Sample resume personal qualities. What weaknesses to indicate in the resume

Strengths and weaknesses of a person

The strengths and weaknesses of the personality are closely related and should not contradict each other. Each person has their own disadvantages and advantages. As a rule, we are used to talking about strengths, but we are often silent about weaknesses.

An independent, purposeful and self-critical person always admits that there are many weaknesses in his character. And there is nothing wrong with that. We are all humans. But every purposeful person can turn his shortcomings into virtues through painstaking work on himself.

So, what are human strengths and how to find them? To do this, first of all, pay attention to your talents and skills. Here you will find your strengths. When you find your strengths, work on them, develop them. This will allow you to fully open up.

If you cannot independently determine your strengths for the questionnaire, ask your acquaintances and friends for help. Thanks to their opinion, you can discover advantages in yourself that you didn’t know about before. And in some ways your opinion will converge with the opinion of your friends.

In addition to the strengths in the resume, there is often a question about your weaknesses. You shouldn't be ashamed of them. If you claim that you have no negative character traits, this will become a sign of an unformed personality for the recruiter. Which in the future is unlikely to help you get the desired position.

Table 1 - Strengths and weaknesses

Exceptions to the rules

When applying for a job, indicate in your resume those strengths that will help you get the desired position. After all, some of your strengths for some position may turn out to be shortcomings that the applicant should not have.

Here are the most common examples. For a device to the position of a manager, you should not talk about the ability to sing. This is unlikely to help you get a job. But if you tell the recruiting manager that you cook well, this will indicate your discipline, creativity, perseverance and accuracy. After all, to prepare a new dish, you need to spend a lot of time and effort on the choice of products and on the direct cooking process. In addition, a good cook is always creative in creating a new masterpiece, but always follows exactly according to the culinary recipe.

Below we will give a few examples of what qualities you need to specify when applying for a particular position.

Table 2 - Strengths and weaknesses by specialty: examples

The table shows that not all positive aspects should be indicated in the resume, since some are simply not needed to get the desired position or can “harm”. For the employment questionnaire, we recommend that you select such weaknesses that will help characterize you as a responsible and worthy person to occupy this position. The negative qualities of your character should help you fulfill the functions assigned to you.

What else should be paid attention to in the questionnaire or resume

• Be sure to indicate on your resume that you always set goals for yourself and achieve them, that is, you are a goal-oriented person. At the same time, be persistent and always follow a pre-planned plan.
• It is also worth pointing out that in the event of unforeseen circumstances, you can find a way out of this situation - you have a creative mind.
• Another important component of any successful applicant is self confidence. This will characterize you as a confident person who is not afraid to take a step forward. You are not inclined to panic due to unforeseen circumstances, you are calm and confident in your abilities.
• It is also very important the ability to communicate with people. Let it be customers, colleagues, subordinates, suppliers. You just need to be able to find a “common language” with them, accept their point of view and correctly present your opinion.
• Another positive character trait that must be indicated in the employment questionnaire is responsibility. No matter what position you apply for, you must always be responsible for your actions. Otherwise, you will become a burden on the company, which will eventually lead to you being fired.

Also, when applying for a new position, indicate that you are well trained. You can give examples from past work or university practice. When you come to a new company, the first time you will need to study: learn about the company, about the features of its activities and learn how to fulfill your direct duties.

Exercises to identify strengths and weaknesses

Sometimes it is very difficult to determine your personal qualities on your own. Especially if you are nervous or writing a resume for the first time. To eliminate worries and unpleasant moments, make a list of your qualities before the interview. And how to do this, we will help you. So:

1. Analyze your character. To do this, remember what you are good at and what is bad. And also what qualities are needed to perform these tasks. Write everything down so you don't forget.
2. If you cannot independently assess your qualities, ask your loved ones and acquaintances whom you trust about it. They will help you find your strengths and point out your weaknesses.
3. Assess your surroundings. Determine what positive and negative character traits your acquaintances have. Compare with yourself what you have and what you don't have. Write it down.
4. Next, evaluate the qualities that you indicated. You need to select what from this list is your strengths and what is your weaknesses. Let's say that at the university you could not make a presentation in front of an audience. So your weakness is the fear of the public. But you made this report, which means that you are an assiduous, attentive, responsible and hardworking person.
5. Next, from the selected qualities, you need to choose your personal and professional qualities.
6. Determine what qualities a candidate for your job should have. Write them down.
7. Now make a selection of your personal and professional qualities in accordance with the qualities that a candidate for the desired position should have. Write it down.
8. After the work done, identify your shortcomings and how you can deal with them.

