Weaknesses of a person in a resume. Strengths and weaknesses of a person for a questionnaire: an overview, description and examples

One of the most important components of a successful job search is a well-written resume. This small document is designed to distinguish the applicant from other applicants for the position and to interest a potential employer. It is important not only to accurately indicate age, education and work experience, but also personal qualities in the resume. Real-life examples show that recruiters and managers have been seriously paying attention to this information lately. You can seek help from specialists or try to do it yourself.

Important nuances

Before choosing which personal qualities to indicate in a resume, examples and samples you need to study, familiarize yourself with the basic rules for filling out this section.

  • Any information must be reliable and truthful. Deception will sooner or later be revealed anyway, so you should not lead by the nose either those around you or yourself.
  • Personal qualities should be stated briefly and clearly. However, you should not use only hackneyed general phrases that do not carry any specific information for a potential employer.
  • This section, like the entire resume as a whole, must be written correctly, without errors and colloquial vocabulary.
  • As a rule, they are asked to indicate the five most important personal qualities, so there is no need to overdo it and list everything in a row. It is necessary to carefully analyze which particular traits of character or behavior can be useful for a particular profession or position. For example, an economist does not have to be creative at all, but the ability to get out of conflict situations is very useful for a salesperson.

Groups and templates

Personal qualities for a resume can conditionally be divided into several groups, each of which has its own template phrases.

  • Work and duties. These include: high efficiency and diligence, purposefulness or focus on results, analytical skills, determination, responsibility, ability to adapt, discipline.
  • Relationships with people. Templates: sociability, friendliness, stress resistance and non-conflict, the ability to convince, the ability to work in a team, justice, politeness, competent speech.
  • Creative thinking and development. Possible options: easy learning, desire for development, desire for self-improvement, creativity, creative approach, resourcefulness.
  • Character features. Typical expressions: perseverance, attentiveness, accuracy, activity, punctuality, decency, cheerfulness.

Personal qualities in a resume: examples of writing for some professions and positions

There are many template phrases that can be used when compiling a questionnaire. The employer carefully examines the personal qualities in the resume.

Leader example:

  • focus on the result of the work of the whole team;
  • the ability to persuade and direct; the ability to quickly analyze the situation and make decisions;
  • stress tolerance;
  • increased performance.

Accountant: attention to detail, scrupulousness when working with documents, the ability to easily learn and adapt when changing legal requirements, perseverance, decency.

Lawyer: literacy, the ability to find, memorize and analyze the amount of information, perseverance when working with documents, the ability to make decisions quickly, contact.

Secretary: pleasant and well-groomed appearance, competent speech and good diction, ability to communicate, ability to smooth out conflict situations, quickness, accuracy.

It is very important to correctly describe personal qualities for professions that involve working with people (managers, salespeople, consultants, etc.). You can use the sample to write a resume.

Personal qualities (example): sociability, the ability to easily establish contact, the ability to convince, stress resistance, non-conflict.

First job

If the resume is being compiled for the first time, and there is nothing to fill in the labor activity column yet, then in the section on the personal qualities of a specialist it is better to indicate the following:

  • desire to develop and improve;
  • fast learner;
  • good memory;
  • activity;
  • creativity and creative approach to work;
  • desire to work in a team.

However, do not forget about the relevance of qualities for a particular place of work.

Nobody's perfect

From the information presented in the previous paragraphs, it is clear how to write personal qualities in a resume. The examples above will help you understand and correctly complete this section. But what if the employer asks you to state your shortcomings?

In no case should this item be ignored and left blank. Because perfect people simply do not exist. Reluctance to point out your weaknesses can alert a potential employer. In this matter, it should be remembered that some negative character traits or behaviors for some professions are simply unacceptable, but for others they do not matter or, on the contrary, can be very useful.

So, let's look at personal qualities in a resume: examples, weaknesses in a favorable light:

  • Excessive scrupulousness or perfectionism. For the organizer of the holidays or the animator, such a shortcoming, most likely, will greatly interfere with the work. But such an accountant or financier will be just a godsend for the manager.
  • Excessive activity. For professions that require perseverance (analysts, accountants, economists, accountants, seamstresses, telephone operators, etc.), this is a big drawback, but for those who are expected to "roll mountains" (managers, salespeople, journalists, etc.) ), this negative quality is actually simply irreplaceable.
  • Inability to deceive or deceive. For the seller, most likely, such a shortcoming will be significant, but an assistant manager with such a weak side will suit a potential employer.
  • Having bad habits. Today, many firms and enterprises refuse to employ people who lead an unhealthy lifestyle, but a person who smokes cigarettes will fit quite harmoniously into the position of sales manager in a tobacco company.
  • Appearance. For example, extra weight can be a huge disadvantage for many professions, but for a help desk dispatcher or a telephone operator taking taxi orders, such a disadvantage does not matter, because no one will see it.

