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What to write on your resume is your strengths. Personal qualities of a person: positive and negative. Relationship with colleagues

17 Jan 2018 Recruiters often ask candidates to list their shortcomings. The purpose of this question is for the HR specialist to understand how a potential employee is self-critical, whether he correctly evaluates himself and whether he is able to accept criticism. The applicant can independently indicate their negative aspects in the resume, however, do not forget to focus on their skills and abilities. In this article, we will tell you how to properly present your negative qualities in a resume and give illustrative examples, but first things first. To get started, consider the basic rules for filling out the section on shortcomings.
If the employer sends you an email or offers to fill out a resume questionnaire from the company before the meeting, then there will most likely be a question about weaknesses there. In no case should you put a dash. If this section is present in the questionnaire, then this item is of interest to the employer unambiguously. A dash in this case will be regarded as an inability to soberly assess oneself and an overestimated self-esteem. Also, do not get carried away too much, filling out this section. Remember, disadvantages can be your advantage. For example, being uncommunicative for an accountant is undoubtedly a plus. But for a sales manager, this is obviously a disadvantage. Remember that it is your adequacy, self-criticism and truthfulness that is evaluated, and not how many shortcomings you have. Examples of unwanted personal qualities in a resume - shortcomings that should not be pointed out for sure I am often late; I am fond of gambling; The presence of bad habits (alcohol, smoking, etc.); I am often distracted; I work only for the sake of a salary; I like to have office romances; I am lazy; I am greedy; I am hot-tempered; Passive; Envious; Careless; I often feel indifference to what is happening around, I love to live in my own world. Disadvantages that may not work in your favor: Pedantry; Individualism; Self-criticism; Self-esteem; Hyperreactivity; Modesty; Distrustfulness; Self-conceit; Straightforwardness; Vanity; Self-confidence; Excessive demanding; Meticulousness. Before indicating certain shortcomings, read the requirements in the vacancy, and make an approximate portrait of an ideal employee. After that, highlight the character traits that will not interfere with you or will help in your future work. Successful downsides for a resume: Inability to respond with rudeness to rudeness; Increased exactingness to others; Inclination to make decisions based on my own opinion; Unwillingness to act to please others; I can not always express my thoughts accurately; Inclined to reflection; I trust people, sometimes too much; I spend a lot of time evaluating my actions and actions; I can get carried away with work and forget about the break; I let all situations pass through myself; I don’t know how to swear; I don’t know how to lie. Neutral qualities: Fear of insects, snakes, mice and other animals; Fear of airplanes; Lack of work experience (for those who start a career or change their field of activity); Age (for people over 40); Love to shop. The list of negative qualities of a person in the resume should not contradict your line of business or question your professionalism. For example, to get a job as a sales assistant, you can specify: reliability (which is a plus when working with clients); excessive scrupulousness (will be a plus when working with money); an overestimated sense of responsibility (as a rule sellers are financially responsible for the product, and this "disadvantage" is simply necessary for a good salesperson; excessive love of communication (an important point in working with clients, which is also a positive "disadvantage" for retail.) Negative qualities for an accountant can be as follows: people and love of facts (or rather numbers); Discharge from disorder (everything should be in its place ah and only so); Slowness (when working with large amounts, you should definitely not rush); Excessive attention to detail or pedantry.

Resume writing is perceived by many people as listing all the positive personal qualities.

Moreover, they are not even always really available, but are abstract. But what is really important to indicate on the resume in order to get a good place work?

Resume as a price list

A resume, in its essence, is precisely a price list, because each line of it declares the value of a person as a specialist and employee.

The fewer functions he is able to perform, the cheaper his services will cost and vice versa.

The "price" of a person is made up of those qualities that the employer wants to see in the applicant. That is, an economist and, for example, a chef needs a different set of qualities, a different price list.

Assess yourself soberly

Starting to indicate all his good qualities in a resume, a person must first of all adequately assess himself professionally. As a rule, all unsuccessful attempts to get a job or promotion are due to overestimated or, on the contrary, underestimated self-esteem, leading to an incorrectly composed resume.

Thus, you need to soberly assess your abilities and understand what specific knowledge and skills are at their best. They should be indicated in the resume.

At the same time, it is worth considering the resume of other applicants for the position, to understand where they are superior and also reflect this in your list.

On the personality traits it is worth pushing only if there are not enough qualifications for the employer's requirements.

The qualities of a person for a resume. List

An example list looks like this, but it is certainly not completely exhaustive:


Positive

It is not enough just to indicate all your best qualities in the resume, they also need to be justified. The rule of the "golden mean" works here - a person should not excessively praise and describe at length all his positive aspects.