Useful articles:

What does the employer want to know about a potential employee, in addition to his education, experience and professional skills? Usually this is the attitude to work, to other people (employees and clients), as well as career goals.

Personal qualities for a resume should be presented with a brief but concise description of your advantages. It is logical to add negative qualities for a resume only if the employer requires them.

Be honest about yourself. Fraud will be revealed during the interview and will be a very serious disadvantage for the applicant. It is better not to write anything than to ascribe to oneself non-existent virtues.

What qualities are better not to indicate

It directly depends on the desired position. It is better for a manager and head of a trade organization to choose the appropriate business qualities for a resume. Creativity or love for children in this case are inappropriate.

Sociability should not be indicated for specialties that require concentration and perseverance. And they, in turn, should not be mentioned to people of creative professions: designers and artists.

It is worth writing about attractive appearance and sports training only if they are required for a future profession.

How to Avoid Templates

Recruiters are annoyed by typical and hackneyed "responsibility" with "punctuality". The applicant is automatically included in the list of identical applicants. In addition, the gaze does not linger on banal phrases. The time a recruiter spends on viewing does not exceed half a minute.

How to get his attention? Just reveal the meaning of the word as an explanation, or even replace it. As an example, the expression “I perform my duties in good faith” is better than the standard “responsibility”. “Communicability” can be described in more detail if special courses and business trainings have been completed.

From the point of view of psychology, it is more useful to do without the “not” particle. As an example: "non-conflict" - benevolent, peaceful, calm.

It is more effective to describe your personal strengths in a summary, but in a laconic way, examples of more effective disclosure of personal qualities are given later in the article.

It happens that the employer also requires a list of shortcomings. What negative qualities of a person are suitable for a resume is determined by the intended position.

Writing example

Below are the most commonly used personal qualities for a resume, the lists of which we have summarized in tables.

Strengths of character and personal qualities of a person for a resume:

Negative personality traits and sides of character, presented as virtues:

A creative approach to telling about yourself helps to find a new job, even if the requirements in the vacancy are specified in formalized formulations. What if this is the first test of real interest?

It must be remembered that it is impossible to compile a universal list of characteristics for all companies. It is better to prepare several versions of the resume and be ready to argue what was written at the interview.

Writing a resume in itself is not an easy task, but the “personal qualities” section, or, as it is usually called, “About Me”, confuses job seekers. What is there to write?

The only thing that comes to mind is to rewrite what employers write in this section. This is a fairly effective tactic, especially if the employer approaches the resume formally. But “responsibility, sociability, stress resistance” have long been worn out. So what personal qualities to include in the resume? The answer is simple: yours, the real ones. If you easily get to know and find a common language with people, then write in your personal qualities in your resume, for example: “attentive attitude towards people, I can communicate with difficult clients / partners, I successfully negotiate.”

Experts identify four main types of personal qualities that should be indicated in your resume. We all remember school career guidance tests to determine the area of ​​interest: “man-man”, “man-machine” ... The model adapted to the resume includes a person’s attitude to himself, other people, work (labor) and things.

Let's consider each type separately.

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Attitude towards yourself

How a person treats himself largely determines his behavior in the workplace, have you thought about it? And recruiters have known this for a long time. For example, if a person is self-confident, has leadership qualities, is inclined to defend his point of view, he is most likely not suitable for an ordinary position. Here we come to an important point: the attitude towards oneself and self-esteem should correspond to the chosen position. If the employer requires qualities that you do not have, this is not suitable for you.

• ability to take criticism constructively
• striving for self-improvement, learning,
• increased responsibility,
• the habit of planning your time.

Attitude towards other people

In this section, in addition to sociability and stress resistance, there are other important qualities. In order to competently fill out this section, you need to imagine the process of future work in as much detail as possible: with what people will you communicate? In what situations will this happen? What problems might arise? What qualities will help you solve them?

