Employers value strategic thinkers. Developing a set of skills to support innovative thinking can help you stand out in a crowd whether you are job searching or looking to take the next step with your career. With countless daily distractions invading our mind-space, we all need a reminder to slow down, step back and re-evaluate.
When you change your mindset, you can learn how to channel your thoughts to work for you, not against you. Practicing and prioritizing strategic thinking can help you manage the challenges to achieve the results you envision. You can apply this on a personal career level or an organizations’ overarching market level — and that is what employers are looking for!
Employers are looking for individuals to ask questions and direct themselves and the organization to create an upward trajectory. Our talent acquisition team consistently recognizes how impactful strategical thinking is when entering a new organization or beginning work on a new project.
“We see great value in candidates who ask questions and communicate in a way that demonstrates understanding the objective(s) of a given job. It shows that they also recognize the actions required to meet the objectives. Displays of strategic thinking create trust and imply a roadmap for success exists.”
— Claire Young, KellyMitchell Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist
Life is an endless cycle of change and growth. Any decision, large or small, personal or corporate, requires understanding the surrounding factors and taking the right steps towards the future you foresee. Are you ready to begin the R.A.C.E. to the top?
Research
Start with research. You may not even have a clear, identifiable problem at hand, but you can begin by researching trends or hot topics. The questions and answers to success will not fall into your lap. Research how the world is changing. Staying up to date allows you to know what questions to ask and gain a broader perspective beyond the day-to-day noise.
Research your own role or organization. Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Begin forming the questions you want to answer. Raise questions about your existing position and your future potential.
Analyze
Sometimes, when we’re knee deep in everyday activities, we develop blinders to what we believe is the right and wrong answer. We can sometimes believe we have all the questions answered, and the gray area becomes smaller and smaller with our expertise.
When answering the questions you’ve formulated through your research and making decisions with a strategic approach, it’s important to not forget to consider opposing ideas. Analyze answers. Not all solutions or answers are effective in every scenario and can cause disruption or distractedness.
Create a Clear Course
Transitioning your thinking from reactive to proactive takes time, but it begins with creating a clear course of action to achieve your objective. Strategic thinkers offer a solution-oriented approach. You are not simply identifying the problem or opportunity but also presenting a clear course of action with next steps and actionable items to assign and manage.
Evaluate
It’s important to continue to evaluate each step or task as you move closer to your objective. Obstacles will present themselves and continuously evaluating the situation and moving factors will ensure you stay on track.
There are hundreds of success stories of zero to hero, penniless to millions. A trending factor with all of these stories is strategy. It is time to take a step back, remove yourself from the daily grind, and look to see where you are headed, where you want to go, and how you are going to get there.
You can pave your way to success with wiser decisions and real data when you practice strategical thinking. A recruiter helps you identify opportunities for advancement that could be overlooked and helps build your team for challenging projects. We’re here to help you build relationships and give you recommendations for special projects or teams that you might not have considered or been considered for otherwise.
Are you looking to take the next step? Connect with Claire on LinkedIn!
The post The Recruiter Report: Prioritize Strategic Thinking appeared first on KellyMitchell.