The resume should not exceed 1-1.5 pages, moreover, the employer has neither the time nor the desire to read someone's stories about himself.

You can imagine yourself in the place of the head of the organization, understand what he needs, and slightly embellish the necessary this place quality, describe them in a concise and concise form.

Highlighting the business sides

Whether a person will be hired is influenced not so much by his personal qualities as by his professional qualities. Therefore, it is on them that the main emphasis should be placed.

It's not worth listing all your skills. Much in this matter depends on the position for which the person is applying. Different business qualities will be preferable for the manager and for the accountant.

Therefore, you need to look at the text of the vacancy announcement, look professional requirements and indicate in your resume exactly those that are available.

It is also worth describing business qualities briefly, in one sentence, for example: "Six years of work as a deputy chief accountant."

It is important to ensure that business and personal qualities do not conflict with each other.

Negative

If the employer does not ask you to indicate separately bad qualities in the resume, then you do not need to do this yourself.

Examples of qualities that are likely to be perceived as negative are:


Strengths and weaknesses in the resume

When specifying the positive and negative qualities of a person in a resume, you need to be extremely careful. Much depends on the specific position and corporate culture companies - in one situation, some quality will be perceived as positive, and in another, as negative.

An accountant doesn't need leadership or charisma. From the list above, it is enough to choose 5-10 personal qualities that are the strengths of the personality and meet the requirements of the employer.

It goes without saying that personnel officers are directly interested in the fact that a person who wants to get a position independently evaluates himself and his abilities, presenting everything in paper form.

Therefore, in order to facilitate their work, they have compiled a list of tips, guided by which you can like the prospective bosses:

  1. The resume must be written in a low key, humor is inappropriate here. Unless, of course, we are talking about a creative and creative position;
  2. Template copied from somewhere resumes will not be successful because personnel officers are well aware of such tricks;
  3. More than 5 professional characteristics it is not worth mentioning, and the standard "professionalism" should not be included in this list, and "stress resistance" is always highly valued;
  4. It is necessary to indicate only the qualities who are suitable for the desired position;
  5. Answer the interview it is worth exactly what was asked about, it will still not work to talk about the personnel officer, and the impression will be irretrievably ruined.

We keep the brand

Pointing strengths and hiding the weak, you need to be prepared for the fact that at the interview, the personnel officer may ask you to demonstrate some of them on specific example... That is, if the resume says "modesty", appearance should be appropriate.

Stress tolerance can be tested with a two-hour admission delay, during which the applicant's behavior will be monitored.

When pushing on intellectual ability, you need to be prepared to face tests. Etc. etc.

Examples of descriptions by profession

Sales Manager

Required qualities: sociability, activity, focus on results.
Will be well appreciated: competent speech, stress resistance, thinking outside the box, competent speech.

Accountant

Required qualities: attentiveness, responsibility, learning.
Will be well appreciated: resistance to stress, non-conflict, scrupulousness.

Secretary

Required qualities: competent speech, stress resistance, accuracy, diligence.
Will be well appreciated: pleasant appearance, well-groomed, neatness.

Video: How to write a resume correctly

The business qualities of an employee are his ability to perform certain labor duties... The most important of these are education level and work experience. When choosing an employee, be guided by the benefits that he can bring to your company.

Personal qualities characterize an employee as a person. They become important when applicants for one position have the same business qualities. Personal qualities characterize the employee's attitude to work. Focus on independence: he should not do your job, but he must cope with his to the fullest.

Business qualities Personal qualities
The level of education Accuracy
Specialty, qualification Activity
Work experience, positions held Ambition
Labor productivity Conflict-free
Analytic skills Fast reaction
Fast adaptation to new information systems Politeness
Fast learner Attentiveness
Attention to detail Discipline
Flexibility of thinking Initiative
Overtime preparedness Diligence
Literacy Sociability
Mathematical thinking Maximalism
Customer Interaction Skills Persistence
Skills business communication Resourcefulness
Planning skills Charm
Presentation skills Organization
Oratorical skills Responsible approach to work
Organizational skills Decency
Enterprise Devotion
Professional integrity Principledness
Scrupulousness Punctuality
Ability to tackle multiple projects at the same time Determination
Ability to make quick decisions Self-control
Ability to work with a lot of information Self-criticism
Strategic thinking Independence
Striving for self-improvement Modesty
Creative thinking Stress tolerance
Ability to negotiate / business correspondence Tact
Ability to negotiate Patience
Ability to express thoughts Exactingness
Ability to find mutual language Hard work
Ability to teach Self-confidence
Teamwork skills Equilibrium
The ability to win people over Purposefulness
Ability to persuade Honesty
Good external data Energy
Good diction Enthusiasm
Good physical form Ethical

Choice of qualities

If the resume contains more than 5 characteristics, this is a signal that the applicant is not able to make the right choice. Moreover, the standard "responsibility" and "punctuality" have become commonplace, so if possible, ask what these mean general concepts... A prime example: the phrase "high efficiency" can mean "the ability to work with a lot of information," while you were counting on "willingness to work overtime."

