how to say you are a critical thinker on resume

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Critical Thinking Skills for Resume: Definition, Importance Examples

It’s no secret that employers want adaptable people, who can solve problems, and contribute to the organization’s success. The difference between an employee who can do these things and one who can’t comes down to one simple thing: they have strong critical thinking skills.

So of course you’d want to tout these on your resume and all over your job application materials too. There’s one problem, though. Critical skills aren’t always easy to put on paper. But there are a few ‘workarounds’ this post will show you! 

What Are Critical Thinking Skills?

Critical thinking skills stand for your ability to rationally process information, find connections between ideas, reflect, and draw conclusions. You use critical thinking skills in the workplace to solve problems, collaborate with others, resolve conflicts, and complete many other everyday tasks.

To give you a better idea, here are several critical thinking skills examples : 

• Analysis of information for relevancy and accuracy. Strong fact-checking abilities. 
• Critical self-reflection and introspection to eliminate bias or flawed assumptions. 
• Using available data to formulate effective, empathetic, and rational solutions to problems.
• Integrating different information sources and perspectives to form a coherent understanding of an issue. 
• Recognition of fallacies: Ability to spot and eliminate flaws in arguments, assessments, and suggested solutions. 
• Brainstorming multiple approaches to a problem and evaluating their potential effectiveness.

Generally, critical thinking falls into the broader category of conceptual skills — your cognitive abilities to transform abstract problems into concrete solutions. Critical thinking skills also form the base of your analytical skills — a broader range of abilities to perceive, process, and assimilate information. 

Why Are Critical Thinking Skills In Demand By Employers

Employers find ‘soft skills’ like critical thinking in short supply: 78% of employers rank 

critical thinking/analytic reasoning is the most important workplace competency, but only 34% of college graduates they interview are well-prepared in this department. 

At the same time, 93% of employers state that they value strong critical thinking skills over the candidate’s undergraduate degree. Why so? 

Put simply, critical thinking indicates your ability to make good decisions — a competency required for almost every role. 

Critical thinkers can effectively assess the available information and synthesize the best plan of action, based on analyzed data and personal experience.  On the other hand, people with poor critical-thinking skills may be more prone to drawing fast conclusions on incomplete or unreliable data, and rely on ‘hunches’ or personal biases.

The knowledge economy, we now operate in, also puts a premium on human capital. Simple menial work can be done by algorithms and smart manufacturing equipment. However, we still need humans to supervise, develop, and oversee the execution. Another study also argues that people with strong critical thinking skills are less likely to get displaced from their jobs by emerging technologies. 

The bottom line: Critical thinking is 81% of employers already highly valued today and one that prepares you well for the future of work. 

List Of Critical Thinking Skills For Your Resume

Let’s be real: you won’t convince hiring managers by simply stating, ‘I have strong critical thinking skills’ in your cover letter . It’s a fact you need to demonstrate via your duties and accomplishments. The best way to do so is to share specific critical thinking skills examples on your resume. 

Analysis stands for your ability to effectively deal with incoming information and translate it into insights. To analyze things properly, you must know how to source information, verify that it is valid, determine which data is relevant, and take an objective approach to draw conclusions based on that information.

How to demonstrate this critical thinking skill on a resume: 

From a project coordinator resume example : 

Employed a Checklist-Oriented Requirement Analysis (CORA) framework to analyze project requirements, map dependencies, identify possible constraints, and develop contingency plans.

Observation

Observation involves having a heightened awareness of your surroundings, understanding what you observe, and knowing the appropriate action to take. For example, they may notice a downward trend in productivity, and take action to address potential staffing issues.

How to add this critical thinking skill to a resume: 

From a teacher’s resume example : 

Observed students’ performance on standardized English language tests versus creating assignments to better understand the impact of each on information retention and improve my teaching strategies.

Inference indicates your ability to draw conclusions based on a limited set of data. For example, the manager of a community pool may infer that an unseasonably hot day will mean that more people will order cold drinks from the concession stand. Combined with business acumen , interference often helps bring more creative ideas and accelerate innovation. 

How to demonstrate such critical thinking skills on a resume

From a digital marketing manager resume example : 

Increase the ROAS from digital out-of-home ad campaigns by 25%, by a new customer cohort of ‘eco-conscious consumers” and adjusting the messaging for them in key locations.

Problem-Solving

The ability to strategize and evaluate a solution after it has been implemented is the essence of problem-solving skills. Problem-solving requires that you can look at a problem objectively, and think through potential solutions in a methodical manner. 

Although employers are the most likely to assess this skill with problem-solving interview questions , it’s still worth including a short mention on your resume too, especially for roles that require quick thinking. 

How to demonstrate problem-solving skills on a resume: 

From an administrative assistant resume example :

Helped organize a 1,000 sales rep conference on a 3-week deadline, despite facing venue cancelations and two last-moment speaker cancellations. 

Communication

The ability to effectively collaborate with others, discuss problems, give and receive feedback are critical skills for every hire. Show the employer that you can hold productive exchanges with people who don’t always agree with you, be persuasive, and critically process all the information others are sharing with you. 

How to demonstrate strong communication skills on a resume: 

From a program manager resume example : 

Successfully led change management efforts, helping transition over 500 employees to a new EHR system. Addressed initial cultural resistance among staff via a series of workshops, personalized demo sessions, and group training, as well as ‘employee advocate’ initiatives.

Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinkers can draw data from the past and present to anticipate future implications of their actions and engineer effective plans to achieve targeted goals. This critical-thinking skill is especially important for anyone in managerial or executive roles as you’d be primarily expected to formulate and oversee different corporate objectives. 

How to demonstrate strategic thinking on a resume

From a Chief Financial Officer resume example :

Spreadheded the effort to re-engineer the procurement function. Developed and executed a strategy, aimed at improving supplier assessments, onboarding, and payments, as well as the general purchase order cycle. Reduced the average purchase time for new materials by 25% and achieved bottom-line improvements of $250k annually.

Critical Evaluation

Critical evaluation indicates your ability to assess the accuracy, validity, and relevancy of information available to you. Much of the information today is accessed online and often comes from questionable sources. 

It takes a combination of digital literacy and critical thinking skills for workers to discern which information is reliable, and what can be dismissed as pseudo-science, fake news, marketing talk, propaganda, or highly speculative thinking. 

How to demonstrate this critical thinking skill on a resume

From a personal banker resume example:

Educate customers on the risks associated with investments in so-called “hyped” stocks, as well as penny-stock trading. Suggest more sustainable, value-oriented investment strategies, based on their financial goals.

Continuous Learning 

Continuous learning indicates your commitment to self-improvement. Although it’s a less direct demonstration of strong critical-thinking skills, it is still a valid indicator of your ability to effectively navigate the available information, identify emerging themes on the market, and translate these into new professional knowledge. 

From a personal trainer resume example : 

Completed Precision Nutrition Certification Level 1 certification in 2023 to help clients develop appropriate dietary regiments to ensure faster muscle gain naturally.

How To Improve Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking is a “muscle” you can train by being more deliberate about how you process information, build logical arguments, and catch some biases in your thinking. If you need some training, start building the following habits: 

• Practice information analysis: When trying to solve a problem, focus on getting all the necessary data first. Then, evaluate which ‘intel’ is accurate, important, and fit for purpose. Toss other findings and work with what’s left. 
• Learn to give recommendations: Recommendations are synthesized findings — a feasible, data- or experience-based solution. Learn to formulate all your recommendations based on the above. 
• Challenge your biases : Everyone is prone to preconceived notions and assumptions. Unfortunately, these get in the way of critical thinking. Learn to recognize your own biases, and make a dedicated effort to put those aside when you innovate and solve problems.
• Cultivate media literacy skills. When reading your favorite publishers, pay attention to how they make different claims. Are they guilty of exaggerating the problem by citing super-bold, but underrepresenative claims? What do other sources about the same topic? What types of sources do they cite? Are these credible and reliable? Learning to analyze how information is presented helps you develop sharper critical thinking skills. 

Critical thinking skills are key for effective decision-making, smooth collaboration, and personal efficiency — a triumvirate of in-demand skills among employers. Today, these skills are crucial for working with data, solving emerging market problems, and discerning truth from a growing volume of unproven information, circulating online. Tomorrow, critical thinking will become even more important as the future workforce will be primarily focused on knowledge work.

Elena runs content operations at Freesumes since 2017. She works closely with copywriters, designers, and invited career experts to ensure that all content meets our highest editorial standards. Up to date, she wrote over 200 career-related pieces around resume writing, career advice... more

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How can you Show Critical Thinking Skills on your Resume?

15 min read · Updated on April 18, 2023

With critical thinking skills in high demand, you can get ahead with a resume that showcases those abilities

Soft skills like critical thinking continue to be vitally important for companies around the country and across the world. Unfortunately, many of those companies have long complained about their struggles to find candidates who demonstrate the crucial critical thinking skills that their enterprises need to succeed. The question job seekers need to ask themselves is simple: what critical thinking skills are companies looking for, and how can they be highlighted in a resume to ensure that they capture an employer's attention?

In this post, we'll define these important abilities, consider some examples of critical thinking skills, and examine why they are so important to today's companies. We'll also offer some helpful tips that you can use to develop your own critical thinking and provide guidance to help you to highlight those abilities on your resume.

What are critical thinking skills?

Before you can include critical thinking skills on your  resume , you first need to understand what they are. The simplest definition is that they are a range of abilities that enable you to think and problem-solve using facts, deduction, and logic. This rational approach to thinking can enable you to connect seemingly unrelated facts, analyze information in an unbiased way, and resolve complex problems.

Critical thinkers do more than just gather facts and make decisions, of course. They use their cognitive abilities to infer missing information, connect ideas, and consider the outcome of any decision they make. These types of thinkers have the ability to act with independence and produce competent results with a minimum of ongoing supervision. For people who possess these skills, life and work choices tend to revolve around reason and logic. That rational approach to thinking is something that every employer prizes.

Examples of critical thinking skills

It's also helpful to explore some examples of different critical thinking skills, to better understand the types of abilities that employers will want to see in your resume. As you read through the following examples, you should be able to identify how each of these abilities is an essential part of the broader critical thought process. If you find yourself lacking in any of these areas, you will likely benefit from focusing on developing those skills.

Observation

The ability to conduct effective observations is an essential critical thinking skill. Problems can never be resolved until they are identified and properly understood. Your ability to observe can enable you to enjoy a deeper understanding of the facts surrounding a situation or potential problem. Just as important, those observational talents can assist you as you attempt to understand other stakeholders' different points of view and attempt to find areas of common ground to inform your decision-making.

Open-mindedness

It's crucial to keep an open mind whenever you engage in critical thinking. Being receptive to other points of view and all the available facts can help you to mitigate any personal bias that might otherwise cloud your analysis and judgment. True critical thought requires you to set aside your preconceptions and personal preferences to ensure that you examine the facts and evidence in an objective manner.

Of course, every human being has their own biases and no one expects you to erase those preconceptions completely. The key is to recognize them and have the self-awareness needed to set them aside whenever you need to look at things critically. For many people, this challenge is one of the biggest impediments to developing effective critical thought processes.

Analytical thinking

Analytical thinking is the process of evaluating data to identify patterns, prioritize facts, and eliminate irrelevant information. These skills are key in the workplace and as part of the critical thinking process, since they enable you to make reason-based judgments about the value of the information you gather and organize. This ensures that your decision-making process focuses only on the facts and details that matter, instead of focusing on information that might distract you from identifying the best possible solution.

Sound analysis skills necessarily include the ability to know which questions to ask to inform any decision. For example:

Can I trust the source of this information?

Do alternative facts exist, and how reliable are they?

Are there other points of view that I need to consider?

Do my data sources have their own biases and, if so, how might those biases impact my decision?

Do I have enough facts at hand to even begin to form an opinion or solution?

In many instances, the information that you have ready access to may be insufficient to help you to form a reasoned conclusion. That's where your research skills will come into play. Being able to conduct your own research can be a key factor in ensuring that you have the data you need to render a decision or resolve a problem. Fortunately, research is now easier than it has ever been, provided you know how to use the internet to seek out reliable data.

Proper research should always begin with an effort to define the questions that you want to answer. One effective strategy is to create a list of those questions and note why the answers will be relevant to your analysis. Then consult reliable online sources to learn more about the subject at hand. As you do so, try to avoid sites that offer opinion or fringe theories and instead rely on university websites, nonprofits, and trusted news sites. You should also consult multiple sources, to ensure that your gathered information is as trustworthy as possible.

Creative thinking

The ability to think creatively will also be a vital component of your critical thinking process. Even after you've gathered and analyzed all of the available data, and made inferences to fill in any knowledge gaps, you will still have to use some measure of creativity to devise a solution to your problem. Now, if your first reaction to that idea is to suggest that you are not a creative person, think again. Everyone has some degree of creativity and that creative streak can be developed if you put in the effort.

Note also that this type of creativity has nothing to do with the ability to write a novel, paint a picture, or create the next great musical masterpiece. Instead, this creativity focuses on the ability to identify patterns and infer connections to create a variety of possible solutions to any given problem. With practice and focus, you should be able to learn to engage in this type of thinking to help you with your decision-making.

Inference is simply the ability to “fill in the gaps” between various pieces of data and evidence. For example, if you're at work and see a coworker grimace as they bite into a sandwich in the cafeteria, you may not know exactly why they made that face. However, you can use your own experience and judgment to infer some possible reasons. Perhaps the sandwich tasted bad. Or the person experienced pain, possibly due to a bad tooth or a hard object in the sandwich. You get the picture.

The ability to infer certain truths is essential in most decision-making and problem-solving exercises, since you may not always have all of the information you need to properly understand a decision. What you will have, however, is your own experience and knowledge, as well as the ability to make reasonable assumptions that fit within the fact pattern at hand. Well-honed inference abilities will empower you to fill in those missing gaps in the evidence to make the most rational assumptions possible.

Self-awareness and self-management

Self-awareness is a prerequisite to  self-management , which is a vital component in the critical thinking process. You must be able to regulate your thoughts and emotions, which means that you need to possess enough self-awareness to recognize how you're thinking and feeling. This awareness and ability to regulate yourself will ensure that you have the objectivity needed to maintain an open and unbiased mind as you examine evidence, draw conclusions, and make decisions.

Communication

Communication skills always end up being discussed in conversations like this - and for good reason. In both business and life, the ability to effectively communicate your ideas is essential for success. This is true in critical thinking as well, since you will almost certainly need to share your conclusions and solutions with other people at some point in the process.

When your available solutions or decisions are limited, that communication may be as easy as explaining your conclusion and choice. On the other hand, there will also be times when you'll need to go into great detail to share your results. For example, let's say that your critical analysis and thought process led you to several viable solutions and an equal number of potentially beneficial decisions.  Communicating those complex results will require you to compare the options and the various pros and cons of each.

Why are critical thinking skills so important?

One of the biggest reasons that these abilities are so prized these days is that employers find soft skills like critical thinking in short supply. Of course, that's not a new problem. Nearly a decade ago, an American Management Association  survey found that 72% of employers cited critical thinking as a vital component of their business success. However, only about half of those employers believed that their own employees possessed those vital skills.

Today, many employers continue to complain about a lack of critical thinking abilities in their prospective talent pools. A survey in 2022 found that many managers still cited critical thinking as a  top-ranked skill they look for in job candidates. Those same managers, however, said that it was common for newer employees to lack those critical abilities - raising doubts about whether any real progress has been made in recent years to ensure that new workers have the thinking skills employees need to succeed.

