Critical Thinking

Critical thinking skills are extremely important in developing a successful career and especially for students. College students and young professionals alike are flooded with advice on why they need to develop these skills. And yet, when you ask them to explain exactly what these critical thinking skills are and how you can develop them, it’s like watching the movie Inception – it doesn’t make sense!
In an effort to help you make sense of it all and finally get some answers, I  broke down  the six core critical thinking skills you need for your career to help you both understand why you need them and how you can develop them.

#1: Interpretation
Throughout your career you will be presented with a variety of information in many different types of situations. Imagine you are looking at demographic information, hoping to target a different group of customers for a new product. Interpretation skills will enable you to better decode the information and add clarity to what you have discovered - which in turn will help you  better understand any potential new customer opportunities for your company.

#2: Analysis
Imagine you are reading a companywide memo that is discussing making changes in order to address recent movement within the business landscape. Having this skill will better provide you with the ability to “read between the lines” and help you understand how this will impact the overall strategy you have in your position.

#3: Inference
Picture yourself as a business manager; you are looking at the latest sales forecast and you see sales have decreased. It’s important for you to be able to understand what additional information you may need in order to determine why that happened, including identifying internal issues, external competition or even economic conditions. The ability to understand the information you already have and determine what you may still need to find the best solution is an important skill for you to have no matter what career field you are in.

#4: Evaluation
Imagine you are leading a focus group at work to determine how your customers view the organization’s products. You ask the group a few questions that uncover several negative opinions about certain items you sell. You will need to use this skill to evaluate those responses, so you can determine if the information you received is valid and whether or not it needs to be further looked into.

#5: Explanation
Imagine you are giving two presentations for new product ideas; one to the CEO of the company, and the other to product engineers. You know both groups are extremely interested in hearing what you have to say, but you will need to be able to explain these ideas in two very different ways. The CEO may only need to hear high level ideas about the products while the engineers will need more specific product details. Your ability to clearly explain your ideas while keeping in mind who you are presenting to is important for making sure the information is understood and well received.

#6: Self-Regulation
Imagine you are on the phone with a customer attempting to work through a problem they are having with your company’s software, and it’s your first week on the job. The problem they are having is complex, and yet, you still want to assist them in order to make a good impression at work.  Your ability to understand that perhaps transferring them to a coworker with more knowledge on the subject is the best way to provide the customer with a positive result.


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http://www.rasmussen.edu/student-life/blogs/main/critical-thinking-skills-you-need-to-master-now
http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/for-students/610
http://www.p21.org/news-events/p21blog/1435-strategies-to-promote-critical-thinking-in-the-elementary-classroom