Such general concepts as "motivation to work", "professionalism", "self-control", the applicant can reveal in other expressions, more specific and meaningful. Pay attention to incompatible qualities. To make sure that the applicant is honest, you can ask to illustrate the characteristics indicated by him with examples.

Negative qualities of an employee

Sometimes they are also included in the resume by the job seeker. In particular, such as:

  • Hyperactivity.
  • Excessive emotionality.
  • Greed.
  • Vindictiveness.
  • Impudence.
  • Inability to lie.
  • Inability to work in a team.
  • Restlessness.
  • Touchiness.
  • Lack of work experience / education.
  • Lack of sense of humor.
  • Bad habits.
  • Addicted to gossip.
  • Straightness.
  • Overconfidence.
  • Modesty.
  • Weak sociability.
  • Striving to create conflict.

An applicant who has written negative qualities on a resume may be honest or may be reckless. Such an act does not justify itself, but if you want to know the possible problems with this applicant, ask him to list his negative qualities. Be prepared to give the person an opportunity to rehabilitate and present negative qualities in a favorable light. For example, restlessness indicates easy adaptation and quick switching from one task to another, and straightforwardness indicates the benefits that he can bring when closing a deal.

Be prepared to give the person an opportunity to rehabilitate and present negative qualities in a favorable light.

Qualities for different professions

Certain professional quality are needed in almost all activities. You can make it easier for applicants to work and at the same time narrow their circle by adding information about the desired characteristics in the job ad. For an employee in the field of promotion or entertainment, the main qualities are communication skills, the ability to work in a team, and have people to him. The list of winning qualities will also include: charm, self-confidence, energy. In the field of trade, the list of the best qualities will look like this: flexibility of thinking, skills in interacting with clients, the ability to negotiate, work in a team, as well as quick reaction, politeness, persistence, activity.

A leader in any area should have such professional qualities as organizational skills, the ability to find a common language and work in a team, resourcefulness, conflict-freeness, charm and the ability to teach. Ability to make quick decisions, self-confidence, attentiveness and balance are equally important.

Strengths of an employee working with a large amount of data (accountant or system administrator): attention to detail, accuracy, quick learning, attentiveness, organization and, of course, the ability to work with a large amount of information.

The characteristics of a secretary include a variety of positive qualities: skills in interaction with clients, business communication, literacy, the ability to negotiate and business correspondence, the ability to do several things at the same time. Also pay attention to good external data, attentiveness, tact and poise, diligence. Responsibility, attentiveness and stress resistance are useful in any profession. But the applicant, writing such qualities in the resume, does not always take them seriously.

Responsibility, attentiveness and stress resistance are useful in any profession. But the applicant, writing such qualities in the resume, does not always take them seriously.

Assessment of the professional qualities of the employee

In order not to waste time and money testing new hires, sometimes companies evaluate them before hiring. For this, even special personnel assessment centers have been created. A list of assessment methods for those who prefer to do it on their own:

  • Letters of recommendation.
  • Tests. This includes routine aptitude and aptitude tests, as well as personality and biographical tests.
  • An examination for the knowledge and skills of the employee.
  • Role play or case studies.

The role-playing game will help you find out in practice whether the applicant is right for you. Simulate the day-to-day situation for his position and see how he copes. For example, rate his customer interaction skills. Let your competent employee or yourself be the buyer, and the applicant will show what he is capable of. You can set a goal that he needs to achieve while playing, or simply observe the style of work. This method will tell you much more about the applicant than the column "Personal qualities" in the resume.

When deciding on the assessment criteria, you can rely on business qualities: punctuality, potential quantity and quality of work performed, experience and education, skills, etc. For greater efficiency, focus on the qualities necessary for the position for which the candidate being assessed applies. To be confident in an employee, consider their personality traits. You can conduct the assessment yourself in the form of a rating of candidates, placing + and - according to certain criteria, distributing them by levels or awarding points. Avoid judging errors such as bias or stereotyping, or giving too much weight to one criterion.