The fact is that there are many reasons why critical thinking abilities are so vitally important for employers and employees alike:

Many occupations require critical thinking

Professional endeavors typically require more than just technical skills. Whether you're seeking a career in healthcare, scientific research, law, finance, or education, the ability to think critically can be essential to success. Every job that involves analyzing information, deducing facts, and  solving problems creatively requires some measure of critical thinking.

Critical thinkers are more adaptable to new information

People who can think critically tend to be more amenable to changing their opinions and minds as new facts challenge their preconceptions. Critical thought requires constant self-reflection, to mitigate potential personal bias, and the ability to view facts and problems from many different perspectives.

Critical thinkers are adept at researching

Because critical thinking relies on information, these thinkers are forced to become talented researchers to get the data they need for their analysis. A great critical thinker not only knows how to gather new information, but also knows how to prioritize the data they encounter.

Improved decision-making

The best decisions tend to be the ones that are most reliant on facts and reason. Critical thinking processes enable you to recognize your biases, choose logic over emotional responses, and make reason-based decisions that provide superior solutions for any problem. Critical thinkers are able to enjoy these decision-making benefits in both their personal and professional lives.

How to develop critical thinking skills

Even if you're already talented in this area, it's important to know how to improve your critical thinking skills. Yes, that's correct: critical thinking abilities are not something that you're born with; they are skills that you learn and develop over the course of your life. Fortunately, there are easy ways that you can improve your own thinking skills to become a better critical thinker. For example:

1. Learn to ask basic questions

One of the best ways to develop critical thinking skills is to train yourself to ask more questions, even about basic things. By focusing on the who, what, when, where, and why of a situation or problem, you can often cut through complex possibilities and get to the heart of the issue. Questions can include things like:

Who was the last person to try to tackle this issue?

What are we trying to achieve here?

When does this need to be resolved?

Where can I find other data that might help us to solve this issue?

Why have we been using this process up until now?

2. Always question your own biases

Biases can cause you to make assumptions that may not be supported by the facts or evidence. By constantly questioning your own biases, you can improve your self-awareness and ensure that you take a more objective approach to your analysis and research during any critical thought process.

3. Take stock of your thoughts

Just as you must be conscious of your biases, you must also be conscious of your own thought processes. Humans think at such a fast pace that most of us end up taking mental shortcuts. This can cause you to miss crucial facts or even draw illogical inferences. Take your time and be aware of how your thoughts might be inhibiting your critical processes.

4. Get in the habit of examining evidence

Learn to examine facts and situations as they occur around you. This simple exercise in paying attention to the details can help you to hone your analysis skills.

5. Look for gaps in the information at hand

Practice your inference skills. When you see someone standing on a sidewalk impatiently, think about why they might be waiting in that area. Simple examples like that can get you in the habit of trying to fill in missing gaps in any pattern of evidence.

6. Always think for yourself

If you're someone who tends to follow others' opinions and conclusions, focus on learning to think more for yourself. Learn to trust your own judgment and instincts as you develop your analysis and observation skills. This will help you to prepare for more advanced critical thinking and problem-solving in the future.

7. Focus on developing leadership traits

Learn to be a leader by developing the skills and traits that can empower you in a leadership role. Practice being more decisive,  adaptable , and resilient. Focus on empathy to develop your ability to understand other points of view. For more information about leadership, check out our post,  These 14 Leadership Traits Can Fuel Your Career Success.

Tips to help you show critical thinking skills on your resume

To properly highlight your critical thinking skills on a resume, you should focus on using language that emphasizes your ability to solve problems. You should include this language within your resume summary, your job experience section, and your listed skills. Do not, however, simply list “critical thinking” within your skills. Instead, you'll want to include those skills that demonstrate your critical thinking abilities.

Highlighting critical thinking skills within your resume summary

It's important to draw attention to your critical thinking abilities within your resume summary, since that's the first thing that hiring managers see when they review your resume. Again, you don't need to include a direct reference to critical thinking, unless that term is included within the job description. Instead, you can simply make references to those abilities as you describe yourself and your achievements in that summary paragraph. For example:

Data-driven analyst and creative problem-solver with 10 years of experience in the technology industry. Managed multiple large projects and implemented complex technology solutions for companies with a combined market capitalization of more than $100 billion.

With this summary, the job candidate highlights their ability to rely on data analysis and creative thinking to solve problems - which is just another way of saying that they just might be the critical thinker that this prospective employer is looking for!

Showing examples of critical thinking in your work experience section

To properly showcase your critical thinking ability in your work experience section, you should include an example of a time when those skills helped you to accomplish a goal or resolve a problem for your employer. Do this by citing the example within your bulleted list of achievements for each company. For example:

• Identified and resolved deficiencies within the company's vendor logistics network by devising and implementing a new process that reduced supply delays by 30%
• Managed the team responsible for analyzing network security weaknesses, identifying new solutions to enhance protection and implementing strategies that reduced serious threats by 89%
• Initiated and led a project that crafted new client retention solutions, reducing client loss by 60% after implementing new client management protocols and revised service personnel training and oversight processes

Listing critical thinking skills in your skills section

As we noted earlier, you should not generally include the words “critical thinking skills” in your resume's skill section. Still, you'll want to emphasize the skills that enable you to think critically by including terms like:

Data analysis

Problem solving

Active listening

Self-management

Organization

Risk management

Data-driven decision-making

Ask for resume help

With employers continuing to focus on their need for critical thinkers, it's more vital than ever to ensure that your resume properly conveys your critical thinking skills. By understanding which skills are essential for critical thinking, and working to develop your own abilities in this area, you can better position yourself and your resume to stand out from other job candidates in your field.

Need to ensure that your resume effectively highlights your important critical thinking skills? Get a  free resume review from our team of experts today!

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What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is the ability to analyze information and make reasoned judgments.

Critical thinking helps to think rationally and understand the connection between ideas. It helps to make sense of the world. Using critical thinking skills will make you challenge the loopholes.

For instance, it would enable you to find better solutions or ways to deal with existing issues, thus making you an asset. It is also why employers wish to find such people who think critically.

Read on to understand more about critical thinking, its importance, and incorporating such skills into your resumes.

Additionally, you can get a clear understanding of the following questions about critical thinking skills :

• What do you mean by critical thinking skills?
• How would you demonstrate critical thinking on a resume?
• What are the examples of critical thinking on a job?
• What are the 5 critical thinking skills?
• How to improve critical thinking skills?

What Are Critical Thinking Skills?

The skills that help us to analyze information, arguments, and situations are known as critical thinking skills. Critical thinkers can draw reasonable conclusions from plenty of information and discriminate between information.

Why is Critical Thinking Important?

A critical thinker evaluates sources of information- data, facts, and research findings. For instance, you can research the pros and cons of having a balanced diet. A quick Google search will give you plenty of information on why it is good for your health or is not.

You can find data to back up either side of the claim. Then, using critical thinking skills, you decide for yourself if having a balanced diet will be more or less beneficial for you.

So, critical thinking is important both personally and professionally. It is a skill that is highly valued by employers as well.

Why is Critical Thinking Important In a Workplace?

Critical thinking guides good decision-making, helping you spot possible obstacles and discover solutions to them. It assists you and your coworkers in coming up with new ideas to achieve objectives.

Critical thinking helps in identifying, and addressing workflow inefficiencies, improving management practices, guiding financial decisions, and cultivating a strategic attitude.

Employers want critical thinkers to evaluate a situation using logical thought and offer the best solution. Hiring a critical thinker implies micro-managing is not required.

How Would You Demonstrate Critical Thinking Skills in Your Job Search?

Critical thinking and critical thinker are the go-to words for employers, so much so that they mention them in the job listing. So, it fetches you brownie points when you mention critical thinking on your resume.

But is that all? Not really!

So, how do you demonstrate critical thinking skills in your job search?

Use Critical Thinking While Looking for Jobs

Read the job listing carefully and decide whether it would be worth your time. In your job search, it might happen that the role is suitable but the working hours are not, or the remuneration is not competitive. Would it then be worth going through the hiring process only to reject the offer in the end?

Add Keywords to Your Resume

If critical thinking is a key phrase in the job listing, then emphasize critical thinking skills throughout your job search. Use critical thinking keywords such as analytical, problem solving, creativity, etc. Include the top critical thinking skills that best describe you in your work experience and resume summary.

Demonstrate Critical Thinking in the Experience Section

Mention prior experiences where you had to make a decision in a challenging situation. It could be an instance where you supervised a project when no instructions were given or where you had to prioritize between many tasks.

What impact did your decision have? Quantify the results you achieved due to the decisions you took and mention them as bullet points in the experience section.

Demonstrate Critical Thinking in the Resume Summary

Craft a resume summary that encapsulates your experiences and sprinkle keywords such as implemented, result-oriented, problem solver, and driven. Keep the resume summary short and mention the most valuable experiences that you have had.

For instance, a driven individual with 5+ years of experience in app development who has led a team of 10 and implemented complex changes in software for IT companies.

Mention Skills in Your Cover Letter

Include critical thinking skills in the body of your letter. Pick relevant situations and experiences that you highly value and challenge you the most. Give specific examples of times when you have demonstrated critical thinking at work.

Show the Interviewer Your Skills

You can use instances when you demonstrated critical thinking at work when answering behavioral questions. Use the STAR method or situation, task, action, and result method.

Discuss times when you were faced with challenges at work and explain how you applied critical thinking to solve them. Explain your thought process clearly to the interviewer.

Also read : Should I include my soft skills on a resume?

What Are the Examples of Using Critical Thinking on a Job?

Aside from hard skills that decide how skilled you will be at your job, soft skills decide how tactful you will be with your tasks. Having rich soft skills will ensure that you perform your tasks correctly with very little mistakes or setbacks.

• Deciding the precedence order of tasks : A critical thinker decides the order by which the tasks should be completed on the basis of urgency and importance.
• Deciding the best course of action : A critical thinker reviews the evidence and devises a strategy to reach the desired outcome.
• Deciding favorable inputs : A critical thinker decides which information, data, or materials (in case a project requires using raw material) that would be required to complete the task.

The Top 5 Critical Thinking Skills

The in-demand critical thinking skills must be added to your resume and cover letter. They should be emphasized throughout the application process, such as during interviews.

The most important critical thinking skills are:

It means carefully examining something- a set of data or a text. Critical thinkers examine information, understand it, and convey its implications.

Communication

You have to communicate with colleagues and superiors to share your ideas effectively. Often, you will have to share your conclusions with them one-on-one or in a group.

So, you would use critical thinking and communicate effectively to figure out solutions to complex problems.

Also read : How to leverage communication skills in a workplace?

Critical thinking involves creativity and innovation. You would spot patterns in the information or provide a solution that no one else has thought of before. It requires a creative bent of mind.

Open-mindedness

To think critically, one needs to put aside assumptions or judgments. You have to analyze the information you receive and be objective in evaluating ideas without bias.

Problem-Solving

It is another critical thinking skill that involves- analyzing a problem, generating its solution, and then implementing it. It also involves assessing the success of the plan.

Hiring managers don’t simply want employees who can think about information critically. They need employees to come up with practical solutions.

How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills?

If you catch yourself making rushed decisions with no real thought, don't worry because it is a skill that you can build. Use the seven-step rule to develop critical thinking skills:

Step 1: Identify the Problem

Choose to be precise while identifying the issue. The narrower the scope, the easier it is to find answers. You do not have to do it all on your own either, if there are coworkers with the same skill set as you, consult them so that you cover all bases.

Step 2: Gather Data

Find several sources of information that contain different ideas and points of view. Doing so will help you avoid hasty decisions and understand how to ensure integrity of choices by looking at it from all points of view.

Step 3: Analyze and Evaluate the Data

To analyze and evaluate data, you need to check the reliability of the sources from where the data is derived. Check if the conclusions are backed by data.

Step 4: Identify Assumptions

Ensure that you identify any underlying assumptions before you come to a conclusion. Consider others' assumptions from every angle along with yours to eradicate any biased decisions and to come up with the best solutions.

Step 5: Establish Significance

Include information that is useful and relevant. While conducting surveys, use a suitable sample size to determine if the outcomes affect many people.

Step 6: Make a Decision/Reach a Conclusion

Identify various conclusions that are possible. Decide which of them are sufficiently supported. Weigh their pros and cons. Making brash decisions can be risky as the lack of thought can lead you to lose resources in many ways.

Step 7: Present or Communicate

Present the conclusion to all stakeholders. Instead of being unprepared, try to structure your thoughts and develop an outline so that you do not miss out on any points. Articulating your thoughts correctly can earn you great respect in a workplace.

Key Takeaways

Critical thinking skills are applicable in both personal and professional lives. More often than not, they are mentioned in the job listings. Keep these points in mind while incorporating such skills into your resumes:

• Critical thinkers can draw reasonable conclusions from plenty of information and are highly valued by employers
• If critical thinking is a key phrase in the job listing, then emphasize critical thinking skills throughout your job search
• Critical thinking would help you to decide the precedence order of tasks, the best course of action, and favorable inputs for a task
• Develop critical thinking skills by applying the seven-step rule

Use our career platform for a smooth resume-building experience. We provide a 24/7 online chat service for all your job & career-related queries. You can also reach out to us at [email protected] for any professional assistance.

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The 6 Best Critical Thinking Skills To Add to Your Resume

3 key takeaways

• Why critical thinking is key for all career levels and industries 
• How to incorporate the six critical thinking skills hiring managers look for into your resume, with real-life examples
• How Teal’s AI Resume Builder helps you incorporate critical thinking skills throughout multiple sections of your resume—quickly and easily

Hiring managers value professionals with both hard and soft skills. Strong contributors can assess a situation and make calculated decisions while considering different points of view. That’s where critical thinking comes in. 

Having strong critical thinking skills on your resume is a strength and helps you stand out as a candidate capable of making informed decisions, solving complex problems, and contributing to team objectives.

But which skills do employers prioritize?

Below, you’ll learn about the six most important critical thinking skills to highlight, including practical ways to include them on your resume. 

What is critical thinking, and why is it important?

The critical thinking process is the ability to think clearly and rationally, connect ideas, and apply logic to situations.

People who develop critical thinking skills and demonstrate them are adept at analyzing facts, identifying biases, and developing rational judgment when dealing with a situation or problem. 

For example, a team working on a go-to-market strategy needs to think about the business goal, brainstorm various options, and analyze which has the highest rate of success. 

Critical thinking is important for every career stage and every industry. You can analyze different perspectives, develop multiple solutions independently and with colleagues, and practice lifelong learning. Strong critical thinkers can identify biases, be curious, and understand how relevant something is to the situation. 

Top 6 critical thinking skills

Here are six common critical thinking skills that hiring managers often look for:

1. Questioning

A questioning mindset is the starting point for critical thinking.

People with a questioning mindset have strong observation skills and can quickly identify new problems and opportunities. Typically, those with a questioning mindset are curious and dive into research as they analyze a situation. 

By regularly asking questions like, "How can we do this better?" or, "What can we learn from this?" you contribute to an environment focused on growth and development.

Showcasing your questioning skills on a resume involves more than just listing "Questioning" under the “Skills” section. You'll want to weave it into various parts of your resume alongside qualifications, impact, and hard skills to demonstrate how you've applied it in real-world situations.

For example you can demonstrate critical thinking skills like this:

Work Experience

• Questioned existing project management methodologies and initiated a review, leading to a 25% increase in project delivery efficiency
• Conducted 12 stakeholder interviews per quarter to understand project requirements, ensuring alignment with organizational goals
• Regularly engaged 10+ team members during meetings to foster open communication, resulting in improved collaboration

Add critical thinking skills to your work experience with Teal

Your resume soft skills , like critical thinking, should be highlighted alongside hard skills, qualifications, and impact to show how you used them for success.

