10 Critical Thinking Skills for Your Resume

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7 min read. Updated on April 19, 2023

Ken Chase (TR)

Highlight critical thinking skills in your resume to boost your job search success

As the workplace continues to change, employers are increasingly looking for job candidates who possess valuable critical thinking skills. When you’re looking for a new job, it’s more important than ever to make sure you include crucial thinking skills in your resume. But which critical thinking skills are companies looking for, and how should you highlight them in your resume?

In this guide, we'll consider a variety of in-demand critical thinking skills and offer some helpful tips you can use to highlight those abilities on your resume.

What are critical thinking skills?

Before you can include critical thinking skills on your resume, you first need to understand what they are. The simplest definition is that they are abilities that enable you to think and solve problems using facts, deduction, and logic. This rational approach to thinking can help you connect seemingly unrelated facts, analyze information in an unbiased way, and devise solutions for complex problems.

As a critical thinker, you do more than just gather facts and make decisions, of course. You use cognitive abilities to infer missing information, connect ideas, and consider the outcome of any decision you make. Ultimately, it means you have the ability to act with independence and produce competent results with a minimum of ongoing supervision – traits that are prized by most employers.

Examples of critical thinking skills for your resume

It's helpful to explore some examples of different critical thinking skills to better understand the types of abilities that employers want to see in your resume. If you find yourself lacking in any of these areas, you will likely benefit from focusing on developing those skills.

1. Observation

The ability to conduct effective observations is an essential critical thinking skill. Problems can never be resolved until they are identified and properly understood. Observational skills will help you gain a deeper understanding of the facts surrounding a situation or potential problem.

2. Open-mindedness

It's crucial to maintain an open mind as you engage in critical thinking. Being open and receptive to other points of view and facts can help you mitigate any personal bias that might otherwise cloud your analysis and judgment. True critical thought requires you to set aside preconceptions and personal preferences so that you can examine facts and evidence in an objective manner.

3. Analytical thinking

Analytical thinking is the process of evaluating data to identify patterns, prioritize facts, and eliminate irrelevant information. These skills are a vital part of the critical thinking process, since they enable you to make reason-based judgments about the value of the information you gather and organize. This can help you focus only on facts and details that matter, avoiding unnecessary distractions.

Sound analysis skills include the ability to know which questions to ask to inform any decision. For example:

Can I trust the source of this information?
Do alternative facts exist, and how reliable are they?
Are there other points of view that I need to consider?
Do my data sources have their own biases and, if so, how might those biases impact my decision?
Do I have enough facts at hand to even begin to form an opinion or solution?

4. Research

In many instances, the information you have access to may not be enough to help you form a rational conclusion. That's where your research skills will come into play. Being able to conduct your own research can enable you to make sure you have the data you need to render a decision or resolve a problem.

5. Inference

Inference is simply the ability to “fill in the gaps” between various pieces of data and evidence. The ability to infer certain truths is essential in most decision-making and problem-solving exercises, since you may not always have all the information you need to properly understand a decision.

What you will have, however, is your own experience and knowledge, as well as the ability to make reasonable assumptions that fit within the fact pattern at hand. Well-honed inference abilities will empower you to fill in those missing gaps in the evidence to make the most rational assumptions possible.

6. Creative thinking

Even after you've gathered and analyzed all the available data and made inferences to fill in any knowledge gaps, you will still have to use some measure of creativity to devise a solution to your problem. Fortunately, everyone has some degree of creativity – and that creative streak can be developed if you put in the effort.

7. Self-awareness and self-management

Self-awareness is a prerequisite to self-management, which is a vital component in the critical thinking process. You must be able to regulate your thoughts and emotions if you want to maintain an open and unbiased mind as you examine evidence, draw conclusions, and make decisions.

8. Communication

Communication skills always end up being discussed in conversations like this – and for good reason. In both business and life, the ability to effectively communicate your ideas is essential for success. This is true in critical thinking as well, since you will almost certainly need to share your conclusions and solutions with other people at some point in the process.

9. Decision-making

As a successful critical thinker, you must be adept at making reasoned decisions. That means you have to carefully consider data and other key information and be able to identify solutions that offer the best possible results for your team, company, and customers.

10. Adaptability

Adaptability is another key critical thinking skill for your resume, and one that is more important than ever. Today’s employers are always eager to find candidates who possess the ability to adapt to changing technologies, market trends, and business needs. If you pride yourself on your ability to learn new things and quickly adapt to new circumstances, then you should definitely highlight this skill on your resume.

Related reading: 17 Resume Tips to Get Seen and Hired Faster

How to list critical thinking skills on your resume

To properly highlight your critical thinking skills on a resume, you should focus on using language that emphasizes your ability to solve problems. You should include these details within your resume summary, your job experience section, and skills list (or Core Competencies).

Do not, however, simply list “critical thinking” within your skills. Instead, you'll want to include some of the other key skills that demonstrate your critical thinking abilities.

Highlighting critical thinking skills within your resume summary

It's important to draw attention to your critical thinking abilities in your resume summary, since that's the first thing hiring managers see when they review your resume. Again, don't include a direct reference to critical thinking, unless that term is cited in the job description. Instead, make references to those critical thinking skills as you describe yourself and your achievements in that summary.

For example:

Data-driven analyst and creative problem-solver with 10 years of experience in the technology industry. Reputation for managing multiple large projects and implementing complex technology solutions for companies with a combined market capitalization of more than $100 billion.

Related reading: 27 Great Resume Summary Examples to Get Hired

Showing examples of critical thinking in your work experience section

To effectively illustrate your critical thinking ability in your work experience section, you should include examples of times when those skills helped you accomplish a goal or resolve a problem for your employer. Cite those examples within your bullet point list of achievements for each company. For example:

Identified and resolved deficiencies within the company's vendor logistics network by devising and implementing a new process that reduced supply delays by 30%
Managed the team responsible for analyzing network security weaknesses, identifying new solutions to enhance protection and implementing strategies that reduced serious threats by 89%
Initiated and led a project that crafted new client retention solutions, reducing client loss by 60% after implementing new client management protocols and revising service personnel training and oversight processes

Listing critical thinking skills in your skills section

You should generally not include the words “critical thinking skills” in your resume's skill section. Still, you'll want to emphasize the skills that enable you to think critically by including terms like:

Data analysis
Problem solving
Active listening
Self-management
Organization
Communication
Research
Creative thinking
Risk management
Data-driven decision-making
Change management
Technical leadership
Process improvement

How to improve your critical thinking skills

Even if you're already talented in these areas, it's important to know how to improve your critical thinking skills. Unfortunately, critical thinking abilities are not something that you're born with; they are skills you learn and develop over the course of your life. The good news is that there are ways you can improve those critical thinking skills for your resume. For example:

Learn to ask basic questions
Always question your own biases
Take stock of your thoughts
Get in the habit of examining evidence
Look for gaps in the information at hand
Always think for yourself
Focus on developing leadership traits

Highlight those critical thinking skills for resume success!

With employers continuing to focus on their need for critical thinkers, it's more vital than ever to ensure that you highlight the right critical thinking skills in your resume. By understanding which skills are essential for critical thinking and working to develop your own abilities in this area, you can craft the type of resume that helps you stand out from other job candidates in your field.

Need to ensure that you’ve effectively highlighted your important critical thinking skills in your resume? Get a free resume review from our team of experts today!

This article was written and updated by Ken Chase.