Attitude to work

It is important not to confuse with professional skills here. You learned professional skills at a university or while working in another place, and the qualities are inherent in you as a person. To determine exactly your qualities of attitude to work, you can use the same technique as in the previous section. What is your future job? What qualities will help you perform it in the best possible way? Write them on your resume.

attitude towards things

Standard qualities in this section: neatness, tidiness. Every employer wants to keep things and equipment in the workplace safe and sound. Love order and cleanliness? Write about it in your resume!

Examples of personal qualities in a resume from this section:

• meticulous about the order in the workplace,
• take care of things
• I easily organize the space around me.

Now, to compile the “About Me” section, we collect these qualities together and get a portrait of a dream worker. Everything is pretty simple. A well-written resume, even if you were a little cunning somewhere, will show the recruiter that you have responsibly approached the description of your qualities and have a good idea of ​​​​the work process, since you were able to reflect exactly the qualities that are necessary for it.

Various examples of personal qualities in a resume:

An example of personal qualities in the resume of a sales assistant:

• politeness,
• desire to help other people
• the ability to smooth out conflicts;

An example of personal qualities in a lawyer's resume:

• scrupulousness,
• ability to work with large amounts of information,
• breadth of thinking;

An example of personal qualities in an accountant resume:

• pedantic attitude to order in documents,
• attentiveness,
• responsibility;

An example of personal qualities in a manager's resume:

• striving for leadership
• organization,
• the ability to defend one's point of view,
• determination.

Weak or bad personal qualities on a resume

What if you have some fundamental qualities or habits that the employer obviously will not like? In most cases, you should not list them on your resume. You can explain everything in an interview, but not in a resume. Indicate that you smoke, you will not be invited to an interview and will not know that you are ready to quit smoking during work hours or are trying to quit. If the employer provides a formal resume form (questionnaire) and there is a direct question, then you will have to write the truth. But even here you can persuade the recruiter to your side: note that you understand the negativity of this quality and are ready to work on it.

The current situation in the labor market has led to the fact that the number of resumes significantly prevails over the number of vacancies. As a result, when filling a vacancy, a competition begins, and the applicant must make his profile like a business card.

Below are examples of what personal qualities can be indicated when so that the questionnaire does not go unnoticed by the employer. Such a technique will attract the attention of a potential employer and will allow you to get to a personal meeting.

Hundreds of applicants applying for one vacant position in the company offer personnel officers to evaluate their candidacy. Therefore, it is necessary to stand out from the background of other applicants, pointing out not only the relevance of the experience gained in the previous job, but also the personal characteristics inherent only to this candidate.

It is the combination of “business qualities plus personal characteristics” that is evaluated by personnel officers and influences the decision to enroll a person in the state. The personal properties of the applicant play the same role as his professionalism!

Brevity and completeness of information

The first is the application form. The summary should be short, concise, capacious. It is worth specifying only those personal and professional qualities that correspond to the proposed position. Listing all previously held positions is only appropriate if each previous job is related to the position for which the applicant is applying.

Moreover, less and less employers hire a person with a long track record, experience can be gained. Much more valuable steel properties:

• competence;
• compliance of the candidate's knowledge with the requirements of the employer;
• accommodating;
• personal interest in the work (implies the profile of the organization in general and the current project in particular).

It is these personal qualities in the resume that personnel officers pay attention to. For an experienced employer, a young man who recently graduated from college may seem like a more interesting candidate than a specialist with N years of experience who has not changed jobs all these years (and, perhaps, because of this, is incompetent in some new areas).

Emphasis on personality

The second important point is personal positive qualities, more precisely, their correspondence to the position for which the person claims. Take, for example, such a popular property as organizational skills.

This quality, of course, refers to the positive. But is it worth adding it to the resume if a person gets a job as a seller or cashier?

In a resume for such a position, emphasis should be placed on the applicant's inherent:

• perseverance;
• contact;
• stress resistance;
• punctuality.

These personal characteristics, no doubt, will be appreciated by employers who are interested in hiring a competent employee who can quickly join the team and do an excellent job.

A system administrator may not have communication skills, but not a middle manager, for whom this personal characteristic develops into part of professional skills.

A universal set of personal characteristics of the candidate that the employer will like

In the event that the applicant is applying for a position for which the candidate has not yet gained experience, it is worth emphasizing their own prospects.

Those. list in the resume in the first place, not valuable professional skills (which are not yet available), but positive personal qualities that indicate the potential of the applicant.