With the Teal AI Resume Builder , you can showcase these key skills in your "Work Experience" section, as part of your awards, in a dedicated "Projects" section, and more. Teal provides customizable sections with built-in guidance so you can create a comprehensive overview of your career—without forgetting any important  sections or details.

2. Creativity

Creativity and critical thinking are usually considered two opposite ends of the skills spectrum—but in reality, the two are deeply interconnected. 

Creativity critical thinking can help you break free from established thought processes, patterns, and biases, which is crucial for evaluating information objectively and making rational decisions.

A creative mindset encourages challenging existing norms and assumptions. This helps foster a growth mindset that aligns with the cultural values of many startups. By introducing novelty, flexibility, and depth to the decision-making process, creativity helps you deliver better results for the business.

Integrating creativity as a critical thinking skill into your resume involves showcasing instances where you've taken non-generic approaches to solve problems, make decisions, or innovate. 

Here's one way you can incorporate creativity into your resume:

• Innovation Challenge Winner (2022): Led a team of 15 people to win an industry innovation challenge by creatively solving a long-standing issue in supply chain management

3. Analysis

Analytical skills on a resume add significant value in virtually any professional setting and are crucial for personal development as well. Demonstrating these skills can help show that you’re adaptable in the workplace and able to draw correct conclusions from information.

Here's how you can showcase analytical skills in the "Projects" section of your resume:

• Customer Behavior Prediction: Utilized machine learning algorithms to analyze customer behavior, leading to more targeted marketing and a 25% increase in sales
• Website Optimization: Conducted A/B tests on website elements, leading to an improved user experience and a 15% increase in engagement
• Resource Allocation: Analyzed departmental needs and reallocated resources, resulting in a 10% decrease in operational costs

4. Decision-making

In fast-paced work environments, employers value job seekers who can identify and analyze problems and make effective decisions to solve them.

Hiring managers often look for candidates with strong decision-making skills within teams, which may require technical or industry-specific expertise. Strong decision-making among a team can contribute to better cohesion and collective problem-solving.

In addition to incorporating decision-making skills in your professional summary, work experience, projects, and more, a resume "Skills" section can be a compelling way to showcase decision-making—highlighting the tools you used to analyze situations, weigh options, and execute effective solutions—making your resume more persuasive.

5. Communication

Once you’ve identified an issue and discussed possible solutions, good communication comes in handy. Good communication skills mean you can present conclusions in a persuasive manner—written or verbal.

However, good communication isn’t just about speaking; it's also about listening. Active listening and open-mindedness help you understand other perspectives and shift your own when necessary. It also involves understanding your and others’ emotions.

There are plenty of ways to integrate communication skills into your resume, whether that's under work experience, projects, or your “Education” section. Sharing quantifiable metrics can also go a long way toward showing how your communication skills have saved the day in your past roles.

Here's a quick example:

• Facilitated team meetings to ensure clear communication and effective collaboration, resulting in a 20% increase in project completion rates
• Presented quarterly reports with team performance and future strategies to senior management

6. Leadership

Good leaders need to be able to evaluate the potential risks and benefits of a course of action (or many) and guide their teams toward the best possible outcomes. By showcasing how your leadership skills have benefited your past companies, you demonstrate your effectiveness as a critical thinker.

One of the most effective ways to highlight your leadership skills on your resume is to show the impact you made at various organizations, with key metrics to show your decisions under pressure.

Here's an example:

Work Experience 

• Spearheaded team expansion from 10 to 30 members in 12 months, leading to a 40% increase in project delivery efficiency and overall team productivity
• Established and led a cross-functional task force, resulting in a 25% reduction in project timelines and a subsequent 15% improvement in client satisfaction
• Directed a team through a critical organizational restructuring, boosting employee morale and engagement, and contributing to a 20% reduction in staff turnover

How to add critical thinking skills to your resume or cover letter

In a competitive job market, employers aren’t just looking for technical expertise or hard skills—they also want candidates who can think critically, solve complex problems, resolve conflict, and adapt to the ever-changing professional landscape.

Exceptional critical thinking and conceptual skills can be the difference between you and another candidate. They demonstrate your ability to analyze situations, make sound decisions, and lead teams—all of which are invaluable in almost any role and industry.

Here are a few ways you can include critical thinking skills on your resume or cover letter to make sure your job application stands out:

1. Use action verbs that highlight critical thinking

Action verbs can bring your critical thinking skills to life and make your resume more engaging. Instead of using generic verbs like "did" or "made," opt for more dynamic verbs such as "analyzed," "formulated," "assessed," or "strategized."

2. Integrate critical thinking into your brand

Your resume summary is often the first thing recruiters read. By embedding critical thinking skills there, you set the tone for the rest of your resume.

For example, a statement like "Results-driven professional, skilled in analytical problem-solving and strategic decision-making" immediately signals to the employer that you have valuable critical thinking skills.

3. Use real-world scenarios and projects

Real-world examples offer concrete evidence of your critical thinking abilities. You can create a separate “Projects” section where you detail specific instances of how you applied critical thinking to solve real-world problems. This provides context that makes your skills more relatable and impactful.

Add critical-thinking skills to your resume with Teal

The job search can seem daunting at first. No matter your industry or career level, editing your resume is easier with Teal. 

Teal’s AI Resume Builder helps you quickly generate personalized resumes tailored for each job application. Incorporate your critical thinking ability by customizing every section and following expert guidance to ensure you don't miss a beat every time you hit apply.

Want to learn more about how Teal can help create a standout resume? Sign up for a free account today to get started!

Frequently Asked Questions

How can i demonstrate my critical thinking skills in a job interview after including them on my resume, can i include critical thinking skills in my resume if my previous job roles didn't explicitly require them, should i list critical thinking skills separately on my resume or integrate them into my experience and qualifications.

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The 5 Best Critical Thinking Skills and How to Improve Them

You probably heard the sentence “put on your thinking cap” a lot when you were in elementary school.

While if someone said that to you as an adult, you probably would feel a bit offended, it is important to be able to  sit back and analyze a problem  and come to a solution.

Critical thinking is a great skill to have  in life and the workplace .

Nowadays, we are fully invested in social media and consuming a lot of data on a daily basis, having  the ability to process informatio n is essential.

Many jobs are the same, and hiring managers value someone who can take a problem and find a solution or find ways to improve productivity quickly.

By using a  resume builder , you can incorporate your critical thinking skills the correct way and impress a hiring manager.

By reading this guide you can  understand what critical thinking is,  how to include your skills in a job application, and have a look at some critical thinking skills examples.

What Is the Meaning of Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is  a way of analyzing data  that helps you to solve problems and make good decisions.

The meaning of critical thinking has to do with analyzing information by considering the validity of your ideas, opinions, and conclusions.

This type of analytical skill is necessary for you to take your ideas and opinions, and determine if they are valid.

With critical thinking skills,  you will be able to make better decisions  and improve your problem-solving skills.

Critical thinkers use evidence  found through research or experience to support or disprove ideas rather than accepting them at face value.

Critical thinkers  do not blindly accept claims  as true just because someone says so; instead, they evaluate whether those claims might be true based on the evidence available at hand (or should I say “online”).

They ask themselves questions like, what makes me believe this? Is there another way of looking at this situation?

Does this argument really hold water when examined from multiple viewpoints simultaneously?

Is there any reason why someone would lie about these facts?

Critical thinking helps you to know what is the truth or correct answer because it means that you will be able to  ask the right questions and analyze solutions .

Being able to harness these analytical skills can help you as an employee in various job positions and professions.

When discussing critical thinking as a job skill, hiring managers love to see a candidate that can  use these skills in the workplace .

Looking at some  resume examples  can show you exactly how to present those skills to a potential employer.

How to Be a Critical Thinker

It is possible to become a more critical thinker. This type of skill can be learned and improved over time.

It’s not an innate ability you’re either born with or not; rather, it’s a  process of evaluation  that you can improve over time.

Of course, one important thing you will need is patience! This is a very significant part of learning how to become a better thinker.

You may find yourself having trouble catching on at first; there are no shortcuts here!

You may not be a natural, but stick with it. Many people trying to learn how to think more analytically feel frustrated when they first start learning new skills like these.

Your hard work will pay off over time  as once-difficult tasks become easier and easier for you until eventually everything clicks into place and starts making sense. Practice makes perfect

To help you can find steps below you should take to become a developed critical thinker.

Critical Thinking Steps

To think critically  takes a process . By going through these steps when you have a problem you will be able to resolve your dilemma correctly.

When at work, this is especially important. When you go through the  correct problem-solving steps  one by one, you will be able to complete all the tasks your employer gives you.

Here is what you should do when using your critical thinking skills to resolve a problem:

• Determine the problem or dilemma : Be as specific as possible, and figure out why the problem exists, that way it will be simpler to find the solution.
• Gather details or data : Find stats or information from various sources related to the problem you are trying to solve.
• Review the data : Go over the information you have collected, organize it, and make sure it’s from a credible source and that you have enough to make an informed decision.
• Rank the data : List the information you have gathered from the most significant and relevant to the least significant.
• Create solutions to the problem : Test various solutions then go over the results.
• Analyze the solutions you have found: Review the results of your possible solutions to your dilemma.
• Improve your work : Find ways to improve your test results.
• Choose your answer and communicat e: Once you have found the answer to the problem, you must then present it to your team and manager in detail.

By following these steps  you can come to a reasonable answer  to almost any task you are given at work, and improve upon a problem your company is facing.

If you can give some examples on a resume that demonstrate using this process, hiring managers will be calling you in no time for an interview.

Just make sure you use a  resume template , so you don’t make silly errors when presenting your critical thinking skills on your job application.

Why Must You Have Critical Thinking Skills?

Critical thinking is a skill that is valuable to any professional in just about any field.

It is necessary for developing effective strategies, making wise decisions, and solving problems that an individual might face or the company.

Critical thinking allows you to know how to look for an improved solution when faced with a problem or situation.

It is not only essential in the workplace, but in  your daily life as well .

You should analyze information coming from sources such as social media or the news to figure out what is true and what isn’t.

As such, it’s one of the best skills you can develop if you want to improve your overall way of thinking.

Critical thinking allows us to  see things from multiple perspectives  – which enables us to find solutions that work for everyone involved in an issue instead of just ourselves.

This makes it easier for people who disagree on important issues because they’re able to get past disagreements by focusing on what’s the best overall.

By doing this you and other people you work or live with can go over data and information  together to come to the best solution  to a problem or issue.

Strictly applying that logic to the workplace, completing tasks with a group or on your own becomes much easier.

How to Include Critical Thinking in a Resume

To validate your critical thinking and problem-solving skills to a hiring manager is to  place them correctly on a resume .

However, if you choose the wrong  resume format  there’s a good chance your job application ends up with a rejection.

To make your critical thinking skills stand out on your resume here are a few things you must do:

• List your skills.
• Explain how you used your skills in a previous job.
• Describe a problem you faced, and then explain what steps you took to solve it.

A good list of critical thinking skills to put on your resume include:

• Communication
• Observation
• Problem-solving

It’s essential not only to list that you have critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, or analytical skills, but you also are going to have to  back up your list with real examples .

Below are examples of what you should and shouldn’t put on a resume when providing proof of your critical thinking skills in past job descriptions.

“When working as a nurse, I always selected the best treatment for the patients”

This example shows that a solution had been found, in this case, treatment. However, it does not explain how the answer was found and what was done with these findings.

“After reviewing analysis from present cases, I determined the best treatment option for the patient. I then explained my logic and findings to the rest of the medical staff.”

This example displays that a solution was found based on analysis. Afterward, the findings were communicated to the other staff members.

These are all parts of the critical thinking and problem-solving process, and presenting an example like this on your resume will impress a hiring manager.

“Handled customer complaints effectively”

This example of someone who works in customer service is missing a lot of essential information on their resume.

It does not show how they handled complaints effectively, or if there was an improvement.

This is the example content

This example gives  quantifiable data  as well as speaks to your abilities. Adding these details could be the difference between a call for an interview or a rejection notice.

This is a fantastic way to explain what you did while working at your previous job. It shows that you used the necessary problem-solving steps and created a solution that improved productivity.

Coming up with a description like this for one of your past jobs will surely  grab a hiring manager’s attention .

Critical Thinking Examples During an Interview

If you write your resume and  cover letter  correctly, you will almost certainly get called in for a job interview.

When that time comes, it will be critical for you to know exactly what you should say when you need to show off your critical thinking skills.

You need to be ready for any question that could come up during the interview.

Here are some common interview questions that will test your critical thinking experience.

Question :  Describe a moment you realized there was a problem and work, and then solved it.

Answer: “ Our group had to meet a new deadline to finish the creation of our product. I listed our tasks, then ranked them by priority, and communicated with the group to discuss who would complete a task or tasks. We met the new deadline with our product.”

This example shows both evaluation and problem-solving when presented with a problem.

Question:  Describe a situation when you had to convince someone to take your advice.

Answer:  “The owner was sure we were making enough money with our bike tours. I analyzed our income and saw we were at a 15% deficit. I then created a presentation showing answers to customer surveys that proved we could increase our revenue by changing the route of our tour.”

By including an answer like this, you demonstrate your analytical skills and show you know how to communicate your findings.

When you can demonstrate these traits in your resume and during your job interview, it will be extremely difficult for a hiring manager to turn you down.

Top 5 Most Important Critical Thinking Skills

The all-important question is, what are the critical thinking skills that you must have in the  skill section  of your resume?

You probably can think of some critical thinking examples in real life if you try hard enough.

However, it would be ideal to  include skills you have used exclusively on the job  to solve problems and increase productivity or earnings.

By understanding what these skills are, you’ll understand what a hiring manager values in an employee that is a great critical thinker.

With that understanding, you’ll be able to nail your resume and eventually your job interview.

1. Observation Skills

A hiring manager would love to have someone that has great observation skills. With this type of skill, you can  identify a problem , then quickly create a solution.

If your observation skills are good enough, you can probably be able to see an issue before it even begins to negatively affect a business.

2. Inference Skills

This is a skill that has to do with taking data and information you have gathered and then  drawing the correct conclusion  based on that information.

You can  base answers on limited details , and that talent can be used in many professional settings.

3. Analytical Skills

You don’t need to be a scientist or a mathematician to be great at analyzing situations. Being able to  evaluate a situation  to find solutions to problems at work.

Hiring managers love employees who possess analytical skills, especially when considering who can be a team leader.

4. Communication Skills

Communicating your findings and ideas is essential to any company. Whether you are discussing data and solutions with your boss or coworkers, you need to know how to communicate.

Make sure you always listen  as well as speak, part of being a great critical thinker is to listen to the opinions of others.

5. Problem Solving Skills

This is arguably the most important concept of being a critical thinker. It’s not enough to be able to analyze data and information.

It is also essential that you can come up with solutions. An employer wants someone that can  improve their company , and being a great problem solver allows you to do just that.

Improving Your Critical Thinking Skills

Not everyone is a natural when it comes to critical thinking and problem-solving. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t improve on what you already have.

Since elementary school, we have had to learn how to problem-solve.

You may be rusty because you have been out of work for a while, or feel you can do better. There is always a way to improve your skills.

If you want to improve your critical thinking skills, here are some ways for you to start:

• Be open-minded –  Don’t jump to conclusions. Question assumptions and don’t take things at face value. Stay skeptical and ask, “why?” Be aware of your bias, don’t let it cloud your judgment.
• Be creative –  Don’t be afraid to think outside the box! Practice looking at issues from multiple angles by gathering evidence in support of or against an argument or hypothesis.
• Organize thoughts logically – Prioritize  and construct your thoughts, then write them down (or speak them aloud).
• Stay organized   –  Avoid getting confused by jumping around while explaining something complex.
• Consider multiple angles   –  Try out different approaches until one works best.
• Play games –  Buy or borrow games that require critical thinking, such as crosswords and Sudoku.
• Read books and articles   –  Read different material to improve your critical thinking skills because they require you to analyze what’s happening in each chapter of the story or article.