In addition to the basic standard information about age, education, and other things, you need to tell about yourself in your resume. This paragraph should indicate your personal qualities.

The percentage of the likelihood of a manager's decision to hire you depends on how well and correctly you can present yourself with the help of your resume. The better you present yourself, the higher this percentage will be.

Most people, when writing their resume, find it difficult to answer this question, what to write about, so they often just recklessly skip this point. This is not worth doing, since it is information about your personal qualities that can play a rather important and even decisive role.

Of course, it is worth pointing out a number of essential qualities that a good employee should have. For example, it can be such qualities as:
- responsibility;
- discipline;
- high efficiency;
- communication skills;
- diligence.

Personal qualities such as an adequate attitude to criticism and the ability to make compromises are also important.

Keep in mind, however, that when writing a resume, you should not point out all the positive qualities that may come to mind. It is necessary to highlight only a few main ones. At the same time, your task is to disclose information about yourself in the resume so that the employer will distinguish you from total mass potential employees. If you wish, you can present your positive qualities in more original form... However, it is important not to overdo it here.

Indicate only those personality traits that correspond to you in reality. If you cannot ascribe some of the qualities to yourself, it is better to keep silent about it. Otherwise, the employer will be able to reproach you that the information you provided is not true.

Additional qualities

In addition to all of the above qualities, you can include in the list some non-standard, but standout and important features. These include such qualities as:
- initiative;
- creativity;
- easy to learn;
- mobility;
- activity;
- purposefulness;
- stress tolerance.

With such a list, your resume will have a great chance of successfully presenting you as a potential employee.

Everyone wants to have an interesting job in a company that they have known and dreamed of for a long time. But before you become an employee of such a company, you have to write a resume. If it interests the employer, the candidate will be invited for an interview. At this stage, it is important not to relax, but to prepare.

Before the interview, you have to go through the stage of selecting a resume.

First, look at the possible interview questions and consider the answers to them. One of the most popular is the description of strengths and weaknesses. Many candidates are often screened out at this stage. Therefore, it is worth paying special attention to it.

Introspection rules

Introspection - The best way independently determine their positive and negative qualities. Set aside 1–2 hours for reflection. You need to be in complete silence and calm atmosphere at this time. It is important that the person is not distracted by anything. Writing all the qualities on a sheet of paper is the most effective solution. You must adhere to these rules:

  1. The list of pros and cons should be updated every 2-3 months.
  2. You need to be as sincere as possible.
  3. All your thoughts and ideas on this matter must be written down.
  4. It is important to keep your records in one place. It can be a diary, notebook, electronic document.
  5. This simple method will help you determine the effectiveness of working on cons. It will give a powerful incentive for self-development.

Often employers are asked to name three negative qualities. But it is better to consider 7 strengths and 7 weaknesses in order to avoid an incident.

It is not always important to answer correctly. It is better to tell the truth than to voice banal, memorized and other people's phrases. After all, they may not correspond to the way of life and temperament of the applicant. You always need to be yourself and not imitate ideals. After all, if the candidate lies, then in the process of work all his disadvantages will appear very quickly. And nobody is safe from dismissal.

There are situations when it is better to change the place of work. Having correctly identified your strengths and weaknesses, you might think about which position is more suitable for a person. After all, there are people who are interested not only in the level of salaries, but also in the opportunity to maximize their full potential.

Assessment of deficiencies

Recognizing your weaknesses is not easy. Each has drawbacks that I don't want to talk about at all. But you need to be able to filter information and know what can really be mentioned in the interview, and what can be omitted.

You need to evaluate what can be said about the shortcomings, and what is better to keep silent

Many people are surprised that a resume can indicate excess weight as a weakness. But for some professions it really is important factor... It determines endurance, the ability to work for a long time and continuously, to move quickly. Recruiters immediately write about this in the job description in order to weed out unsuitable candidates.

List of reported deficiencies:

  • excessive self-criticism;
  • perfectionism or excellent student syndrome;
  • excessive emotionality;
  • excessive straightforwardness;
  • reliability;
  • desire to please everyone;
  • difficult to learn;
  • poor understanding of technological innovations;
  • lack of professional education, work experience in the required field, etc.

An excellent solution is to indicate weaknesses that do not affect the efficiency and quality of work. You can mention the disadvantages that are insignificant for the position. It is important not to get carried away so as not to question your professional suitability. You need to be as sincere and honest as possible. And it is also important to emphasize your advantages, which overlap the disadvantages.

