The Rising Demand for Creative Thinking in Today's Job Market

Employers on a path to innovation seek talent that owns an updated cache of skill sets.

Technical prowess helps job seekers attract attention in a tight labor market. But programming and development aren't the only tools employers crave. Organizations search for individuals with a big-picture mentality. The ability to identify ways of streamlining business processes and operations on a wholesale basis.

Organizations are already keeping pace with sweeping technological change. Hiring managers need people who understand vision, mission, and the internal engines that spark growth. Recruits need to quickly immerse themselves in workplace culture. They must show a willingness to follow an ever-winding road to organizational objectives and goals.

But, as a job seeker, how do you get there?

The Value of Creative Thinking in the Workplace

Since the industrial revolution and steaming on into the fourth industrial revolution, organizations have posed one question to the business: How can we do it better?

"Better" applies to internal demands as well as competitive pressures. Thus, recruiters want prospects more interested in fostering progress than maintaining the status quo. That mode of thinking requires introspection-- a look at why employers value creative thinking and other soft skills.

Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and the Internet of Things (IoT) dominate the conversation. Prospective employees must endeavor to understand technology's role in the workplace. They also must grasp how to use these tools to solve departmental problems.

This formulation of ideas may spread and take hold through the balance of the organization. Thoughts like these lead to competitive edges and healthier bottom lines, outcomes that every business desires.

The Skills Gap in Creative Thinking

With the rapid advance of technology, an effective combination of hard and soft job skills seems less prevalent in the current labor market. And in most cases, job seekers have had little time to react. The speed of progress has simply outpaced the ability of many people to play catch up with their talents and personal growth. This phenomenon creates a skills gap that will close through curiosity, commitment and continuous learning.

This employee skills gap began to form in secondary schools and even some post-secondary institutions. These entities did not have the resources or foresight to adapt curriculums quickly enough.

In the workplace, technology investments bear costs and risks. Organizations must carefully balance both concerns. On the whole, the prevailing cultural environment may be resistant to change at certain levels.  

Benefits of Creative Thinking for Individuals and Organizations

Both degreed and non-degreed individuals can enhance resumes, people skills, and talking points. They should identify a means to strengthen their professional personas. Analytical thinking not only applies to technical realms but also to the promotion of thought leadership.

The benefits are two-fold. Knowledge spawns self-improvement and the resultant confidence spawns tangible career growth.

Strategies for Developing Creative Thinking Skills

There's a way to cut right to the chase. With employers looking to stay ahead of the curve, you can follow a path to professional enrichment and career success.

Consider the following steps:  

Make assessments. Changing times call for self-examination. Take stock of your strong suits and identify personal skills gaps that you must fill.

Escape your comfort zone. Positive results materialize after you recognize that doing things the way you've always done them may be holding you back. Open your mind to a changing world and design a strategy to succeed in it.

Educate yourself. Check out CPS HR's upcoming training course, Unleashing Creativity in the Workplace. CPS HR offers more than 150 courses aimed at sharpening business acumen. You can choose among structured modules geared toward improving communication skills, honing analytical intelligence and building valuable relationships.

Key Takeaways

• A tight labor market and speeding technical advances necessitate that careerists fine-tune their skill sets to meet the changing needs of employers.
• Problem-solving and agility are as critical to your professional advancement as hard skills such as computer programming and application development.
• Employers stand up and take notice of candidates who display a talent for adaptability and thinking on their feet.
• The employee skills gap has not been adequately addressed by educational institutions, risk-averse employers and society.
• You can actually learn soft interpersonal skills like creative thinking through planning carefully and leveraging the expertise of CPS HR Consulting.

Contact CPS HR Consulting today to begin your journey to higher ground.

About CPS HR Consulting

CPS HR Consulting is a self-supporting public agency providing a full range of integrated HR solutions to government and nonprofit clients across the country.  Our strategic approach to increasing the effectiveness of human resources results in improved organizational performance for our clients.  We have a deep expertise and unmatched perspective in guiding our clients in the areas of organizational strategy, recruitment and selection, classification and compensation, and training and development.