A completely universal set of personal characteristics for an ideal resume does not exist - you can only give an average set of properties that in most cases are considered positive when applying for a job. Which of the personality traits to choose depends on the specific vacant position.

Personal characteristics - an approximate list:

1. The ability to be objective. It depends on the employee’s ability to sensibly assess the situation and those around him whether the subjective perception of what is happening will cause conflicts.
2. The ability to remain attentive. It is impossible, as they say, to take such a person by surprise - he is always collected, he is not surprised at anything, it is difficult to bring him to confusion.
3. It is worth mentioning observation. Sometimes climbing the career ladder depends on this personal trait.
4. The candidate must have the following mental qualities - they will be appreciated by the vast majority of employers:
   • the presence of analytical skills;
   • the presence of consistency, flexibility of thinking;
   • the ability to find the optimal solution in any situation, including non-standard ones.
5. Communication skills - as mentioned above, it is advisable to indicate them depending on the vacancy for which the applicant is applying. For a number of positions, the success of the project depends on the employee's ability to conduct business negotiations. In any case, it will not be superfluous to focus on features such as:
   • non-conflict;
   • the ability to build a constructive dialogue with any opponent;
   • , i.e. the ability to lead a team;
   • the desire to defend a personal opinion, a personal point of view.
6. and tranquility. The already mentioned competence attracts precisely the ability of a potential employee to work independently. Such a person does not require constant monitoring by superiors - the employee clearly understands the range of his job duties and is ready to cope with his tasks.

Attention! The indicated positive properties must correspond to reality - during the interview, the candidate will have to prove that he fully possesses all the personal qualities that the applicant wished to indicate in the questionnaire.

In addition, it is worth showing a sincere interest in getting a position - preparing counter questions for an interview, preparing answers to possible questions from the employer in advance, inquiring about the history of the company, etc.

What are the most significant positive qualities of a person's character for work and a comfortable life in society? How best to describe yourself and what to include in your resume? Let's figure it out. In order to know our virtues in person, we have prepared a list of positive qualities to characterize a person.

Accuracy

It is a desire for order and cleanliness. Accuracy is manifested in external neatness, caring attitude to things, accuracy and thoroughness in business. This trait is more inherent in women, so it is especially important for a man to develop the habit of creating and maintaining cleanliness. Remember: the order in the house is the order in the head.

Thrift

This is a caring attitude to the available benefits, no matter your own or someone else's. We are talking not only about material things, but even about the spiritual forces and vital energy of a person. This quality allows you to optimize the consumption of any resources, to achieve more by saving less.

Unselfishness

This is the lack of desire for profit. Selfish people are driven only by personal gain. Sincere and selfless people do not care about their own benefit, they will help and will not demand anything in return, so they are trusted much more.

Politeness

Respectful attitude towards others. Always. Even in cases where the situation is not conducive to courteous and tactful treatment. By the way, this quality annoys boors. They want to quarrel, but a polite person does not come into conflict with them. Politeness and cursing for the belt shuts up, and conquers the city!

Loyalty

This is devotion, but not only in relation to close people, but also to one's own worldview, ideas and views. This is an important side of the relationship between a man and a woman, because such a negative trait as jealousy is associated with it. Loyalty speaks of the reliability and constancy of a person with this quality.

upbringing

These are good manners and the ability to behave in society. An educated person is polite to others, regardless of their social status. This knowledge and implementation of the rules of behavior in society, respect for other people's property, nature, society. For an educated person is never ashamed.

Discipline

It is the ability to follow rules and regulations. A disciplined person not only strictly observes the established rules, but also knows how to manage his own time in such a way that it is enough for all important things.

Kindness

This is a kind and caring attitude towards people. Responsiveness and attentiveness towards others, the desire to help and rescue from difficult situations, without expecting anything in return. This quality does not bring immediate benefits, but those around him appreciate it, and the kindness shown is often answered with the same kindness and care.

Friendliness

This is a benevolent attitude towards others. This is not only an opportunity to build friendly relations with any person, but also the ability to behave openly and sympathetically towards people. A friendly person strives for mutual pleasant communication, therefore he has not only true friends, but also a lot of useful acquaintances.

Sociability

It is the ability to make contacts. A person who does not have communication barriers easily enters the team and makes friends. We live in a society, so the ability to communicate with others is useful in any area of ​​life. A person with this quality will never be left alone.

