mid-cycle, delivering the final product two weeks ahead of deadline.

Progress your career by using your cognitive ability

Cognitive ability is something you use everyday, especially in adapting, analyzing, deciding, or solving something. Don’t overlook that. These thinking skills are a core part of the value you bring to a new employer. The more clearly you can show how you think, the easier it is for employers to see what you can do next! 

Do you feel like you could use some feedback to see if you've effectively highlighted your key cognitive abilities on your resume? If so, be sure to get your free resume review today and let our experts help you to ensure that your resume has the compelling narrative you need to land your next job.

This article was originally written by Ken Chase. It’s been updated by Marsha Hebert.

Recommended reading:

• How to Sharpen Your Critical-Thinking Skills

• 10 Ways to Build Awesome Time Management Skills

• How Do You Describe Analytical Skills on a Resume?