These are all easy ways for you to enhance your critical thinking skills. All of these methods require one thing,  patience .

You definitely will not become a problem-solving guru overnight.

It will take time, but after a while, you will notice the fruits of your labor in class, doing a group assignment, at a future job, and in other situations.

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Critical Thinking Skills To Advance Your Career: Definitions and Examples

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What are critical thinking skills?

Common critical thinking skills at work, examples of listing critical thinking skills on a resume, tips to improve your critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking is an ability you have to reason logically, rationally and reflectively. Critical thinkers can identify problems by observation and research, question assumptions and analyze to resolve issues. Managers value employees who use critical thinking skills in the workplace to become efficient problem-solvers. In this article, you’ll learn about critical thinking skills and see skill examples to help you get hired.

Critical thinking skills are thought processes you can develop that help you analyze problems and resolve situations in an analytical, unbiased way. Critical thinking skills are often used at work during problem solving, conflict resolution, collaboration, interpretation and in leadership tasks.  

Here are common critical thinking skills with definitions used in at work:

To be accurate is to be free of errors or discrepancies. This means you are careful to choose the right word, double-check your numbers and statistics, and be precise about times and places to the best of your ability. Accounting, for example, is a profession in which accuracy is crucial to ensure that the finances of a company are in good order. Accuracy is also important in the scientific research, engineering and pharmacy industries.

Information-seeking 

Information seekers actively search for data, through research and observation, for making decisions rather than relying only on personal preference or a desired outcome. Other professions in which information gathering is crucial include journalism and law enforcement. For example, an office administrator planning a holiday party cannot just make a reservation at their favorite restaurant; instead, they must seek out quotes, find open dates from venues and ensure each employee can attend before choosing a day. 

Logical reasoning

Logical reasoning is using rational connections between things, events and people to make conclusions. A judge is an example of a career in which logical reasoning is important. A judge has to collect a vast amount of information from a wide variety of sources, decide which information is most reliable, and come up with a verdict accordingly. Other professions in which logical reasoning is important include computer scientist and psychologist.

To evaluate is to judge the quality of something. You might do this every day when you decide whether or not something you want to buy is worth the price. An antiques appraiser has to look at an object, study its history and documentation, and decide its value. Financial advisors and building site inspectors are other professions that requires evaluation.

This skill requires you to use the information you’ve gathered and the conclusions you have made to make a reasonable theory for what might happen next. Predicting is different from guessing because you can use information like a past experience to help make your prediction more likely. 

For example, an oncologist uses past data, research and their own experience to decide whether chemotherapy or surgery might have the best results for a particular patient. Other examples of professions in which predicting would be a good critical thinking skill include meteorologists and business analysts. 

The best way to demonstrate your critical thinking skills on a resume is by showing how you have practiced them in the past. Here are some examples of how to list critical thinking skills in the work experience section of your resume:

Example of observation, research and problem-solving

‘Researched and implemented a mobile phone app that parents and teachers used to reduce school pickup wait times by an average of 17 minutes.’

Example of communication and creativity

‘Created an ice-breaker evening event for junior analysts that included a scavenger hunt and skits; the event has since become an annual tradition and spread to all four branches.’

Example of research, evaluation and implementation

‘Analyzed customer service feedback surveys to identify three major areas of improvement, and organized trainings and course material accordingly.’

Example of predicting, reasoning and problem-solving

‘Adjusted inventory effectively to prepare for hurricane season, saving the grocery chain $1.2 million in wastage and improving profits by 30 percent.’

Here are popular ways that you can develop your critical thinking skills: 

Ask questions

Ask a lot of questions. Sometimes a situation that seems difficult to solve may not be if you ask questions to find out where the problem is coming from. Questioning is a way to continually gather evidence and find out why other people think or act the way they do. For example, if your team members miss a weekly meeting regularly, you can ask what their challenges are in attending the meeting, and find a way to make sure each person can attend. 

Think about your thinking

 It is important to examine your own thought patterns and assumptions to see if any prejudice or bias affects the way you tackle a problem. For example, if you have always worked in an office, you may feel that a fellow employee who works remotely is less productive than you. If you examine why you are thinking this way, it could be that you have only ever worked from an office, which is why home is synonymous with relaxation. However, if you objectively analyze that employee’s output and compare it to others who work from both home and the office, you will get hard data with which you can prove or disprove your assumption.

This applies to thought, perspectives and people. Always approaching problems with one set of tools, or always relying on one person’s advice, can only lead you to the same result each time. For better results, research alternate methods, talk to others in similar positions and even examine the viewpoints of those who oppose you. For example, if you are tasked with making a bicycle delivery in a new part of town, you might talk to others who live in the area to find out about shortcuts and look up different routes on map apps until you find one that best meets your needs.

How to List Problem-Solving Skills on a Resume [List Included]

Problem-solving skills are more in-demand than ever. 

Employers love candidates with problem-solving skills because, in 99% of cases, they guarantee you're also logical, creative, clear-headed, and a great decision-maker. 

But claiming you have organizational skills on your resume is not enough. 

To impress recruiters, you've got to prove that you possess them. 

This includes understanding which problem-solving skills you possess and adding them to your resume (the right way), among other things.

This is where this article comes in! We put together everything you need to know about problem-solving skills, including: 

• 8 Essential Problem-Solving Skills for Your Resume

How to Add Problem-Solving Skills to Your Resume

• Why Are Problem-Solving Skills Important
• 6 Problem-Solving Steps

Let's dive right in! 

8 Problem-Solving Skills for Your Resume

Research shows that problem-solving skills consist of several facets : 

• Identifying and analyzing a problem
• Taking effective actions
• Understanding the effect of the decisions
• Coming up with creative and novel solutions
• Transferring knowledge from one situation to another
• Thinking abstractly about problems

As such, there is no single problem-solving skill. Problem-solving includes a set of skills, all of which are equally important in helping your personal and professional life. 

Below, we’ll cover the eight most important problem-solving skills that you can also list on your resume to impress recruiters: 

#1. Research skills

To properly identify and understand a problem, you need excellent research skills. 

Research skills involve being able to gather information from the right sources, reviewing that information in detail to extract the data you need, analyzing the data according to the context, and being able to apply the data to your situation. 

#2. Analytical skills

Analytical skills are required throughout the entire process of solving a problem. 

In a nutshell, analytical skills refer to being able to analyze a situation in depth and from different perspectives . Specifically, you need analytical skills to achieve all of the following while solving a problem:

• Detect patterns
• Interpret data
• Analyze new information
• Reach conclusions based on several factors

#3. Creativity

Being creative means being able to think outside of the box and look at situations and problems inventively. 

For most people, creativity is mainly associated with creative industries such as arts and crafts, architecture, design, etc. 

In reality, however, creativity is an essential success factor for every job and the data is here to support that. According to this Adobe study , problem-solving (51%) and creativity (47%) have gained the most value in driving salary increases in the last five years. 

When it comes to the process of solving a problem, creativity can help you consider more perspectives, think abstractly about problems, and come up with novel solutions that others haven’t thought of before.

#4. Critical thinking skills

Being able to think critically means that you’re good at rationalizing, understanding the connections between ideas or situations, and logically analyzing any given situation. 

As such, strong critical thinking skills can help you see beyond what’s at face value, make more informed decisions, and anticipate the outcomes of said decisions. 

People who have critical thinking skills share traits such as open-mindedness , cognitive flexibility , skepticism , clarity , and precision . 

#5. Decision-making skills

Before coming up with a single action plan to solve a problem, you’ll need to first brainstorm several possible solutions. 

After that, you need good decision-making skills to choose the best possible solution. Without decision-making skills, you risk prolonging finding a proper solution or aggravating a problem even more. 

#6. Communication skills

With strong communication skills , you’re able to successfully explain the problem to others and propose your solutions. In turn, you can be sure that everyone’s on the same page and that you’re carrying out the action plan accordingly. 

Some communication skills required for problem-solving include: 

• Active listening
• Written and verbal communication
• Giving and receiving feedback

#7. Collaboration

Problem-solving is rarely a process you carry out alone. More often than not, you need to consult relevant stakeholders, give and receive feedback, and work with a team towards a common goal (i.e. solving the problem).

Well, collaboration entails exactly that - working well with others, cooperatively addressing problems, and putting a group’s goal ahead of personal goals. 

Some important collaboration skills that help with problem-solving include: 

• Conflict resolution
• Emotional intelligence 

#8. Attention to Detail 

Have you ever heard of the expression “the devil’s in the details?”

It means that something may seem simple on the surface, but in fact, the details make it complicated and are likely to cause problems.

Well, if you’re someone who shows great attention to detail, you’re not likely to let details keep you from solving a problem effectively. 

Not to mention, being able to spot and understand even the smallest details that make up a problem means you’ll be able to grasp the issue in its entire complexity and come up with even more inventive and workable solutions. 

Now that we covered the most important problem-solving skills, we’ll show you how to add them to your resume so that you can stand out from other candidates. 

Let us walk you through the process, step-by-step: 

#1. Mention Your Problem-Solving Skills on Your Resume Summary

The resume summary is a three or four-sentence paragraph positioned at the top of your resume that includes: 

• Your profession and years of experience 
• Your top skills (i.e. hard skills or soft skills)
• One or two noteworthy achievements 

The goal of the resume summary is to catch the hiring manager’s attention, show them you’re a relevant candidate and get them to go through the rest of your resume in detail. 

As such, it’s your first chance to highlight your problem-solving skills effectively. You can either do that by mentioning them among your top skills or by mentioning an achievement that proves you possess a given skill.

In the best-case scenario, you can even do both. 

Here is an example of how you can include problem-solving skills in your resume summary: 

• Behavioral psychologist with 7+ years of experience in the field. Great research, analytical, and communication skills. Over the last eight years, I’ve worked closely with more than 100 patients with different behavioral disorders, helping them improve their personal and professional lives through different treatment methods. 

#2. Add the RIGHT Problem-Solving Skills Under Your Soft Skills

Secondly, you should list your problem-solving skills under your resume’s soft skills section . 

The listing part is pretty easy - simply create a section titled Skills and write down your problem-solving skills.

There is, however, one caveat: 

You don’t want to overkill your skills section by listing every problem-solving skill we covered in this article.

Not only will the hiring manager have trouble believing you possess each and every skill, but there’s also a high chance you don’t even need all those skills to begin with. 

To make your skills section as relevant as possile, do the following: 

• Check the job description. The job description can show you exactly what skills you need for the job. If you’re applying for, say, a software engineering position, you’ll probably be required to have the following problem-solving skills: analytical skills, creativity, attention to detail, and cognitive flexibility. 
• Identify the skills you possess. Think about which skills you can back up with actual experience from your previous jobs. Only list problem-solving skills that you actually possess and that you can prove you possess on your resume. 
• Add those skills under your soft skills. Then, add the problem-solving skills that you have and that are required in the job under your resume’s “Soft Skills” section. 

#3. Prove Your Problem-Solving Skills In Your Work Experience Section

Finally, you should use the work experience section to prove that you’ve got the problem-solving skills you’ve mentioned throughout your resume. 

Anyone can just claim that they’ve got problem-solving skills on their resume - not everyone can back them up with experience.

Here’s what you can do to convey that you possess problem-solving skills and also make your work experience section as impactful as possible: 

• Tailor your work experience to the job. Only add past jobs that are relevant to the position you are applying for now. If you’re applying for, say, a software engineering position, the hiring manager will be interested in your previous jobs in the field, but probably not too interested in the time you worked as a server at a restaurant. 
• Focus on your achievements instead of your responsibilities. More often than not, hiring managers know exactly what your responsibilities consisted of in previous jobs. What they want to know is how you made a positive impact with your achievements. 
• Make your achievements quantifiable. Speaking of achievements, you want to make them as quantifiable as possible. After all “treated ten patients in the course of a year using positive reinforcement” sounds much better than “treated ten patients.”
• Use the Laszlo Bock formula . If you’re having trouble phrasing your achievements, the following formula will probably be of help: “Accomplished X as measured by Y doing X.” 
• Leverage action verbs and keywords. There are hundreds of words and verbs you can use instead of “did,” “accomplished,” etc. The more descriptive you are of your achievements, the more impressive they can sound.

And here’s an example of a project manager describing their problem-solving skills in their work experience section:

• Fixed company communication issues by implementing a new project management solution. 
• Improved team productivity by implementing time-tracking software and doing daily stand-up calls.
• Managed to meet all client deliverable deadlines in 2022.

Why Are Problem-Solving Skills Important?

Are you wondering what exactly is it that makes problem-solving skills so important? 

After all, there are hundreds of soft skills out there that you can master, improve, or learn how to add to your resume. So it’s normal to wonder “why should I focus on problem-solving?” 

Here is why problem-solving skills matter:

• They can improve your employability. Problem-solving skills are among the most important skills to employers across a range of occupations. In short, employers are always looking for proactive thinkers who can address professional challenges.
• They can help you grow in your career more easily. You’ll be more likely to get promoted if you can come up with creative solutions to the different problems that you’ll face throughout your career.
• They can become an essential part of your personal brand . Your current employer, coworkers, and future employers alike will see you as someone creative, reliable, and helpful.
• They are related to a range of other valuable skills. When you prove you’re a problem solver, you’re effectively saying you’re attentive to detail, logical, creative, analytical, curious, and other things employers are looking for in their employees.

10 Jobs That Require Problem-Solving Skills

As we’ve already mentioned, problem-solving skills come in handy for practically every job. 

Whether you’re a teacher who needs to solve a dispute between peers in your class or a customer representative who needs to help a client, knowing how to go about solving issues is definitely an asset. 

That said, some jobs are all about solving problems. In such cases, problem-solving skills are not just a nice addition to have on your resume - they’re crucial to getting hired. 

Here are the top 10 jobs requiring problem-solving skills in 2024: 

• Software engineer
• Air-traffic controller
• Police officer
• Social worker
• Psychologist
• UX designer

35 Action Verbs You Can Use to Highlight Your Problem-Solving Skills

The language you use to describe your problem-solving skills matters.  

Sure, you can use “ solved” to describe how you dealt with a problem throughout your entire resume and risk coming off as repetitive and unimaginative. 

Or , you can use any of the following action verbs and keywords and make your problem-solving skills pop out in the eyes of recruiters: 

• Calculate  
• Critically think 
• Draw conclusions
• Experiment 
• Listen/Listen actively 

The Problem-Solving Process in 6 Steps

Problem-solving is a methodical process. It consists of certain steps that you always need to take if you want to find a good solution. 

The more you understand and practice this process, the better you can get at solving problems. 

Below, we cover the six main steps of problem-solving in detail:

#1. Identify the problem 

The first step to solving a problem is identifying exactly what’s causing it. 

After all, if you’re not focusing on the real underlying issue, you might come up with solutions that don’t fit the problem itself. 

Say, for example, that you’re a teacher that’s facing poor class performance. Identifying whether the problem comes from the students’ not studying enough or from your own teaching methods can make a big difference in the solutions you come up with. 

It typically happens that the faster you find the root cause of the problem, the easier it is to find a proper solution. 

#2. Understand the problem

Once you identify the problem, you’ve got to understand it completely. Here are some questions you can ask to make sure you properly understand a problem: 

• What is the scale of the problem? 
• What are its short and long-term effects? 
• Have you faced something like this before?
• Can the problem be solved by dividing it into smaller parts?