Responsibility

This is the ability of a person to be responsible for what he is entrusted with, the ability to make difficult decisions and evaluate their consequences. Husbands are responsible for wives, mothers for children, employees for professional tasks. A person who is not afraid to take responsibility for anything shows himself as an independent and mature person.

Responsiveness

This is a willingness to help, the ability to disinterestedly respond to a request, to help in a difficult situation. The advantage of this quality is not only in a good attitude towards others, but also in self-perception of being a kind person.

Punctuality

This is compliance with rules and regulations. In life, this quality is more associated with the absence of delays, the ability to complete assignments on time, to comply with agreements. Especially appreciated in industries where "time is money". But do not neglect punctuality in other areas of life - its absence can be perceived as disrespect.

Determination

This is the willingness to make decisions, the ability to carry out the plan, without being shy and not succumbing to fears. Determination is the absence of the so-called paralysis of the will, when doubts interfere with activity. Closely associated with fortitude and courage. They say about decisive people: "He has an inner core."

Self-criticism

This is a sober self-assessment, an adequate perception of one's own views and activities. A self-critical person does not consider his own opinion to be the only true one, he has a sound attitude towards views from the outside. But you need to remember the golden mean, because excessive self-criticism indicates low self-esteem.

Modesty

It is the lack of intention to exalt oneself. It's nice to deal with people who have achieved a lot, and at the same time do not praise themselves at every step. Modesty is not only the absence of boasting, but also tact in relation to others. This quality can manifest itself both because of respect for other people, and because of shyness.

Courage

It is the ability not to give in to fear. They say that a brave person is not afraid of anything, but the complete absence of fear is not only recklessness, but also a syndrome of some mental abnormalities. Courage is the ability to act in spite of fears. As an example, firefighters may also be afraid of fire, but perform their professional duty without succumbing to fear.

Justice

It is correctness and impartiality. This concept is based on ideas about good and evil, the laws of retribution for good and bad deeds. Evaluating events, a fair person excludes predispositions and sympathies for someone. A person is just when he is objective.

Tolerance

This is tolerance for people. Tolerance does not allow dividing people into representatives of other nations, ethnic groups and religions. A tolerant person does not reject someone else's point of view, and is unlikely to allow himself to be rude to someone. Tolerance is a necessity of the modern world.

industriousness

It is the ability to have a positive attitude towards one's own work. Diligence is not only the willingness to give one's strength and personal time to the labor process, but also the ability to do it with pleasure. A person who systematically shirks from work and is not able to perceive his work with interest is the burden of the entire team.

Respect for others

This is a recognition of the value of other people's views. Respectful attitude towards others says that you see the personality in each person. In labor processes, this quality is mandatory, manifested in distance and subordination.

Confidence

This is a positive assessment of one's own qualities. Confidence is closely related to a person's ability to manage himself in ambiguous situations. A confident person knows his own worth, is not afraid of public speaking, and in a stressful situation knows how to control himself. Looking at such a person, you might think: "He knows what he's doing."

perseverance

This is the ability to go to the goal. This quality is characteristic of strong people who do not succumb to difficulties and failures. Perseverance in achieving goals and implementing plans shows strength of character and unshakable spirit. Persistent individuals achieve heights on their own.

Honesty

This is openness, the inadmissibility of deception in relation to others. This quality speaks of decency, morality and strong character. An honest person always respects the interlocutor, therefore he tells him the truth, sometimes even unpleasant, but necessary.

Self-esteem

This is self-respect and a high assessment of one's qualities, an understanding of value and significance. A person with this quality is unlikely to decide on a low deed, deceit, or even ordinary abuse in a public place. This is below his dignity. For such a person, it is not even the opinion of others that is important, but their own assessment of their actions.

Sense of humor

This is the ability to perceive the situation from the comic side. Even better is to find this comic side in everything. It’s more fun to live like this, and it’s pleasant for people to communicate with such a person. A sense of humor is an indicator of a person's mental health. It is not known whether laughter increases life expectancy, but it can definitely save you from unnecessary sorrows.

Generosity

This is the willingness to share with others, absolutely not wanting to receive something in return. Generous people, for example, can do charity work - help those in need, donate funds to special funds. Even the most selfless people appreciate this quality, because it shows the breadth of the soul.