Automation is on the rise at organizations of all kinds. What’s a human to do? Take advantage of these traits that no robot can replicate, says Bentley’s Susan Brennan, associate vice president for university career services.

Empathy

Designing a product or service starts with empathy. You cannot simply go from generating an idea to implementing it. The capacity to put yourself in someone else’s shoes gives you a powerful advantage in creating solutions that meet customers’ needs.

Critical Thinking

Tech tools excel at collecting, analyzing and distributing data. But knowing how to apply that data in ways that meet your company’s goals is essential to achieve success. Critical thinking powers our skills in advanced reasoning and problem-solving. Ultimately, it is your vision that drives what you do; data supports it.

Humility

Practice humility and admit that you do not have all the knowledge about a topic. Automation can add value to the work you do, so be humble and consider it your colleague. Humility also goes a long way in connecting with your non-robot coworkers.

Judgment

Every process requires some level of judgment, particularly around ethical issues. Take the self-driving car. What happens when the car has to “choose” whether to swerve and avoid a pedestrian (injuring the person in the car) or continue on and risk hitting the walker (keeping the car occupant safe)? Human programmers have the ability to weigh out these kinds of ethical decisions.

Collaboration

Relationship building and collaboration are essential to career growth. Being open to working with someone who has a different skill set or deeper technical knowledge, for example, could help you streamline processes at your company. That makes you a more valuable employee