Resume at the interview

When writing your description, you should take into account the likelihood that at the interview the applicant will be asked to confirm what was written with specific actions. Therefore, it is worth seriously considering what personal qualities to indicate in the resume.

Example: a person applying for the position of an analyst wrote about his ability to quickly find any information. At the interview, he may be asked to do this in order to make sure that he has this skill in practice.

Or another example: an applicant for the position of a sales manager who easily finds an approach to people may be asked to get to know each other and take the phone number from the first person they meet.

Such checks are now very popular and are used in hiring in many large companies.

A good, well-written resume is a powerful argument in favor of hiring. It can be a serious advantage, so it’s worth starting your job search with compiling it. In the West, careerists keep resumes throughout their lives, and with advanced training or a change of job, they add new lines. A document that provides information about the applicant before the interview is part of business etiquette, which should not be neglected.

What you can and should write about yourself in a resume

There are basic points that must be spelled out. Indicate strengths in the resume, avoid unnecessary, only informative. A resume is a summary of skills and qualities. From the first lines, show that you are a person with a serious character, tuned to the result. So what is needed:

  1. Personal information: full name, date of birth, marital status. You can add a photo if you wish.
  2. Contacts. Include a phone number and email address at the beginning of your resume. This will make it easier to find them when they want to contact you.
  3. Desired vacancy. This item is required to be filled out.
  4. Education. Indicate all institutions, courses, trainings that you have completed. School, university, attended an NLP seminar - your knowledge base should be impressive. Be prepared to document each item.
  5. Experience. Have you already held a similar position? Please indicate this on your resume. A person who does not have a single entry in the work book will be treated with suspicion.
  6. Additional Information. Here you can talk about hobbies, strengths and weaknesses. Carefully select personal qualities for your resume. It will be a plus if they are useful in the position.

Professional skills and abilities

Describe yourself in your resume: show the employer that you are qualified for the position. Knowledge of computer programs, knowledge of languages, possession of a driver's license - all this must be painted in this paragraph. Arrange the skills and abilities for the resume in order of importance for future work. If you have a specific, not very useful talent that you want to list, put it at the bottom of the list.

Personal qualities of a person

Education and experience are not the only evaluation criteria. Personal qualities for writing a good resume, although not mandatory, can play a decisive role in many situations. Imagine what kind of employee the director of the company wants to see? Do you have common positive qualities with him, can you look competitive? Be sure to write about it, be sure to use your pluses!

Strengths and weaknesses of character

Properly selected good and bad personal qualities for a resume will help you get a job. If you cope with your duties, the weaknesses of the character will not be so important. Often the same trait becomes a trump card or interferes with work. Put your shortcomings in your resume as advantages, show your willingness to work on yourself. Purposefulness is a strength of character, which is valued in the team.

Positive character traits for a resume

Negative character traits for a resume

Ambiguous character traits for a resume

Responsiveness

Contempt

Individualism

sensitivity

Closure

Pedantry

Sociability

Coarseness

scrupulousness

industriousness

Negligence

Self-criticism

Accuracy

sloppiness

Self-esteem

care

conceit

Responsibility

Passivity

Vanity

good faith

Negligence

incredulity

Punctuality

Touchiness

self-confidence

Friendliness

Arrogance

hyperreactivity

Discipline

irascibility

Straightness

Resourcefulness

Indifference

exactingness

Focus on results

Greed

Pedantry

organization

envy

Modesty

What weaknesses can be indicated in the resume

The task of the employee is not to scare, but to show that you do not suffer from high self-esteem. Be honest, however, sharply negative personal qualities are inappropriate for a resume, you should not quote them. The second column of the table will scare away the employer. Character traits from the third will play a positive role for certain posts. Do not be cunning and do not try to present advantages as disadvantages. This will be conspicuous and convict of insincerity.