The better you understand the problem in its complexity, the more likely you are to come up with effective solutions. 

#3. Research the systems that make up the problem 

In many cases, solving a problem will be a complex undertaking. See, complex problems are often the result of several different underlying systems that you need to understand to find a dynamic solution. 

Let’s take the teacher example from above. 

If a certain student is not doing too well and keeps getting poor grades, you might be tempted to go the easy route and simply chastise them and tell them to study more.

This, in a lot of cases, might simply not work because you’re not addressing the root cause of the problem.

The student might, for example, be burned out , unmotivated by the curriculum, or simply struggling with specific topics.

A problem-solving solution that’s more likely to work would be to talk to the student (or their parents), try to understand the reason for their poor grades, and address the root cause behind the problem itself.

#4. Visualize the problem 

This may not apply to all situations, but it can definitely come in handy for most. 

Drawing a diagram to visualize the situation or your solution to the problem can help you grasp its complexity better - especially if the problem is multi-faceted. Anything from PowerPoint to a piece of white paper can be a good tool to visualize your problem, highlight the problem area, and tackle it more effectively.

#5. Brainstorm solutions 

After you’ve done all the above, it’s time to start thinking about solutions. 

This is another step of the problem-solving process that’s based on collaboration and effective communication. In the brainstorming phase, you should sit with team members or relevant stakeholders and come up with as many creative ideas and solutions as possible. 

This is not where you come up with your most refined, well-thought-out ideas. Instead, it’s where you discuss freely and combine diverse knowledge and analysis of the problem to come up with diverse solutions. 

Brainstorming is an essential part of problem-solving that can help you break out of boring or predictable ideas and thinking patterns. 

#6. Choose the best answer(s)

This is where decision-making skills come in. With a list of different potential solutions, you can narrow down your options to finally choose the best one. 

To reach a solution more easily, take the following into consideration:

• Your company’s/organization’s objectives
• The budget and the timeframe at your disposal
• The success outcomes
• Potential risks linked to the solution 

Finally, discuss your solutions with relevant stakeholders and team members to gather all the possible feedback that can help you make the best possible decision. 

And remember - once you’ve chosen the best possible solution to a problem, your work is far from over. Being a problem solver also includes the following: 

• Develop and implement an action plan
• Monitor the progress of your plan 
• Make necessary adjustments during the process
• Evaluate the outcomes of your solution 

Problem-Solving Skills Resume Example

Want a resume that makes your problem-solving skills pop like the above example? 

Use one of our tried-and-tested resume templates . 

They’re free, modern, and created in collaboration with some of the best HR professionals from around the globe!

Key Takeaways 

And that's a wrap on problem-solving skills. By now, you should know everything there is to know on the topic. 

Before you go, here are the main points we covered in this article: 

• Problem-solving skills are a set of soft skills that help you solve problems effectively. They involve critical thinking, analytical skills, creativity, communication skills, and attention to detail. 
• Problem-solving skills can improve your employability, work performance, and personal brand. 
• Add your problem-solving skills to your resume summary, under the soft skills section, and in your work history section. 
• When you’re creating your work history section, make sure to tailor it to the job, focus on your achievements and make them quantifiable, and use action verbs and keywords from the job description. 
• To get better at solving problems, follow these steps: identify and understand the problem, research the systems that make up the problem, visualize the problem, brainstorm, and choose the best possible solution. 
• Once that’s done, create an action plan and make sure to monitor its progress as you’re implementing it. 

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How to Emphasize Strategic Thinking Skills on Your Resume

Here are the top ways to show your strategic thinking skills on your resume. Find out relevant strategic thinking keywords and phrases and build your resume today.

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In This Guide:

What are strategic thinking skills, why is strategic thinking wanted by recruiters on your resume, what skills, activities and accomplishments help you highlight your strategic thinking, strategic thinking: key takeaways for your resume.

Any company in any field needs a strategy to exist. A business strategy is a set of plans and actions to achieve the goals that outline how the company will compete in the market.

Creating a strategy involves strategic thinking. This ability involves the generation and application of unique business insights and opportunities intended to create a competitive plan of action for your organization. In other words - thinking two steps ahead. Strategic thinking is all about being prepared for the future.

As a strategic thinker, you can come up with successful plans of action by nature. And you often bring new points of view to the table.

Your strategic thinking skills allow you to detail a step-by-step action plan. You can find creative ways to save the company money and time.

Strategic thinking skills are among the most highly sought-after skills recruiters looking for in applicants. The ability to think logically and critically can have an enormous impact on the business direction. Showing on your resume that you actually have strategic thinking qualities increase the chance to be chosen for the position. Explain that you can imagine what could be, that you can create an action plan and strictly follow it to achieve the goal, the company set’s to you.

The business environment is always shifting and transforming. Every organization and business area may be affected by these changes. That’s why companies need employees who can incorporate in their everyday work strategic thinking. Forecasting the upcoming changes and quickly adapting the business trajectory is the key in strategic thinking.

On a personal level, strategic thinking can contribute to your role in the company and help you become a valuable employee.

Develop any skills that enable you to use critical thinking to solve difficult problems and have a clear vision of the business environment. Strategic thinking requires research, analytical thinking, innovation, problem-solving skills, communication and leadership skills.

• Research skills are the ability to find and evaluate useful information related to the project you are working on. Understanding the environment and providing answers underneath the surface of the issue. Having this information will help you to make better decisions and have better solutions for the future.
• Analytical skill is a key element to strategic thinking. The ability to quickly identify the situation and provide new solutions to old problems.
• Innovation skills are the knowledge you use to adapt to change. This set of skills are helping you to solve problems in a creative way. Generate ideas that can improve the processes of your work.
• Problem-solving skills help you solve issues that may occur, quickly and effectively. This is important to your strategic thinking because it shows how easy you can adapt to change without allowing the circumstances to affect the main goal.
• Communication skills and strategic think are deeply related to one another. If you know how to communicate effectively, you know how to apply successfully in your work strategic thinking. Strategic thinking involves taking what you have and using it to achieve your goals.
• Leadership skills are to make decisions quickly with the information that you have. Be influential to the team and organize the people to reach a shared goal.

How to demonstrate strategic thinking on your resume:

• Developed financial models and analyses related to new business development strategies.
• Provided actionable insights by leading strategic design and executing user-centric research.
• Established thoughtful and provocative marketing strategies, creative briefs, and branding ideas.

Example 1: Demonstrate strategic thinking in the experience section

• • Developed and rolled out digital marketing strategy that enabled 22% profitability gain.
• • Develop a new content marketing approach and increased three times the organic leads per dollar spent than paid search marketing.
• • Orchestrated the successful launch of the social media marketing campaign of a new product. Wich generated over 300 new customer leads on the first day of the campaign, resulting in an over 5% increase in bottom-line profitability.
• • Initiated focus on conversion rates and introduced a post-click marketing platform increasing on-page conversion.

Show on your resume that you have effective strategic planning skills which give results. These examples indicate, that they have the needed skills to create a strategic plan and execute to achieve the goals that were set for them. Provide good details that tell the whole story. Created and executed the strategy whit 22% profit gain, shows facts and this statement simply helps them to stand out more and tell a bigger story. The main goal of your resume is to tell the story. The story of your career strengths, achievements, and experiences.

Example 2: Demonstrate your strategic thinking skills in the resume summary section

On your resume, it’s not enough to show examples of your strategic thinking skills. In your resume summary, you must convince your future employer that you actually understand and apply strategic thinking in your personal and professional life. The example provides the key qualities of a person who has strategic thinking abilities. They know how important it is to have an action plan to achieve their goals. They present critical and analyzing tinging, to help them to evaluate results and avoid future problems. Planning, showing decisiveness, setting goals and welcoming feedback proves that they have strategic thinking skills.

Example 3: Show your strategic thinking in your achievements sections

To stand out from other applicants, it is advisable to give examples in the achievements' section on your resume. Show some of your achievements that prove your strategic thinking.

Don’t outline only duties and responsibilities. Be more concrete by telling how you applied your skills in a real situation when strategic thinking is needed.

These achievements sections exhibit some key skills of the applicant. They have very good planning expertise, with impressive results. They are capable of analyzing a variety of inputs, which is very important in strategic thinking.

• Strategic thinking is the most valuable, sought-after executive skill that is nearly always mentioned as a requirement in executive job postings.
• It is very important to demonstrate on your resume that you have the skill set on your resume and interviews.
• Try to demonstrate your strategic thinking skill set, all over your resume. Specifically, in your summary, in your job descriptions, and in your achievements section.
• Don’t outline only your duties and responsibilities. Tell the story of your achievements, and experiences with concrete goals and how your skill set of strategical thinking achieve them.

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Exclusive: Putin wants Ukraine ceasefire on current frontlines

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• Russian sources indicate Putin ready to halt conflict at front
• Putin to take more land to pressure Kyiv to talk: sources
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As Moscow bureau chief, Guy runs coverage of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Before Moscow, Guy ran Brexit coverage as London bureau chief (2012-2022). On the night of Brexit, his team delivered one of Reuters historic wins - reporting news of Brexit first to the world and the financial markets. Guy graduated from the London School of Economics and started his career as an intern at Bloomberg. He has spent over 14 years covering the former Soviet Union. He speaks fluent Russian.

As Russia Chief Political Correspondent, and former Moscow bureau chief, Andrew helps lead coverage of the world's largest country, whose political, economic and social transformation under President Vladimir Putin he has reported on for much of the last two decades, along with its growing confrontation with the West and wars in Georgia and Ukraine. Andrew was part of a Wall Street Journal reporting team short-listed for a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. He has also reported from Moscow for two British newspapers, The Telegraph and The Independent.

Russia is building up forces near the northern part of Ukraine's Kharkiv region where it launched an offensive this month, but it still lacks the troop numbers to stage a major push in the area, Ukraine's top commander said on Thursday.

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Brian Higgins testifies about exchanging flirtatious messages with Read. ‘Things are far from perfect’ with John O’Keefe, she texted.

Testimony resumed Friday in the sensational murder trial of Karen Read , who stands accused of backing her SUV into her Boston police officer boyfriend and leaving him for dead in Canton on a snowy night in January 2022.

Read, 44, of Mansfield, allegedly rammed her SUV into John O’Keefe early on Jan. 29, 2022 after dropping him off outside a Fairview Road home following a night of bar hopping and heavy drinking. She returned to the scene hours later with two other women and found O’Keefe’s snow-covered body, repeatedly shouting “I hit him” in the presence of first responders, witnesses have testified.

Attorneys for Read say she’s being framed and that O’Keefe actually entered the Fairview home, owned at the time by a fellow Boston officer whose son was celebrating his 23rd birthday, where he was fatally beaten in the basement before his body was planted on the front lawn.

Jurors this week have heard from Jennifer McCabe and Kerry Roberts, the two women with Read when she found O’Keefe’s body, as well as two sisters who took a group vacation to Aruba with Read and O’Keefe about a month before his death. The sisters, one of whom is mother to O’Keefe’s godson, said Read angrily confronted O’Keefe when she mistakenly thought she witnessed him kissing one of the adult siblings.

McCabe, meanwhile, said Read confessed at the scene to hitting O’Keefe but conceded on cross examination that she made no mention of those remarks when asked at least a dozen times during a grand jury session in April 2022 what Read had said.

She also said she Googled “hos [sic] long to die in cold” shortly before 6:30 a.m. on her phone as paramedics were tending to O’Keefe and a frantic Read asked her to look up how long it would take someone to die from hypothermia. The defense presented phone records indicating the search was conducted shortly before 2:30 a.m. and that McCabe deleted it, but she insisted the records were inaccurate.

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ATF agent Brian Higgins, a friend of Brian Albert Sr., the Boston officer who owned the Fairview Road home at the time , testified on Friday. The defense, citing phone records, has said Higgins, who was among the group socializing with Read and O’Keefe at a local bar on the night of his death, had a romantic interest in Read. Witnesses have testified that Higgins went to the Fairview home for the afterparty, and prosecutors have turned over five pages of his medical records to the defense, according to legal filings.

Here’s how Friday’s testimony unfolded.

4:25 p.m. — Jackson asks Higgins further questions about the retrieval of information from his phone

Defense lawyer Alan Jackson cited regulations that prohibit federal agents from using federal resources for “personal gain.”

He asked if Brian Higgins worked with his friend, who is an ATF agent, to get “the information you selected” off his phone.

Higgins denied this and asked Judge Beverly Cannone if he could explain further.

“He walked me through on how I could pull a text string with John O’Keefe and the defendant, and he walked me through how to use the machine.”

”And then you did that?” Jackson asked. ”I did do that,” Higgins replied.

”And that’s what you turned over to police?“ Jackson asked.

”That is correct,” Higgins said.

4:15 p.m. — Jackson asks about Higgins’s phone and if he went to FBI forensics lab

Alan Jackson pressed Brian Higgins on whether he asked a friend in federal law enforcement who works in the FBI’s regional computer forensic lab for help with wiping his phone.

”I asked him how to pull text strings off my phone for the purpose of providing them to law enforcement,”Higgins said.

Jackson asked whether Higgins himself ever went to the forensics lab. ”Yes. Let me correct that. I went to a kiosk on the first floor of the FBI,” Higgins said. “It’s an unrestricted area, you can be in there unaccompanied, as I understand it, if you’re local law enforcement.”

He said he hooked his phone up to the machine. Jackson pressed that Higgins was using federal investigatory equipment for a case he was not assigned to investigate. Before Higgins answered, Cannone called for a sidebar.

4:14 p.m. — Judge Cannone calls a sidebar with attorneys

3:56 p.m. — Jackson asks about calls with Brian Albert, Canton police chief

Defense attorney Alan Jackson asked if Brian Higgins got a call around 6:12 p.m. from Brian Albert on Jan. 29. Higgins said he didn’t remember getting that call or a subsequent call from Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz minutes later.

Jackson said the records indicate that the call with Berkowitz lasted about five minutes.

”You don’t recall the substance of those conversations,” Jackson said.

”I don’t, no,” Higgins said.

Jackson asked if Higgins had testified previously that tail light pieces were found at the crime scene.

”That’s not what that was in reference to,” Higgins said. Jackson asked if he was providing information on the probe to Brian Albert or receiving it from Berkowitz during the evening calls, and Higgins said he no information about it.

3:50 p.m. — Alan Jackson presses Higgins on speaking with Brian Albert ‘throughout the day’

“Were you getting any information from Canton PD?” Alan Jackson asked. ”No I wasn’t,” Higgins said.

Jackson noted that Higgins was on the phone “with all those interested parties” throughout the day. Higgins said he was, as they’re his friends.

”You’re consistently throughout the day calling Brian Albert,” Jackson said.

”Yes of course I had conversations with him,” Higgins said, adding that O’Keefe was found “on his lawn.”

Jackson also noted records indicating Higgins was back at the Canton police station just around 4 p.m. on Jan. 29, and that he passed through the sally port repeatedly. Jackson asked if Higgins was aware that that was 90 minutes before Read’s vehicle was brought to the sally port and he said he was not. ”All I would do is use that [sally port] as a cut-through,” Higgins said. “Did not see anything.”

3:42 p.m. — ‘People were in shock’ at Fairview house after O’Keefe’s body was discovered, Higgins testifies

ATF agent Brian Higgins testified that “he would have been happy” to allow investigators to look at his vehicle, had they asked. ”People were in shock at the table” at the Fairview house on the morning of the 29th after O’Keefe was discovered, Higgins said.

He said Jennifer McCabe that morning “made a statement at the table ... something to the effect that Karen had opined that she had hit John.”

”What she actually said was ‘I hope I didn’t hit him, correct?” lawer Alan Jackson asked.

