Critical thinking and problem-solving refer to utilizing facts, knowledge, and data to solve problems effectively. The two strategies are effective for decision-making by helping individuals improve and examine their thoughts, ask the right questions while seeking others’ opinions, and consider other interests and preferences. The main functions of executive functioning are working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control. Working memory is the ability to keep information in mind. Cognitive flexibility is seeing problems in different dimensions and developing solutions. Inhibitory control is controlling one’s emotions to avoid acting out of impulse.
When hiring personnel to install accessibility equipment for children with disabilities throughout the school grounds, it is essential to consider their executive functioning, including problem-solving. A successful installation and maintenance of accessibility equipment require effective problem-solving, decision-making, and reasoning as they lead to a better understanding of the problem. This essay answers questions when developing a job requirement report for the team to be hired to install accessibility equipment.
What are the most critical executive functioning skills you would look for in a potential employee you were interviewing to hire?
The most critical executive functioning skills I would look for in a potential employee are
Paying attention to details. Attention is the ability to focus on all areas of a project or a task, regardless of how big or small it is (Belsky, 2023). Attention is an essential executive functioning skill, showing the employee’s ability to perform and review their work thoroughly. When hiring employees for the installation project, I will ensure they have excellent cognitive and attention to the information.
Organization and planning. Organization and planning are essential executive functioning skills for any employee (Belsky, 2023). Good organization and planning fosters goal accomplishment and help respond to organizational challenges better and quickly.
Problem solving. I will also consider the employee’s problem-solving skills. A potential employee should solve arising problems more critically and creatively (Belsky, 2023). A good problem solver will think logically creatively, and be imaginative while giving their response. They will also demonstrate lateral thinking, resilience, and determination towards the project’s accomplishment.
Self-monitoring. Self-monitoring is the ability to regulate behavior to accommodate social situations. This will help me determine whether they can work under any condition and with different groups of people, including those with disabilities.
Decision making. It is an essential executive functioning skill that requires one to choose. Employees with decision-making skills utilize available information and knowledge to make better choices. I will look out for this skill among the employees because it shows their ability to deal with problems and maximize available opportunities.
As the team lead, how would you assess the employee’s executive functioning skills, including “soft skills”?
I would assess the employee’s executive functioning skills, including soft skills, through observation, interview questions, performance evaluation, behavior assessment, and feedback sessions. Interview questions, including pre-employment personality testing, reveal important information about candidates demonstrating their executive functioning and soft skills. How I will assess the specific executive functioning skills, include
Paying attention to detail. I will assess these skills by interviewing them based on their previous projects. This will help me understand the accuracy and precision of the tasks they previously handled.
Organization and planning. I will evaluate the employee organization and planning skills based on their ability to plan and prioritize work.
Problem solving. I will assess their problem-solving skills by giving them real-life scenarios of the problems typical of the project they will be handling.
Self-monitoring. I will evaluate the interviewee’s self-monitoring behavior based on how they present themselves, communicate, and behave in different working environments.
For the soft skills, I will ask the soft skills the candidate think they possess, have them rank the skills they have, ask for examples revealing the skills they have, give them workplace scenarios that require them to use their skills, and evaluate their responses (Hire Success, 2022). I will observe their physical and social cues throughout the interviewing process to determine whether they understand what is expected of them and how confident they are to handle the upcoming tasks.
Performance reviews and feedback sessions also effectively assess employees’ executive functioning skills and soft skills. After hiring the employees, I will offer continuous training and development opportunities and later evaluate their understanding and improvements. I will gather feedback from fellow leaders and employees and share it with the employees to motivate them to strive for excellence and stay committed.
Explain how you would differentiate the strategies and principles of cognition required for this particular job posting.
Principles of cognition focus on what one knows rather than one response to stimuli. The principles of cognition include engagement, exploration, explanation, engagement, and evaluation. Cognition strategies improve a person’s ability to process, transfer, and understand information more deeply. Examples of strategies for cognition include organization, understanding context, problem resolution, and reflection. I will differentiate between the strategies and principles of cognition in this particular job posting by understanding their flexibility and adaptability level, attention to detail and safety, ability to solve problems in diverse working environments, and communication and collaboration skills. Since the job requires excellent attention to detail, creativity and innovation, and multi-tasking skills, I will look for candidates with exceptional problem-solving and organizational skills.
Describe the questions you would ask the candidate to assess their problem-solving skills.
According to Birt et al. (2023), the questions I will ask the candidate to assess their problem-solving skills are
When you are faced with a problem, what do you do? This will help determine their problem-solving process. I will use this question to understand how the employee gathers, analyzes, and utilizes available information to solve existing or arising problems.
Can you share a specific situation when you encountered a problem with installation? What was the issue, and how did you solve it? This will determine their ability to identify problems, develop solutions, and implement them.
Tell me about a time when you faced an unexpected challenge during installation. What did you do? Whom did you involve? This will help me understand their ability to think beyond unforeseen challenges. It will demonstrate the employee’s flexibility, adaptability, teamwork, and collaboration.
What will you do if we are not satisfied with your work? Do you have backup plans and skills to ensure those you work for are satisfied and willing to do more business with you? This will help determine the employees’ ability to handle stressful situations. Customer satisfaction is critical to any business, and the employee needs to have quality skills to address this.
How do you choose which problem to address first when the issues with installation are multiple and overwhelming? This question will help determine how they set their priorities.
Explain the rationale of the types of questions you would ask to assess executive functioning skills.
Testing attention. Testing the interviewee’s attention makes it easy for the hiring process by avoiding lengthy interviews. The questions should focus on the candidate’s level of perfection and accuracy, which are critical in the installation work. Employees with greater attention to detail skills are very efficient, organized, and resourceful.
Testing their problem-solving skills. I will test their problem-solving skill to understand their ability to identify problems and develop solutions. The questions should focus on daily challenges encountered in the installation process and their ability to handle them, including how they collaborate with others.
Testing organization and planning skills. This will help determine their ability to plan and organize information for problem resolution. Questions should focus on their team planning and management, information planning, and resource utilization.
Decision-making and continuous improvement testing. This helps understand their decision-making process and how they utilize their decisions for continuous improvements. Questions should focus on reflective thinking, the ability to use previous encounters to make future decisions, and their willingness to educate or pass the skills to others.
Conclusion
The process of hiring new personnel to handle the equipment installation for disabled children in the school compound requires quality evaluation of their executive functioning skills, including their soft skills. Employees with excellent administrative functioning skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, attention to detail, self-control, collaboration, and communication fit these challenging roles and projects best. In-depth interviews, questions and discussions, observation, and real-life scenarios will help determine the employee’s skills. Hiring an employee who has passed the evaluation guarantees Success and excellence in our installation project.
References
Belsky G. (2023, October 5). Types of executive function skills. Understood. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/types-of-executive-function-skills
Birt J. (2023, March 10). 8 Common Problem-Solving Interview Questions and Answers. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/problem-solving-interview-questions
Hire Success. (2022). How to Measure and Assess Soft Skills | Hire Success®. https://www.hiresuccess.com/blog/how-to-measure-and-assess-soft-skills
write