The second tip is to point out the weaknesses that you managed to change. When hiring, this will demonstrate that the candidate is ready to develop, become better. Time management skills can be reported. Especially if a person settles on leadership position or one that implies multitasking. It is important to tell in detail how a person came to the ability to allocate time wisely. The main thing is to keep it short.

The third way is to present your shortcomings in an advantageous way. The main idea is to make them attractive to the employer and show that they do not interfere with work. It is useful for an analyst to go too far into details, for a top manager to work for a result and do everything only at the highest level.

It happens that a candidate is not suitable for a position due to the lack of the most important quality. Organizers have problems with punctuality, account managers - with speech, leaders - fear of public speaking. But there is no need to be afraid of this. It is better to just look for another vacancy where the lack of such skills or qualities will not be critical.

Assessment of positive qualities

Sociability as a quality is necessary at work in a team

More often than not, it is the question of strengths that puts the candidate in an awkward position. He is afraid to overdo it and over-praise himself. Therefore, really assess your capabilities, analyze your personal qualities and highlight only the positive ones. Experts advise to divide skills into 3 groups:

  1. Knowledge-based skills. They are obtained through experience, training. These are computer skills, fluency in a foreign language, the ability to work with the necessary programs, etc.
  2. Mobile skills. They are transferred from one job to another. This is the ability to establish contact with any person, planning and analysis skills, the ability to quickly solve problems, the ability to work efficiently in stressful situations.
  3. Personal qualities. These are the unique properties of each person.

There is a secret trick - to first talk about the positive qualities that are directly related to the desired vacancy.

Examples of strengths to mention:

  • communicable;
  • purposeful;
  • easily trained;
  • reliable;
  • creative;
  • disciplined;
  • decisive;
  • multifaceted, etc.

Employers value the ability to tell only the truth. And this applies not only to the answers during the interview. Everyone needs an employee for whom lying is a taboo. Therefore, if such a feature exists, it is worth mentioning.

The main rule is to choose 3-5 qualities, no more. It is important that they meet the requirements specified in the job description. It is worth preparing counterarguments to support the listed strengths.

It should be remembered that the applicant's answers during the interview are a reflection of his professionalism. The recruiter is looking for the one who best suits his requirements. It is important for him to see that despite some shortcomings, a person is ready to work to eliminate them.

Linking strengths and weaknesses to the specifics of professions

Find out what qualities are needed for the position

Before compiling a personal list of positive and negative qualities, you need to carefully read the resume. It indicates what the ideal employee of the company should be like. Some recruiters even describe it in detail. From this it is worth highlighting the pluses and minuses for yourself.

Initially, you need to decide on the type of profession. There are 5 of them. They are associated with:

  • technique;
  • nature;
  • other people;
  • sign system;
  • in an artistic way.

What is suitable for type 1 will categorically not satisfy the requirements of another category. The rule works here - the weaknesses of one profession can be an advantage for the second.

If work is connected with communication, then stress resistance is important. It is necessary for the employee to be able to control his emotions and to remain calm in any situation.

Talking about the positive aspects, you need to mention those that will create a competitive advantage over other job seekers. When applying for a job as an accountant or seller in small company, the employer is unlikely to pay attention to the candidate's leadership qualities. But in a company that is just entering the market and plans to actively develop, such an applicant will be very interesting.

Qualities not to be mentioned

There are things that are better not to talk about. If a potential employee reports that he is lazy, then he is unlikely to be hired. When the position is high, it is a bad decision to talk about your fear of taking responsibility. Such a person blames others for all failures. You can't rely on him, trust something.

Other things that are better not to talk about:

  • commercialism and thoughts only about money, salary and promotion;
  • non-punctuality;
  • addiction to romance novels, gossip, intrigue, etc.

But people who are really serious about finding a job will definitely not mention it. After all, their goal is to find a worthy position with good level salaries in a prestigious firm.

Often, applicants do not talk about bad habits which they cannot refuse. Subsequently, such employees arrange frequent smoke breaks. On holidays, they can drink in work time and encourage colleagues to do so. Often distracted by phone calls and gossip. Some are the initiators of conflicts.

Conclusion

The interview is not so scary if you prepare well for it. An important point is to create a list of strengths and weaknesses. This will help to avoid prolonged silence on the relevant question.

The main rule is to be honest and sincere. It must be remembered that everything secret becomes apparent. Talking about positive qualities, do not over-praise yourself. When mentioning weaknesses, it is important not to make too bad an impression. All your weaknesses need to be reformulated into strengths. And then the likelihood of passing an interview will increase several times.