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Critical Thinking Beginning To Trend As Most Important Job Skill

Posted by John Vinson

What qualities must a person exhibit during an interview, and through a resume to receive a positive feeling, and ultimately a job from a HR rep or hiring manager? Good character, healthy work ethic, proof of experience in a particular field; all of these are great qualities to look for. Recently, many HR managers have cited ‘critical thinking’ as the number one skill they look for in potential hires.

Judy Chartrand, Consultant and Chief Scientist at Pearson Talent Assessment, had this to say about the importance of critical thinking, “America needs to make sure that our students and our employees are thinking critically, thinking independently and making judgments. If we don’t, there are other countries out there that are investing the time and energy, and we could fall behind.”

If there’s one lesson we could learn from the economic downturn of the past couple of years, it’s that critical thinking is an essential skill. If employees are being developed and hired with critical thinking in mind, many problems within a company can be remedied at faster paces than before.

When hiring, there are many tests which can be put in place to test critical thinking. One of those tests is the Pearson’s Watson-Glaser II Critical Thinking Assessment. Its popularity is growing, as many HR managers cite that it doesn’t take long and has been a good indicator of critical thinking skills.

Scott Nelson, a manager for MDA Consulting, a leadership based firm had this to say about the test, “As we are assessing hundreds of candidates every month, we think about using [the Watson Glaser II] as a way to get a keen understanding of an individual’s critical thinking skills. We think the Watson Glaser II is a gold standard. It’s very research based. And it’s very short and easy to use.”

An often overlooked aspect of critical thinking is hiring managers looking for it in every employee they hire, from entry levels to managers. The level of the potential hire should have no basis on whether or not critical thinking is tested, as you never know where a solution for a problem might arise.

Andrea Schilling, Global Director of Human Resources at Varde, a privately held international investment firm, said this about implementing critical thinking skills, “We have everybody who comes to Varde, globally, take the Watson Glaser II, and we do that because we really think critical thinking skills are important at any level.”

Schilling cites critical thinking as being a factor for low turnover as well. The belief is candidates with high critical thinking skills have a better understanding of a position before they take it, resulting in them being employed longer.

With tests which don’t take too long to implement, there’s no reason critical thinking should be left off the criteria when hiring. HR reps certainly have the tools to find employees with the creativity and know-how to succeed in today’s business climate.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 8:30 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About the Author: John is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.

Critical Thinking Beginning To Trend As Most Important Job Skill

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