Higgins said he didn’t believe that was accurate. Jackson asked if Higgins then spent “the entire day” at the Canton police station on Jan. 29. Higgins said he didn’t think he was there the whole day. “I don’t know how long I spent there,” Higgins said.

Jackson said records indicate Higgins was at the station from around 9 a.m. until roughly 5 p.m. Higgins said he can’t remember if he spoke with Fairview homeowner Brian Albert at the station but he “most likely” talked with Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz then.

Asked if he spoke with Kevin Albert, Higgins said, “I don’t believe so.”

Jackson said station logs indicate he initially entered Canton PD around 1:27 a.m. on Jan. 29.

Higgins said he may have only seen one cruiser at the Fairview scene when he first arrived back there several hours later. Jackson presented records showing Higgins again accessed the sally port area of the station at 9:23 a.m.

Authorities brought Read’s SUV into the sally port area later that day, and the defense has alleged her vehicle was tampered with.

”It would not be uncommon for me to move around Canton PD” at various times, Higgins said. “I’m pretty sure I wasn’t there all day.”

Jackson said records indicate Higgins was back in the station at 2:05 p.m. on Jan. 29. Jackson asked if Higgins called Kevin Albert at 3:10 p.m. on the 29th, and Higgins said “I’m sure it’s possible that we spoke.”

Jackson said phone records indicate they had a 12-minute call and asked if Higgins was seeking or providing information about the investigation during that conversation. Higgins said he was not. Jackson asked if Higgins called Brian Albert moments later, citing the records, and Higgins said “it’s possible.”

The records, Jackson said, show Brian Albert and Higgins then had a six-minute call starting at 3:24 p.m.

”Was that just a coincidence?” Jackson said.”There was a lot going on that day,” Higgins said, adding that people were upset. Asked if he was providing information about the case from Kevin Albert to Brian Albert, Higgins said, “absolutely not.”

3:19 p.m. — Higgins cross examination continues

Brian Higgins said, “There was no discussion. I never talked to Brian Albert.”

”Then why the 22-second phone call?” lawyer Alan Jackson asked, followed by a government objection that Cannone sustained.

Higgins said it was “my idea” to drive to Fairview home once he learned what had happened. ”It was important to support the people who were there,” Higgins said, when asked if he wanted to go there in person to avoid phone and text communication.

Higgins said he called Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz back at 7:22 a.m. after speaking with Brian Albert by phone.

“No,” Higgins said when asked if he was seeking information about the investigation from the chief. “I didn’t even know what happened” at the time.

Jackson asked Higgins if he told Berkowitz he was with John O’Keefe the night before.

”I believe I may have told him at some point that I saw John at the Waterfall,” Higgins said, adding that he believes he also told Berkowitz he went to the Fairview house afterward.

”No, I don’t believe so,” Higgins said when asked if he ever told Berkowitz he had an interest in Read.

Jackson asked if Higgins told Berkowitz he’d texted O’Keefe to come over to Fairview around 12:20 a.m. on Jan. 29 and he said, “no.”

Asked if he was aware searching phones is common in modern investigations, Higgins said he’d “utilized electronic data” in his own law enforcement work. He said he arrived back at Fairview around 7:15 a.m. on Jan. 29. Asked if any investigator asked to look at his vehicle, Higgins said, “to my knowledge, nobody has ever asked me that.”

3:11 p.m. — Higgins testifies he has ‘no recollection’ of calls, denies having 22-second call with Brian Albert

Attorney Alan Jackson asked Brian Higgins if 22 seconds was long enough to have a conversation, and Higgins said “I don’t agree with it, no.”

Higgins said he testified in a prior hearing that the call must have been a “butt dial.”

”I have no recollection of answering the phone or calling anybody back,” Higgins said. “I didn’t make any calls. I have no recollection of any calls. Nor did I speak with anybody.”

Jackson asked if Higgins previously testified that he did make a call but he and Albert had no conversation. Higgins read a transcript of his prior testimony in which he said he called Albert back but did not have a conversation.

”I did not have a 22-second call with Brian Albert,” Higgins told Jackson. “There was no conversation.”

3:03 p.m. — Cross examination continues as Jackson presses Higgins about phone records showing two brief calls shortly after 2:20 a.m. on Jan. 29

Alan Jackson, a Read defense attorney, asked Brian Higgins if he went back to Canton PD around 1:30 a.m., could he monitor what was happening with the department at that time? “No,” Higgins said.

Jackson asked if he’d be in a position to hear calls for service placed to the police station, and Judge Cannone sustained a prosecution objection.

Higgins told Jackson he did not make or receive any calls after getting home early on Jan. 29 from the police station.

Higgins told Jackson he normally places his work and personal phones on a nightstand when he goes to bed. He said a call from Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz woke him up around 6:30 a.m. but he didn’t take it, before he later answered Brian Albert’s call.

Jackson said phone records show Higgins and Brian Albert exchanged two phone calls shortly after 2:20 a.m. on Jan. 29.

”I have no recollection of any phone calls” with Albert then, Higgins said.

Jackson gave Higgins the relevant phone records to review. The records show a 1-second call from Albert to Higgins at 2:22 a.m., followed by a second call moments later from Higgins to Albert that lasts 22 seconds.

”That’s what the records say,” Higgins said. “I always tell the truth.”

2:31 p.m. — Defense attorney says Higgins told State Police he went to Canton PD to do adminstrative work

ATF agent Brian Higgins told Karen Read lawyer Jackson that no vehicles were in front of him when he pulled out. ”You still didn’t see a body on that lawn did you?” Jackson said. ”I did not,” Higgins said. “I didn’t see anything.”

He said he went to Canton PD headquarters to “move two vehicles” after leaving Fairview. Jackson noted that days after John O’Keefe’s death, Higgins told State Police he went back to the Canton station to perform administrative work.

”Can we agree Mr. Higgins that you didn’t mention anything about moving cars around?” Jackson said. ”Well, that would be administrative,” Higgins said. “The purpose of going back was to move two vehicles. ... I was moving the vehicles. I’m sure it’s on video.”

2:25 p.m. — Higgins testifies that he stayed ‘less than an hour’ at afterparty, did not see anything on front lawn as he left

AFT agent Brian Higgins told defense attorney Alan Jackson the plow on his Jeep was about six feet wide and a few inches deep.

People were in the kitchen area of the Fairview home when he walked in, including Brian Jr. and two of his female friends, Higgins said.

Higgins said he “briefly” went into another room with Brian Sr. to look at the military photos. He told Jackson he’s never been upstairs to the second floor of the Fairview house.

The photos, he said, were on the first floor. Jackson asked if someone said they “went upstairs” to look at the photos, wouldn’t they have to be in the basement?

”Who said they went upstairs?” Higgins said. ”If Brian Albert said [he] went upstairs, where would you have to be?” Jackson asked.

Judge Beverly Cannone sustained a prosecution objection. Higgins said he’d been down to the Fairview basement one time previously. Jackson asked if homeowner Brian Albert would have made an inaccurate statement if he said Higgins had never been to the basement.

Cannone sustained a government objection. Higgins also told Jackson he previously testified that he “might have” seen a tall, dark-haired man enter the Fairview home while he was there, which he said was in “reference to somebody’s brother” who was coming to pick up a guest.

”There was no question in your mind that a male did in fact show up,” Jackson said. Higgins said that was accurate, and that he previously testified “I believe he did,” when asked if the male ever came in the house. ”I wasn’t sure,” Higgins said.

Jackson noted Higgins answered “yes” in the prior proceeding when asked if the person came in the house, and that the person only came in briefly. ”You said it was quick,” Jackson said. “Less than a couple minutes. ... You testified that a tall, dark haired man came into the house at least briefly.”

Higgins said he did not know when the person came in, and that he did not “recall” telling State Police days after O’Keefe’s death that a tall dark haired man came in the house. He also said he did not mention the male before the state grand jury in 2022.

Records indicate he mentioned the male during June 2023 testimony before a federal grand jury also looking into the case. Jurors are barred from hearing about that proceeding.

Higgins said he stayed “less than hour” at Fairview, leaving between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. Jackson said Higgins previously testified he “made a b-line” for the exit.

”Why the rush?” Jackson said. ”Because it was a long day” and he wanted to get home, Higgins said.

Jackson said “but you didn’t go home,” and Higgins reiterated that he fist went to Canton PD headquarters to “move vehicles.”

”You certainly didn’t see a body in the yard” at 34 Fairview when you pulled away, Jackson said. ”Of course not,” Higgins said.

”The lights [on the Jeep] lit up everything in front of you, correct?” Jackson asked. Higgins said they did and that he still did not see a body on the lawn.

2:07 p.m. — Higgins says he had ‘no idea who was coming’ to Fairview after party

Brian Higgins told lawyer Alan Jackson that he got to Fairview Road home before the Alberts and never discussed going there with Karen Read and John O’Keefe at the Waterfall.

”My impression was that it was an open invitation,” Higgins said. “I had no idea who was coming.”

Jackson noted Higgins texted O’Keefe at 12:20 a.m., “you coming here???”

”I did,” Higgins said, adding that he did not text Read at that time.

Jackson asked Higgins if he was “more interested” in getting O’Keefe to the house rather than Read, and he said he didn’t think so.

Higgins’s Jeep, he told Jackson, was parked “by the mailbox” in front of 34 Fairview when he went in for the after party.

2:03 p.m. — Defense attorney suggests Read ‘ignored’ Higgins at the Waterfall. Higgins denies it, says Read was ‘working the room’

Higgins said he decided to join the Alberts at the Waterfall bar in Canton because he’d received similar invites in the past. Defense attorney Alan Jackson asked if he exchanged any texts with Brian Albert about who was coming to the Waterfall, and Higgins said “not that I recall.”

He said he saw no tension between Read and O’Keefe at the Waterfall. Higgins said he had “at least a couple” whiskeys at the Waterfall before he drove to 34 Fairview Road.

Read “did not greet you, did she,” when she entered the Waterfall, Jackson said. “No,” Higgins said. “I didn’t have any interaction with her that night, no.”

”She basically ignored you the entire evening,” Jackson said. “No,” Higgins said. “Just because somebody doesn’t come over doesn’t mean they ignored you. ... In my opinion, she was working the room, talking to people, saying hello, catching up. ... I was one of the people she didn’t say hello to, yes.”

Higgins said he “did not feel ignored and it didn’t upset me at all.” Jackson said it “bothered you enough” to send Read the “ummmmm .... well” text at the bar.

Higgins said “not correct” when Jackson asked if he meant to convey to her, “why are you ignoring me?” Higgins said Read didn’t reply to the text but he “didn’t read into it.”

1:57 p.m. — Brian Higgins testifies that texts with Read dwindled after Jan. 23

Defense lawyer Alan Jackson noted the texts between Karen Read and ATF agent Brian Higgins started to “dwindle off” after Jan. 23, and he said “they lagged.”

Higgins said that when Read texted on Jan. 23 that she wasn’t done “with talking” to him, he replied, “Hmmmm. You sure.”

Read did not respond, records show.

Jackson asked if Higgins “openly shared” his interest in Read with a supervisor at work, and he said he informed his boss that she had kissed him. Higgins said he never discussed his interest in Read with Brian Albert.

”Even though he’s a good friend,” Jackson said. “Yes,” Higgins said, adding that it wasn’t something he would “talk about.”

1 p.m. — Lunch recess is called

Judge Beverly Cannone called a lunch recess at 1 p.m. Testimony will resume at 1:45 p.m.

12:59 p.m. — Higgins testifies that Read never expressed anger or hatred toward O’Keefe in their text exchanges

Brian Higgins told defense attorney Alan Jackson of Read: “I thought she was an attractive woman.”

”Romantically attractive,” Jackson said.

”I’m not going to go there, no,” Higgins said.

”Were you or were you not sexually attracted to my client?” Jackson continued. “Yes,” Higgins said.

He told Jackson the “real deal” remark in the texts referred to his desire for “a real relationship.”

Jackson noted one text when Higgins asked what Read wanted from him and she responded, “I don’t know.”

Read never once expressed anger or hatred toward O’Keefe in the texts, Jackson said. ”No, not at all,” Higgins said.

Jackson asked if Read had “sort of ghosted” him after Jan. 23, 2022 and Higgins said “no.”

”She also sent me a text with arrows saying the phone works both ways,” Higgins said. They exchanged no texts between Jan. 23 and Jan. 29, Jackson said.

”I believe so,” Higgins said.

12:54 p.m. — During cross examination, Higgins testifies he was ‘attracted’ to Read but not necessarily interested in ‘romantic phase’

Brian Higgins told Read defense lawyer Alan Jackson that he’s also close with Kevin Albert, a Canton detective who is Brian Albert’s brother.

Higgins said he’s “assisted” Kevin Albert on some of his cases and has also socialized with him.

”I would say that I know Brian and Kevin the best,” Higgins said when Jackson asked if it’s fair to say he knows the Albert family well.

Jackson asked if Higgins and Brian Albert were going “round for round” at the Hillside bar on the night of Jan. 28 before they went to the Waterfall bar in Canton. Higgins said he didn’t think that was accurate.

”To be honest with you, I wasn’t keeping track,” Higgins said. He said he decided to join the Alberts at the Waterfall, driving himself there after consuming as many as four whiskeys at the Hillside.

Turning back to the Patriots game on Jan. 15, Jackson asked Higgins if Read’s kiss as he left John O’Keefe’s home was a “passionate long kiss” or more like a peck. Higgins said it was not the sort of kiss one offers to a friend. He told Jackson they never had any additional intimate contact.

In addition, Jackson asked if Read indicated to Higgins that she didn’t think the Aruba incident was a big deal.

”It was clear to me she was upset,” Higgins said. He said he asked Read for “clarity” many times during their texting, which she didn’t provide.

Jackson asked if Higgins was frustrated due to his romantic interest in her and he said, “I was attracted to her. ... I wouldn’t say it was romantic, I was trying to vet it out. ... I was trying to vet out was her interest in me legitimate?”

Higgins added, “I was interested” but not necessarily in the “romantic phase.”

12:41 p.m. — Defense attorney asks Higgins about Brian Albert

Brian Higgins said he previously testified that he and Brian Albert drank together and had meals together roughly 30 to 50 times over a two-year period between 2021 and 2023.

”There’s no secret there,” Higgins said. “He’s my friend.”

Defense lawyer Alan Jackson asked if he knew Brian Albert had once gotten into a fistfight with Eddie Hernandez, the Boston detective they traveled to New York with, and Judge Cannone sustained a prosecution objection.

Jackson noted that Higgins had indicated in a prior law enforcement interview that even Ken Berkowitz, the former Canton police chief, was “a little afraid” of Brian Albert.

Judge Cannone sustained a government objection and called the lawyers to sidebar.

12:36 p.m. — Higgins testifies that Jan. 28 and 29, 2022, live in his mind ‘like a nightmare’

ATF agent Brian Higgins told Read defense attorney Alan Jackson that the dates Jan. 28 and Jan. 29, 2022, have lived in his mind “like a nightmare.”

He told Jackson he and Brian Albert and Kevin Albert know many of the same people and attended a number of the same parties and social events.

Asked if he was “well connected” to the Canton Police Department, Higgins said he’s close friends with former Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz. Berkowitz retired about six months after O’Keefe’s death.

Jackson asked if Higgins recalled saying “if you want to hide a body, Kenny Berkowitz is your man” during a toast at Berkowitz’s retirement party.

”I don’t,” Higgins said.

12:25 p.m. — Read attorney Alan Jackson begins cross examination

Alan Jackson asked Higgins on cross examination who he came to court with, and Higgins said he met his attorney at the courthouse.