Examples: individualism is good for the creative profession, it helps to stand out from the crowd for presenters or artists. Working in a team, on the contrary, one must be able to become part of the team and take into account the opinions of others. A pedantic nature will make it difficult to work quickly, but is appropriate where quality comes first. Modesty will prevent you from communicating freely with customers, however, with the right approach, it will put the company in a good light.

Not everyone requires your resume to show your weaknesses. But if there is such an item in the form, then putting a dash will be a mistake. It is better to look at an example of the weaknesses of the character in the summary.

What to write

Please consider your answer before completing the deficiencies box. In no case do not skip it, because ideal people do not exist. As a rule, managers want to see how adequately you evaluate yourself. If you do not know what to write, look at the suggested options and choose something that suits you best.

The universal formula: select such character traits that are a virtue for performing this particular job, but in ordinary life can really be considered a human flaw.

You can write the following weaknesses:

  • excessive directness, the habit of telling the truth in the eye;
  • difficulty in establishing contact with strangers;
  • inability to be flexible in labor matters;
  • reliability;
  • increased anxiety;
  • excessive emotionality, irascibility;
  • love for formalism;
  • restlessness;
  • slowness;
  • hyperactivity;
  • fear of air travel.

All these weaknesses in the resume can become advantages if you look at them from a different angle. An example is restlessness. For a sales representative or an active sales manager, this can even be a plus. The same goes for reliability. For the manager, this is a signal that you may be the person who will do all the overtime work.

Linking weaknesses to the characteristics of professions

All applicants should think about how to correctly write my weaknesses for a resume. For example, a future accountant or design engineer might write:

  • incredulity;
  • excessive scrupulousness;
  • increased anxiety;
  • excessive demands on oneself;
  • straightness;
  • pedantry;
  • modesty;
  • inability to lie;
  • difficulty establishing contact with strangers;
  • pride;
  • lack of flexibility in labor matters;
  • adherence to principles;
  • overestimated sense of responsibility;
  • lack of diplomacy.
  • hyperactivity;
  • self-confidence;
  • restlessness;
  • impulsiveness;
  • the need for external motivation;
  • incredulity, desire to double-check and confirm all information.

Disadvantages for one profession can become advantages for another.

You can also indicate in your resume among your negative qualities:

  • straightness;
  • workaholism;
  • excessive love for communication.

Applicants for the position of manager need to prepare before filling out the specified column. It is better to think in advance what weaknesses to indicate in the resume. They can write about such character traits:

  • excessive emotionality;
  • pedantry;
  • love for little things;
  • thoughts about work, planning take up most of the free time;
  • increased demands on others.

A good example is the following:

  • inability to respond with rudeness to rudeness;
  • the tendency to make decisions based on one's own opinion;
  • mistrust of people and a love of confirmation of facts.

Some applicants choose to indicate that they:

  • overly trusting;
  • can raise their voice to subordinates;
  • straightforward, express their opinion without veiled embellishments;
  • quick-tempered;
  • always looking for confirmation of words;
  • have a hypertrophied sense of responsibility;
  • prone to formalism and pay too much attention to detail;
  • irritated by disorder;
  • slow;
  • do not like to do things for the sake of others.

For all occasions

Many are afraid to write about shortcomings, believing that the employer will immediately send their resume to the trash can. Of course, you should not be too frank, but you should not completely skip this section of the questionnaire. In this case, you can write about some neutral qualities that will not affect the work in any way. For a person applying for any vacancy, among the inherent weaknesses can be indicated:

  • fear of airplanes;
  • arachnophobia (fear of spiders), vespertiliophobia (fear of bats), ophidiophobia (fear of snakes);
  • excess weight;
  • lack of experience;
  • age (suitable for people over 40 years old);
  • love for shopping
  • sweet love.

This information does not characterize you in any way, it simply speaks of your fears or small weaknesses.

The following shortcomings can be stated:

  • I do not always accurately express my thoughts;
  • I trust people too much;
  • prone to reflection;
  • I often analyze past mistakes, focusing on them too much attention;
  • I spend a lot of time evaluating my actions.

These are negative qualities, but they should not affect the workflow.

Regardless of the position for which you are applying, you can write such weaknesses in your resume:

  • I get so carried away with work that I forget to take breaks;
  • I can’t build relationships with colleagues because I don’t like gossip;
  • I can’t fight back in response to a boorish appeal;
  • I constantly pass all situations through myself;
  • let people get too close;
  • I can't swear;
  • I noticeably worry when I have to lie.