”I don’t know where he physically is right now,” Higgins said of his lawyer, adding that he met with the attorney before he testified and during the morning recess.

Higgins told Jackson he had one prior conversation on Monday with prosecutor Adam Lally about his testimony, which lasted roughly 90 minutes. Higgins’s attorney joined him during that talk, he testified. He said he didn’t observe anyone taking notes during the meeting. Higgins said he turned over a piece of mail to State Police during the meeting that he had received at his home.

The lawyers were then called to sidebar.

12:20 p.m. — Judge calls a sidebar before defense cross-examines Higgins

Higgins said that when he pulled away from the Fairview residence early on Jan. 29, he “just pulled out into the middle of the street” and “drove away.”

Judge Cannone called the attorneys to sidebar before the defense began its cross examination.

12:20 p.m. — Higgins testifies that Read came to his home one evening

Higgins said Read came over to his residence one evening earlier in January 2022.

”I’m not proud of these text messages,” he said, adding that it “was just a weird experience” when Read came over and he asked her again what she truly wanted.

He said Read left after a brief period. Higgins said he was “very uncomfortable” when Read came to his residence and that “it was just a weird vibe.”

On Jan. 23, 2022, records show, Read texted Higgins and he said “thought you were all set,” and she replied, “With talking? No.”

The last text he received from Read came at 11:54 a.m. on Jan. 29. It said simply, “John died.” Higgins said he never heard from Read again.

12:14 p.m. — ‘I know where the cameras are,’ Read texted to Higgins

Brian Higgins wrote to Karen Read at another point that usually people reach out to someone when they don’t live with someone else.

”Maybe, maybe not,” Read replied. Higgins also told her, “I don’t need drama, dude. ... You legit planted one on me.”

Read wrote, “I know where the cameras are anyway. Duh.”

Higgins asked if her “slick move” wasn’t captured by the home security systems and she said no, and that she’d just pecked Higgins. ”I kissed Kerri and gay Jeff too,” Read wrote.

Higgins at another point invited her over for a drink and Read replied, “I’m 42. I know what happens when you invite someone over for a drink.” Read wrote at another point that “things are far from perfect” with her boyfriend John O’Keefe and that she’s “not married and neither are you. Neither is John.”

Read also wrote that she and O’Keefe had no intention of “EVER getting married.”

12:04 p.m. — Higgins testifies about Read texts referencing children, trip to Aruba with O’Keefe

ATF agent Brian Higgins also texted Read that he “can go to any base but usually Hanscom in Bedford or down the Cape,” and she replied, “Which base down the Cape?” Higgins also asked if she was moving to Canton.

Read said she was there most of the time but sometimes it’s “a lot,” adding that she “never wanted kids.” Higgins wrote that he thought she was happy in her relationship and she replied “everyone is happy at the Hillside.”

Read said John O’Keefe’s niece and nephew are “very spoiled” and that O’Keefe got “drunk and sloppy” on the Aruba trip.

”I found him all over our friend’s sister” in the lobby, and “she’s gross,” Read wrote. Higgins told her he’d been divorced since 2017 and had no kids, but his former wife had a child when they met and it was difficult.

”You can vent, babe,” Higgins wrote to Read at one point.

11:57 a.m. — ‘This is so out of left field’: Higgins testifies that he asked Read why she was texting him

Brian Higgins said as he started to exit the home of John O’Keefe after watching a Patriots game there, Karen Read told him to leave a different way, through the garage.

”The defendant kissed me,” he said. “Not like a friend.”

He said he was “taken aback” and not expecting the kiss, and that he left “almost immediately.” Higgins said he had texted her at another point that he thought Read was “messing” with him because “this is so out of left field.”

Read wrote that “I just think you’re like me,” and also asked “do you have your own kids.” He said he did not have his own children and asked more than once why she was reaching out to him.

”Was she trying to weaponize me against John and put me in the middle?” Higgins said. “I was having a hard time [determining] ... what was happening.” Read asked “do you like me,” and he said, “Yes from jump,” per the text records.

Read also wrote she thought she and Higgins were “from the same neighborhood,” records show. She wrote to him another point that she was “basically begging you” to come over, records show. He texted her at another point, “ball’s in your court,” and she asked what he wanted, so Higgins replied, “loaded question.”

”We’re single and we don’t have kids,” Read texted him, records show. “We can do whatever we want.”

She also told him that “I don’t want any responsibility,” and Higgins again asked why she reached out to him, writing “still have not told me.” Higgins said he’s “fine with it” but just can’t figure out why she won’t answer. ”I just think you’re like me and I’m attracted to you,” Read wrote, adding that “things have deteriorated” between her and O’Keefe.

”He seems very into you,” Higgins wrote. He also asked if she was breaking up with O’Keefe, and she said she didn’t know, and that O’Keefe “hooked up” with someone else on the Aruba trip weeks earlier.

Higgins testified that during their text thread he was constantly wondering if her interest in him was “legitimate.”

Higgins wrote in another text to Read, “did they bang?” referencing her false allegation that O’Keefe hooked up with someone else in Aruba. Read replied, “Does that matter?” ”We did kiss earlier, no?” Read wrote.

”I think you initiated that,” Higgins replied. He later wrote that he was seeking “the real deal” in a relationship, and she replied, “it doesn’t exist.”

11:38 a.m. — ATF agent Higgins testifies about flirtatious texts, kiss with Karen Read

Brian Higgins identified text messages he’d exchanged with Karen Read, before prosecutor Adam Lally displayed them on a screen in the courtroom. He said the texts started Jan. 12, 2022, and he’d never communicated with Read previously via text.

”Hey Brian, it’s the weedwhacker,” Read texted him on that day. Higgins said weedwhacker was “kind of a nickname that she adopted,” after he had seen Read in Canton one day using a weedwhacker and beeped at her, prompting her to give him “the finger.”

Higgins said he turned his vehicle around and rolled down the window and she said “get the [expletive] away from me, my husband’s a Boston cop,” but then she recognized him when he rolled his window down more.

He also read Jan. 13, 2022 texts that he and Read had exchanged.

”How did you get my digits?” Higgins wrote.”The Melissa and Lito show,” Read replied, referencing other regulars at the Hillside bar. He texted her at another point in the exchange, “I am going to Nashville next month 19-21 for a benefit. One of our guys got shot in the head. You guys should come.”

Read texted him later that he was “kind of a loner” and Higgins replied that he had “a ton of buddies” but only a few friends he was “tight with.” He also told her his father had died of cancer in 2020.

Read told him at another point on Jan. 15 via text, “You’re hot,” and he replied, “are you serious or messing with me?” and she said, “No I’m serious,” prompting him to reply, “Feeling is mutual.”

Higgins said that as he was exiting O’Keefe’s home after the Patriots game, “the defendant planted a kiss on me.”

11:19 a.m. — Trial resumes after judge presents jury with instructions; Higgins returns to the stand

10:36 a.m. — Judge calls morning recess

Judge Beverly Cannone has called a 15-minute morning recess, following a lengthy sidebar with lawyers.

10:29 a.m. — Higgins testifies about text communications over several months with John O’Keefe, Karen Read

ATF agent Brian Higgins identified a text exchange from Nov. 2021 in which John O’Keefe had asked him if he wanted to meet up for drinks.

Higgins said he sent O’Keefe another text on Jan. 16, 2022, asking if he had broken his nephew’s video game when he visited the day before. Another time in early January, Higgins said, he texted O’Keefe an offer to plow his driveway.

”A number of times at the Hillside” O’Keefe had invited him to come back to his home to watch the end of a game, Higgins said. He said he went over to O’Keefe’s home on Jan. 15, 2022, to watch the end of the Patriots game because he’d gotten separate text invites from O’Keefe and Karen Read.

Higgins said he played video games with O’Keefe’s nephew that day. The following day, he jokingly texted O’Keefe “was it really necessary” to add Hennessy beverages to the mix, Higgins testified, looking at the records on the stand.

10:17 a.m. — Higgins testifies about turning over text messages with Read and O’Keefe to investigators

Higgins said he gave an interview days later to Trooper Michael Proctor, lead State Police investigator in the case, and a second trooper.

He said Proctor reminded him they had worked together on a prior case involving a “gun recovery” but he hadn’t ever socialized with him. ”I provided them with text messages that I had exchanged ... with John O’Keefe and text messages that I had exchanged with the defendant,” Higgins said. “They were copies,” essentially screen shots, he testified.

Higgins said he “consulted a coworker” who’s also a friend who has training with cell phones and asked about the “best way” to provide the texts to law enforcement. ”I wanted to be fully transparent,” he said.

Higgins said he did “nothing” to alter or delete the texts before giving the copies to the troopers. ”Exactly what was on my phone, I provided to them,” Higgins said. “I think during the actual interview [Proctor’s partner]” asked if any texts had been deleted.

Higgins said he replied that he may have deleted some older texts between him and O’Keefe but that copies of all the germane texts from the time period in question were turned over. “There was more detailed questions” during the interview about Karen Read and John O’Keefe’s relationship, Higgins said.

10:10 a.m. — Higgins testifies his phones “were blowing up” with calls around 6:30 a.m. from Canton police chief, Brian Albert

Brian Higgins said he went into the police station’s sally port area, down a hallway past the dispatch center to the right. He said he knew the station was outfitted with security cameras that captured people coming and going.

Higgins said “newly promoted [Canton] Sgt. [Sean] Goode” was on duty at the time. ”I go back downstairs and I move the [federal] vehicles to the center of the parking lot,” Higgins said, adding that he went from there to West Roxbury where he also had an apartment.

”Could have been somewhere around 20 [minutes] of 2” a.m. when he got to the apartment, Higgins said. “It was a long day. ... I had something else to eat and I believe I might have had another couple of drinks and either laid on the couch or laid on my bed” and fell asleep.

In the morning he said, “both my work and personal phones were blowing up, they were going off” around 6:30 a.m. ”First it was [Canton] Chief [Kenneth] Berkowitz” followed by Brian Albert, Higgins said. He said he answered the call from Albert, and they spoke.

Higgins said he then drove his Jeep back to the Fairview Road in Canton, arriving there shortly after 7 a.m.

”I don’t recall, maybe a police car, I don’t remember,” Higgins said when asked what he saw when he pulled onto the street. The weather at the time was “real bad,” he said.

Inside the house, he said, he saw Brian and Nicole Albert and the McCabes, and Julie Albert, another sister to Nicole Albert, showed up later in the morning.

”People were pretty distraught,” Higgins said, “because John had been found on the lawn.” Asked if that was why he’d gone to the house, Higgins said, “yes.”

He said “it didn’t make sense to me” when he was told earlier by Brian Albert that O’Keefe had been found on the lawn. “I couldn’t do the math in my head. ... They never showed up. It didn’t make sense.”

Higgins said he stayed at the home for less than an hour, and he likely went from there to the Canton police station.

”Because I was still trying to put things together in my head, I was upset,” Higgins said when asked why he went to the police station. “Those would be the reasons.” He said he wasn’t sure how long he was at the police station and couldn’t “specifically remember” where he went next.

9:55 a.m. — Higgins testifies that he left Fairview home at 12:10 a.m., drove to Canton police station to move his vehicles to allow for plowing

Brian Higgins said he knew of Brian Albert’s nephew, Colin Albert, though “if he walked in here right now I wouldn’t know,” and he didn’t see him at the Brian Albert’s Fairview Road home.

Colin Albert has previously testified that he was picked up from the Fairview home at 12:10 a.m., some 15 or 20 minutes or so before Read dropped off O’Keefe on the street.

Higgins said snow was on the ground as he left the home and made his way back to the Jeep. He said he wasn’t looking toward the front yard at the time, where prosecutors say O’Keefe would have been lying after being struck by Read’s SUV.

”It was a long day,” Higgins said, adding that he was “just looking to get home.”

He said he started to pull away but stopped when he heard his plow grinding on the ground, so he pulled a device called a “fish stick” to lift it up before he kept moving. He said he pulled the plow up “a foot or two” and then pulled away. His attention “wasn’t drawn to anything, I just drove away,” Higgins said. “I didn’t see any” other vehicles as he left.

Higgins said he went back to the Canton police station after leaving the Fairview residence. He said he wanted to move his government-issued vehicles in the lot to allow for plowing.

9:48 a.m. — Higgins says he never saw Read or O’Keefe at Fairview Road home that night: ‘Absolutely not, no’

ATF agent Brian Higgins said the group of bar hoppers moved from the Waterfall to Brian Albert’s house on Fairview Road shortly after midnight.

”I knew where I was going, yes,” Higgins said. “I think pretty much everyone was wrapping up and leaving. I know that I beat Brian and [his wife] Nicole back to the house.”

O’Keefe, he said, was drinking beers at the Waterfall and “the defendant had glasses” of some kind of liquid.

The roadway was still “black at the time” when he arrived at Fairview but snow had begun to fall and the sidewalk had a light coating, he said. He said he decided to jokingly plow a bit of the Alberts’ driveway before parking his Jeep out front by the mailbox.

”I wanted to make sure that I was not blocking the driveway or blocked in,” Higgins said. From there, he said, he entered the home, around the same time Brian and Nicole Albert arrived. Brian Jr., Albert’s son who was celebrating his birthday, was seated in the island area of the kitchen with two female friends, Higgins said.

Matt McCabe and his wife Jennifer McCabe, sister to Nicole Albert, arrived soon after, Higgins said. He said Brian Sr. “at one point briefly” showed him some family photos of another one of his sons in the Marine Corps ”because he was proud,” Higgins said. “Brian was in the Marine Corps and I was in the Army.”

They looked at the photos for a “brief” period in a family room, he said, and he left the Fairview home between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. ”It was a very short period of time,” Higgins said, adding that “I’m not a beer drinker and that’s what they had.”

He said he never went upstairs or down to the basement at any point. The mood in the home was “fine,” Higgins said. “Everybody was happy.” He said his back was to the front door as he sat in the kitchen area.

”Absolutely not, no,” Higgins said when prosecutor Adam Lally asked if he saw O’Keefe or Read at Fairview at any point.

He said he texted O’Keefe at one point asking where he was and got no response. ”After I left the Waterfall, I never saw John O’Keefe and the defendant again,” Higgins said. He said he was probably the first person to later leave the Fairview home.

9:36 a.m. — Higgins recounts visit to Hillside bar, says Read produced glass of what looked to be clear liquid from under her coat

Higgins said he and Brian Albert arrived at the Hillside bar around the same time.

”I had something to eat” and both men had drinks, Higgins said. “Brian had left before me.”

Higgins said he was drinking “Jameson and ginger,” his typical drink. He said Brian Albert invited him to join his family and friends at the Waterfall bar, another local establishment. Higgins later arrived at the Waterfall and sat with “Brian and his family,” he testified.

Brian Albert was “a good friend, he was a coworker,” Higgins said. “I had been working closely with his [BPD fugitive] unit. I’d say he was a good friend.”

The mood, Higgins said, was positive at the Waterfall. ”It was a good time,” he said. “There was a band.”

The party began preparing to leave around midnight, Higgins said, and “John O’Keefe and the defendant” had come in earlier. He said he had known O’Keefe for perhaps a little over a year at the time, having met him previously at the Hillside.

”I would see him at the Hillside,” Higgins said. “He was a Boston police officer.” He said he had known Read for about the same amount of time.”They were dating,” he said. Higgins said he saw the couple together “more often than not,” and went over to O’Keefe’s house once for the end of a Patriots game. ”I considered him a friend,” Higgins said. “I considered her a friend, as well.” He said he would sometimes text with them.

O’Keefe and Read, he said, entered the Waterfall at some point after 11 p.m. He said Read opened her coat and took a glass out of it. ”It was a tall glass,” he said. “It looked like a clear liquid in there.”