Important nuances

Please note that there are items that are better left unmentioned. You should not write, for example, that you:

  • like to be lazy;
  • afraid to take responsibility;
  • do not like to make decisions;
  • not punctual;
  • are often distracted;
  • think only about salary;
  • love office romances.

For example, by writing about your laziness in your resume, you risk: the employer will decide that you do not want to work.

In interviews with employers and when writing a resume, you have to indicate your strengths. Oddly enough, for some, this is more difficult than listing weaknesses. However, both must be specified. We will help you decide and make your own list.

A person's strengths and weaknesses are often asked in job interviews. You have to answer this question by writing your own resume.

So involuntarily you start to think about your advantages and weaknesses. With advantages, that is, strengths of character, it usually turns out well. But with the weak ... Is it really impossible without them? It is forbidden! Recruiters - experienced professionals - will appreciate your frankness, and who knows, it may be your combination of "pros" and "cons" that will help them make a choice in your favor.

On the benefits of "self-digging"

Every person has strengths and weaknesses. It would seem, why look for them at home? What can it give? According to psychologists, a lot. You need to know your strengths in order to feel confident in various life situations. And knowing your weaknesses will help, if not to overcome them, then at least to take control and engage in self-development. The latter, according to experts, helps both in a career and in personal life, and generally leads to harmony with oneself and the whole world.

Strengths

Strengths combine to make a strong character. Let's see what qualities and traits define. This is all the more necessary to know if you do not want to be content with a modest position and low salary, but want to succeed in your career endeavors. The list is quite extensive.

So this is:

  • professionalism;
  • analytical thinking;
  • learnability;
  • responsibility;
  • discipline;
  • diligence;
  • patience;
  • purposefulness;
  • self-confidence.

Developing strengths

Professionalism is your knowledge multiplied by experience. If you didn’t spend your time at the institute in vain, love and know how to study, know your business well, you will certainly become a professional. By the way, according to experts, there is a fairly simple way of professional self-improvement. To do this, it is enough to read one book in your specialty every month.

But the analytical thinking and learning depend on the level of intelligence. By the way, intelligence, according to the latest research, is transmitted through the maternal line. So if you got good genes, your parents did a lot of work for you in childhood, and you studied hard, and didn’t play the fool, then you have every reason to add positive qualities from the list to the second and third. The following are strengths that you may not have, but which you can develop in yourself.

Responsibility

It seems that this quality is also innate, but in women mainly for some reason. It is not for nothing that there is even such a term as hypertrophied responsibility, and it means precisely the female ability to be responsible for everything: for children, husband, parents, friends, animals, work, country, and so on. So we have nothing to develop here, except to learn a little the opposite.

Discipline

This is sometimes not easy. Set an alarm for 6.30 and get up at the first signal, and not endlessly delay the moment of rise. Arrive to work on time, not 10 minutes late. In the same way, do not be late for business meetings or gatherings with friends. To become disciplined, you need to come up with motivation. For example, it is easy for me to get up early in the morning, because I know that a cup of coffee with something tasty and interesting reading is waiting for me. The anticipation of all this helps not to lie too long in bed.

And in order not to be late for work, try to make sure what a thrill it is to come to the office ... first! Peace and quiet, you can calmly gather your thoughts, make plans for the whole day and get to work. In the morning hours, by the way, the brains work more productively.

industriousness

Few people have this quality innate. All mankind is lazy to some extent. And only hunger, cold and fear forced him to get up from the warm skin of a mammoth and do something useful. So do we: we get down to business not because we are tired of resting, but because there is such an inexorable word “necessary”.

It is necessary to wash the windows for the winter, iron the washed linen, select unnecessary books and take them to the nearest library ... But what a feeling of satisfaction comes when you realize that you managed to overcome yourself and fulfill your plan. So gradually you get a taste and become ... a workaholic in the best sense of the word.

Patience

This is when you realize that you won’t be able to get everything at once and right now. And you learn to wait, gradually, step by step, approaching the goal. Career growth, by the way, is what happens. Almost no one immediately after high school does not get into top managers. Well, maybe some computer genius level.

Purposefulness and self-confidence

These strengths you get as a bonus to the above. Professionalism. The more you know and know how, the more confident you feel in your business. And it helps to go your own way, persistently achieving your goals.

Let's complete the list

We also call strengths of character:

  • honesty;
  • reliability;
  • justice;
  • honesty;
  • responsiveness;
  • courage.

People who have all of the above qualities are able to control themselves, their desires and actions, and therefore, manage their lives, subordinate circumstances to themselves. Well, such individuals always inspire respect and trust.

The employer is important both personal and business qualities of the employee. What abilities are more important? How to deal with negative traits? Each profession has its own characteristics. We will talk about how to make the right choice and how to evaluate a future employee in our article.

Business and personal qualities

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

Personal qualities characterize the employee as a person. They become important when applicants for one position have business qualities on the same level. Personal qualities characterize the employee's attitude to work. Focus on independence: he does not have to do your job, but he must cope with his own 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
Rapid adaptation to new information systems Politeness
Fast learner Attentiveness
Attention to detail Discipline
Flexibility of thinking Initiative
Willingness to work overtime diligence
Literacy Sociability
Mathematical thinking Maximalism
Customer interaction skills persistence
Business Communication Skills Resourcefulness
Planning Skills Charm
Report preparation skills organization
Oratorical skills Responsible approach to work
Organizational skills Decency
Enterprise Devotion
Professional Integrity integrity
scrupulousness Punctuality
Ability to handle multiple projects at the same time Determination
Ability to make quick decisions self control
Ability to work with large amounts of information Self-criticism
strategic thinking Independence
Striving for self-improvement Modesty
Creative thinking Stress tolerance
Negotiation / Business Correspondence Tact
Ability to negotiate Patience
Ability to express thoughts exactingness
Ability to find a common language industriousness
Ability to teach Self-confidence
Teamwork skills Equilibrium
The ability to win people over purposefulness
The ability to convince Honesty
Good external data Energy
Good diction Enthusiasm
Good physical form ethics

The choice of qualities

If more than 5 characteristics are entered in the resume, this is a signal that the applicant is not able to make a competent choice. Moreover, the standard “responsibility” and “punctuality” have become commonplace, so if possible, ask what these general concepts mean. A prime example: the phrase "high performance" could 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 specifically and meaningfully. Pay attention to incompatible qualities. To verify the honesty of the applicant, you can ask to illustrate with examples the characteristics indicated by him.

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.
  • Passion for gossip.
  • straightness.
  • self-confidence.
  • Modesty.
  • Weak communication.
  • The desire to create conflict.

An applicant who writes negative qualities in a resume can be honest, or maybe 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 ready to give the person an opportunity to rehabilitate himself 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 making a deal.

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

Qualities for different professions

Certain professional qualities are needed in almost all activities. You can make it easier for applicants to work and at the same time narrow their circle by entering information about the desired characteristics in the job advertisement. For an employee in the field of promotion or entertainment, the main qualities are communication skills, the ability to work in a team, and win people over. 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, customer interaction skills, ability to negotiate, work in a team, as well as quick response, courtesy, perseverance, activity.

A leader in any field should be characterized by such professional qualities as organizational skills, the ability to find a common language and work in a team, resourcefulness, conflict-free, charm and the ability to teach. Equally important are the ability to make quick decisions, self-confidence, attentiveness and balance.

The strengths of an employee working with a large amount of data (accountant or system administrator): attention to detail, accuracy, quick learner, 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: customer interaction skills, 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 balance, diligence. In any profession, responsibility, attentiveness and stress resistance are useful. But the applicant, inscribing such qualities in the resume, does not always take them seriously.

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

Evaluation of the professional qualities of an employee

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

  • Letters of recommendation.
  • Tests. This includes routine aptitude and aptitude tests, as well as personality and background tests.
  • Examination of 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. Act out a day-to-day situation for his position and see how he copes. For example, evaluate his customer interaction skills. Let the buyer be your competent employee or yourself, and the applicant will show what he is capable of. You can set a goal that he should achieve during the game, or just observe the style of work. This method will tell a lot more about the applicant than the column "Personal qualities" in the resume.

When determining the evaluation criteria, you can be based 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 evaluated is applying. To be confident in an employee, consider his personal qualities. You can independently conduct an assessment in the form of a rating of candidates, placing + and - according to certain criteria, distributing them by level or awarding points. Avoid scoring errors such as bias or stereotyping, or overweighting one criterion.