Higgins said he learned the couple had been across the street at McCarthy’s, another bar, and he gleaned that the glass Read took out from her coat “wasn’t from the Waterfall.” He said he recalled a “brief conversation” with O’Keefe at the bar that was essentially just “greetings,” and he did not speak to Read at the Waterfall. He did text her, however, words to the effect of “um ... well” at the bar, he said. ”I guess you could view it as a flirty text,” Higgins said.

9:25 a.m. — Brian Higgins takes the stand

Brian Higgins said he lives in Barnstable County and has owned a property there since 2018. He said he worked as a Cambridge Fire Department lieutenant prior to joining the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Higgins said he lived previously in Canton from 2017 to Jan. 5, 2022, when he sold his home there.

Earlier on Jan. 28, 2022, he said, he was in New York City for funeral services for two officers killed in the line of duty. Higgins said he made his way back to Massachusetts that morning owing to “the anticipation of a blizzard.” He said he drove his government-issued Dodge Ram pickup down and back.

Boston Police Officer Brian Albert and his brother Kevin Albert, a Canton detective, joined Higgins on the trip along with Eddie Hernandez, a BPD detective, Higgins testified.

”First and foremost, we’re all friends,” he said, adding that he knew Hernandez the longest of the trio, followed by Brian, and then Kevin.

Higgins said he has a Canton Police Department satellite office which the former chief offered up to him after his sister died.

”It’s not abnormal [as a federal agent] to have space within a department that you work closely with,” Higgins said.

He said the men stopped for a meal on their way back to Massachusetts, and then they went to a BPD district station in Charlestown where Brian Albert had parked his vehicles. From there, Higgins said, he dropped off Kevin Albert at Canton PD headquarters and then went to the Hillside bar in Canton to meet Brian Albert.

Higgins said he drove his personal 2011 gray Jeep Wrangler, outfitted at the time with a plow some 6-feet-8-inches in size, to the Hillside. He’d affix the plow on the Jeep whenever “inclement weather” was expected to help family and friends clear property during storms.

9:14 a.m. — Prosecutors called Brian Higgins as their first witness Friday morning

Higgins is an agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who was at the Canton bar and after-party at the home of his friend, Brian Albert.

Read’s lawyers, citing phone records, have said that Higgins had a romantic interest in Read.

9:09 a.m. — Jury entering the courtroom.

Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected] .

• International

May 26, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

By Sophie Tanno, Catherine Nicholls, Maureen Chowdhury and Matt Meyer, CNN

Our live coverage of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has moved here .

Israeli strike on Rafah kills dozens, hours after Hamas fires rockets at Tel Aviv. Here’s the latest

From CNN staff

At least 35 people were killed in an  Israeli strike  on a camp for displaced people in  Rafah on Sunday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian medics, shortly after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv for the first time in months.

Gazan authorities and medics say the attack hit a displacement camp that had been designated by Israel as a "safe zone." The Israel Defense Forces(IDF) said the bombardment hit a militant compound in the area, killing two senior Hamas officials .

Videos shared on social media show a large fire at the site, which included a large container used as a shelter for dozens of families, surrounded by hundreds of tents.

Below are the latest updates:

• Horror in Rafah: Gaza's Health Ministry said those killed and wounded in the strike were mostly women and children. Video obtained by CNN shows tent-like structures on fire. The Palestinian Authority presidency urged the international community to intervene immediately. Hamas described the attack as a "massacre" and said it holds the US administration and President Joe Biden personally accountable. Doctors Without Borders (MSF)  expressed horror following the airstrike, saying it "shows once again that nowhere is safe."
• Hamas officials killed: The Israeli military said two senior Hamas officials were killed in the Rafah strike, which it said was "based on precise intelligence." The IDF said it killed Yassin Rabia, who it said was the commander of Hamas' leadership in Judea and Samaria, and Khaled Nagar, who it said was a senior official in the Hamas wing for the same regions. It said the strikes, including the harm to civilians, are now under review.
• Rockets fired: The Rafah attack came after sirens sounded across Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel on Sunday, with the IDF saying eight rockets were fired from the Rafah area and had crossed into Israel. It marks the first time rockets have been fired at the city since late January. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack and the IDF said "a number of projectiles" were intercepted.
• Strike on Jabalya: An Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza city of Jabalya killed at least four people Sunday, according to medics at the scene. Four others were injured and many are still unaccounted for after the strike hit a residential building in the Al-Nazla neighborhood. A journalist said Jabalya witnessed an intense night of airstrikes and shelling, and that during the day, many fires were raging throughout the area. 
• Aid trucks: Israeli military officials said 360 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday following security checks. This includes 126 trucks from Egypt that crossed into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, the IDF said.   Aid workers and United Nations officials have repeatedly warned that the  dire humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza  is due in large part to  Israel's tight restriction of ground deliveries  into the enclave.
• Hostage talks:  Negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and hostage swap deal  are set to resume in Cairo  on Tuesday, according to an Egyptian official. Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled for months, with both parties failing to reach an agreement over differences on key demands. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed strong opposition the demands made by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

What we know about the Israeli strike on Rafah that killed 35 people

At least 35 people were killed in an  Israeli strike  on a camp for displaced people in  Rafah on Sunday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian medics.

Videos shared on social media show a large fire at the site, with paramedics and firefighters struggling to manage the strike's aftermath. The area targeted included a large container used as a shelter for dozens of families, surrounded by hundreds of tents.

The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas compound in the area,  killing two senior officials  from the militant group.

Here's what to know about the strike:

• Strike hit "safe zone": Gazan authorities and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the area targeted had been designated by Israel as a "safe zone" in Tal al-Sultan, northwest of Rafah. "The Israeli occupation army had designated these areas as safe zones, calling on citizens and displaced persons to head to these safe areas," the Gaza government media office said. When displaced people sought refuge, they came under attack, the office said.
• Rocket attack: The attack in Rafah comes after Hamas launched rockets at Tel Aviv for the first time in months, according to the Israeli military, with sirens sounding in Tel Aviv and parts of central Israel on Sunday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that eight rockets were fired from the Rafah area, and “a number of projectiles” had been intercepted. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
• What the IDF said:  The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas compound in Rafah and that it used "precise munitions" based on "intelligence that indicated Hamas' use of the area." The IDF said it killed Yassin Rabia, who was the commander of Hamas' leadership in Judea and Samaria, and Khaled Nagar, who it said was a senior official in the Hamas wing for the same regions. It said the strikes, including the harm to civilians, are now under review.
• Casualties: Those killed and wounded were mostly women and children, Gaza's Health Ministry said, adding that no hospital in Rafah had the capacity to take the number of casualties. The PRCS said its ambulance crews were transporting a large number of people following the attack. And the Palestinian Emergency Committee in Rafah said dozens of people were killed in the attack on tents as fires broke out. Video obtained by CNN shows tent-like structures on fire.
• What Hamas said: Hamas described the attack as a "massacre" and said it holds the US administration and President Joe Biden personally accountable. It said Israel would not have carried out the strikes "without American support and the green light for it to invade Rafah, despite its overcrowding with displaced citizens." Hamas called for immediate international intervention.
• "Nowhere is safe": Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), expressed horror at the strike, saying it "shows once again that nowhere is safe." The humanitarian group reiterated its call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority presidency urged the international community to intervene immediately against what he called crimes against the Palestinian people.
• ICJ ruling: The Rafah strike comes days after the International Court of Justice  ordered Israel to halt its offensive  in Rafah. The court considers the humanitarian situation in the city to be classified as “disastrous,” the ICJ president said, adding that UN officials have indicated that the situation was set to “intensify even further” if the Israeli operation in Rafah continues. The court also ordered Israel to open the Rafah crossing for humanitarian assistance.
• Remember:  Over a million Palestinians — many already displaced by Israel's offensive in other parts of the enclave — had been sheltering in Rafah before Israel began its operations there. Many have now fled, but say  they have nowhere safe to go . Israel's actions in Rafah have served as a flashpoint for the  unprecedented level of diplomatic pressure  it is now facing over the war in Gaza.

Doctors Without Borders expresses horror at deadly Israeli strike in Rafah

From Sarah El Sirgany and Hamdi Alkhshali

Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has expressed horror following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah that killed at least 35 people on Sunday night, according to Gaza's health ministry.

MSF said in a statement that the attack "shows once again that nowhere is safe."

"Dozens of wounded and more than 15 dead people were brought to the trauma stabilization point that we support," MSF added. 

The humanitarian group reiterated its call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza.

What officials have said so far: The Israeli military said it was targeting a Hamas compound in Rafah and killed two senior Hamas officials in the strike. It also acknowledged reports of a fire breaking out and harm to civilians in the area, saying the incident is under review.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society and Gaza officials say the strike hit a camp for displaced people, which had been designated a "safe zone." Video obtained by CNN shows tent-like structures on fire.

A spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority presidency described the incident as a "massacre" and urged the international community to intervene immediately against what he called crimes against the Palestinian people. He also criticized the US for what he said is failing to hold its ally Israel accountable

Remember: Over a million Palestinians — many already displaced by Israel's offensive in other parts of the enclave — had been sheltering in Rafah before Israel began its operations there. Many have now fled, but say  they have nowhere safe to go .

Israel's actions in Rafah have served as a flashpoint for the  unprecedented level of diplomatic pressure  it is now facing over the war in Gaza.

Israeli military says it killed 2 senior Hamas officials in Rafah strike

From CNN's Jeremy Diamond

The Israeli military claims to have killed two senior Hamas officials in its strike on Rafah on Sunday.

The Israel Defense Forces identified the individuals as Yassin Rabia, who it said was the commander of Hamas' leadership in Judea and Samaria, and Khaled Nagar, who it said was a senior official in the Hamas wing for the same regions.

The military said it made the strike on Tal al-Sultan in northwest Rafah "based on precise intelligence." It said earlier Sunday that it had struck a Hamas compound in the area.

The IDF also repeated its early statement that it is aware of reports indicating the strike harmed civilians, and that the strikes are under review.

What officials in Gaza are saying: The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said 35 people were killed in the attack and dozens more injured, and that most of them were women and children.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society and Gaza government media officials have said the civilian area hit was a camp for displaced people.

Video obtained by CNN shows tent-like structures on fire. Video from PRCS also show medics walking through a tent, with one PRCS staff member carrying a child.

The Gaza government media office and the Palestinian Emergency Committee in Rafah have condemned the attack, saying the area had been designated a "safe zone" for civilians.

At least 35 killed in Israeli strikes on Rafah camp, Gaza health ministry says

From CNN's Sarah El Sirgany and Hamdi Alkhshali

The death toll from Israel's strike in Rafah on Sunday is now at least 35, with dozens more injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The ministry said those killed and injured are mostly women and children.

CNN cannot independently verify death tolls provided by the ministry due to the lack of international media access in the war zone.

"There is no hospital in Rafah with enough capacity to take this number of killed and injured, causing confusion among ambulance teams on where to transfer them," the ministry in a previous statement.

Gaza officials and the Palestine Red Crescent society have said the area that was hit is a camp for displaced people . The Israeli military claims it targeted a Hamas compound in Rafah. It said it was aware of reports of civilian harm, and that the incident is under review.

Videos shared on social media show a large fire at the site, with paramedics and firefighters struggling to manage the aftermath. The area targeted included a large container used as a shelter for dozens of families, surrounded by hundreds of tents.

360 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, Israeli military says

From CNN's Mike Schwartz

Israeli military officials said 360 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday following security checks.

This includes 126 trucks from Egypt that crossed into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. The US, Israel and Egypt coordinated on the crossing of the aid trucks.

"The aid trucks that arrived from the Rafah Crossing on the Egyptian side contained food, water, fuel, medical equipment, medicine and equipment for shelters," the IDF said, "All of the humanitarian aid was transferred to the Gaza Strip after security checks by personnel of the the Ministry of Defense Land Crossings Authority at the Kerem Shalom Crossing."

In a phone call on Friday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Joe Biden agreed to facilitate the delivery of United Nations-provided humanitarian aid from Egypt through the Kerem Shalom crossing on a temporary basis, until the Rafah crossing could reopen from the Palestinian side, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Remember: Aid workers and United Nations officials have repeatedly warned that the dire humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza is due in large part to Israel's tight restriction of ground deliveries into the enclave, which has been exacerbated by the closing of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

At least 30 killed in Israeli strikes on Rafah camp for displaced people, Gaza officials say

From CNN's Sarah El Sirgany, Abeer Salman and Hamdi Alkhshali

At least 30 people were killed by Israeli strikes on a camp for displaced people in the southernmost city of Rafah on Sunday, the Gaza government media office said.

"The Israeli occupation army had designated these areas as safe zones, calling on citizens and displaced persons to head to these safe areas," the government office said, adding that when displaced people sought refuge, they came under attack.

That echoed criticism from the Palestinian Emergency Committee in Rafah, which said the Israel Defense Forces had claimed the area struck was a "safe zone."

What the IDF has said: The Israeli military claimed in a statement that it struck "a compound in Rafah in which significant Hamas terrorists were operating," and said it is aware of reports of civilian harm following the strike and fire.

It said one of its aircraft used "precise munitions" to strike the target based on "intelligence that indicated Hamas' use of the area."

It said the strikes, including the harm to civilians, are now under review.

Earlier Sunday, Hamas fired rockets at Tel Aviv for the first time in months. The Israeli military said the rockets were fired from Rafah.

Hamas response: Hamas issued a statement holding the US administration and President Joe Biden personally accountable for the attack.

It said Israel would not have carried out the strikes "without American support and the green light for it to invade Rafah, despite its overcrowding with displaced citizens."

Hamas called for immediate international intervention, urging the swift implementation of decisions by the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.

Remember: Over a million Palestinians — many already displaced by Israel's offensive in other parts of the enclave — had been sheltering in Rafah before Israel began its operations there. Many have now fled, but say they have nowhere safe to go .

Israel's actions in Rafah have served as a flashpoint for the unprecedented level of diplomatic pressure it is now facing over the war in Gaza.

Israeli strike kills at least 4 and leaves rescuers digging for others beneath rubble, Gaza medics say

From Abdel Qadder Al-Sabbah in Gaza and Sarah El Sirgany in Jerusalem 

An Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza city of Jabalya killed at least four people Sunday, medics at the scene told a journalist working for CNN.

Four others were injured and many are still unaccounted for after the strike hit a residential building in the Al-Nazla neighborhood, according to the medics.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

The journalist said Jabalya witnessed an intense night of airstrikes and shelling, and that during the day, many fires were raging throughout the area. 

Video obtained by CNN shows people digging through rubble and removing debris near a collapsed building. The group appears to pull a toddler from beneath the rubble, but it is unclear whether the child is alive.

Video shows aftermath of the strike:

"We are working with very limited resources," said Hussein Mehisen, the director of Gaza Ambulance Services. "We call upon the international community and humanitarian agencies to salvage the health sector in Gaza."

Mehisen said the wounded had to be taken to other medical centers while nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital remains under Israeli siege.

Ibrahim Abdel Khaleq Khella, the brother of the owner of the house that was struck, said there are still women and children under the rubble that the Palestinian Civil Defence is trying to rescue.

"There were at least 20 people in that building. Many were retrieved from the rubble," he said. "This is not the first time our family is targeted. My own house was hit. My brother Mahmoud’s house was hit, killing 20 and injuring 10. My cousins’ place at the back — which were two houses on the same street — were hit. To this day, their bodies are still under the rubble, we couldn’t get them out."

At a news conference on Sunday, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the military is fighting "against terrorist targets" in Jabalya, and claimed they had found many weapons and relevant documents stored inside buildings there.

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