home Audience 4 Positive character traits for getting a job. Personal and business qualities of the employee

Positive character traits for getting a job. Personal and business qualities of the employee

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

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

You should write about yourself honestly. The deception 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 attribute non-existent virtues to yourself.

What qualities are best left unstated?

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

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

It’s worth writing about attractive appearance and athletic training only if they are required for your future profession.

How to Avoid Patterns

Recruiters are annoyed by typical and hackneyed “responsibilities” 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 attract his attention? Simply reveal the meaning of the word as an explanation, or replace it altogether. As an example: the expression “I perform my duties in good faith” is better than the standard “responsibility”. “Communication skills” can be described in more detail if special courses and business trainings have been completed.

From a psychological point of view, it is more useful to do without the particle “not”. As an example: “non-conflict” - friendly, peace-loving, calm.

It is more effective to describe your personal character strengths in a detailed, but laconic manner in your resume; 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. Which negative qualities of a person are suitable for a resume are determined by the intended position.

Writing example

Below are the most commonly used personal qualities for resumes, the lists of which we have compiled in tables.

Character strengths and personal qualities of a person for a resume:

Strengths for a resume	Synonymous expressions (which can be added or used instead of character traits)
Responsible	I am conscientious about my work
Punctual	I always complete tasks on time
Communicable	I easily find common language with people
	I always find an individual approach to the client
	I try to find an approach to each child (student)
Polite	Doesn't need rephrasing
Polite	I am always polite and remain calm in any conflict situation
Creative	I search for and implement original solutions even for mundane tasks
Trainable	I am constantly engaged in self-improvement, improve my qualifications through courses and trainings, and am ready for further training.
Efficient	Able to work productively while focusing on end goals
Stress-resistant	I maintain composure under any circumstances
Balanced	Most often you can leave it like that
Initiative
Organized
Careful
Disciplined

Negative personal qualities and aspects of character presented as advantages:

A creative approach to telling a story about yourself helps you find a new job, even if the requirements for 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 create a universal list of characteristics for all companies. It is better to prepare several versions of your resume and be ready to argue what you wrote at the interview.

It is believed that in order to get a “good” job you need to have a brilliant resume - a kind of “presentation” of your own skills. And personnel officers vying with each other to advise on what to include and what not to include. In my opinion, the most dubious section in this document is “personal qualities”. Few people will honestly write that they are lazy and incapable of taking responsibility. Instead, companies receive hundreds, if not thousands, of “masterpieces” that describe ideal employees. Unfortunately, completely different people usually come to interviews... (or, perhaps, they leave their personal qualities at home...) So, are these enumerations of laudatory epithets addressed to oneself necessary at all?

From the hiring party's point of view, the “personal qualities” section has several problems.

Firstly, the text in this section is most likely boilerplate. If candidates were inclined to tell the truth during an interview, the employer would hear, as an explanation for the chosen wording: “Everyone writes like that - so I wrote it.”

By the way, not only our personnel market suffers from templates. If you look at English-language publications, there is a huge amount of advice on what qualities should be mentioned in your resume. More or less advanced personnel portals do not recommend specific wording, but clearly hint that employers need communication skills, the ability to work in a team, leadership skills, attention to detail (we sometimes call this accuracy or attentiveness), enthusiasm, etc.

Having read such advice, candidates simply look at someone else’s “more expensive” resume on job sites and copy the paragraphs they like for themselves. Some, of course, go further with the question, trying to write not what other “market colleagues” have, but what (in their opinion) the employer would like to see. Successful formulations are replicated by new candidates, and sometimes migrate to other areas of activity. As a result, after observing the personnel market for several years, it is quite possible to identify a fashion for the content of the “personal qualities” section. For example, if previously “stress resistance” was universally indicated, now the wording “fast learner” is increasingly used.

By the way, my own database of resumes revealed that the top 5 leaders in Russia include “responsibility” (34.4% of resumes), “communication skills” (30.4% of resumes), “stress resistance” (16.5% of resumes), “purposefulness” (14% of resumes) and “executiveness” (11.4% of resumes). Interestingly, in Moscow “responsibility” is much less popular among candidates. Here, more than 30% of resumes contain references to “communication skills.” And among those qualities that were not included in the TOP 5 in Russia, “punctuality” appears here (slightly more than 10% of resumes). Judging by the feedback from entrepreneurs involved in hiring employees, in practice this is not the case at all.

There are also original resume writers who believe that the employer should be interested in their “generosity,” “altruism,” “arrogance,” “genius,” “dreamy,” “severity,” etc.

The second problem of the “personal qualities” section is the difficulty of checking what is written. If experience in organizations or knowledge of certain technologies can be checked with two or three questions (at most, with one phone call to the previous employer), then “responsibility” and “ability to work in a team” are relative concepts. Who knows why, for example, a talented programmer “didn’t show up” at his previous job? Perhaps his “ability to work in a team” came up against the inability to set a task for him?

The topic of personal qualities and the need to mention them, by the way, often comes up on various personnel forums and in comments to relevant materials. More than once I have seen comments along the lines of “if you call yourself a milk mushroom, get into the back.” Personnel officers who receive a list of banal “communication skills” and “stress resistance” in their resume come up with tasks to check the specified information. An alternative is to go around a large office and get a business card from each employee. Such a check will take a lot of time for both the candidate and the HR officer (potential boss), and will not bring any new information regarding the potential employee’s ability to solve the company’s problems. But this is a matter of principle.

Since this section is so controversial, does it even make sense? Do you include a list of “personal qualities” on your resumes? Do you look at a similar section when hiring specialists?

As you know, a valuable employee not only knows how to perform work duties, but is also a good person. He manages everything, listens to others, takes initiative, has a sense of humor, is loyal to the company, loves his clients, and so on.

Therefore, in addition to experience, education and skills, your resume needs to indicate personal qualities. However, if you do this in moderation and do not describe all character traits in detail, you will make your resume more attractive.

What personal qualities to write in a resume

Of course, your resume should indicate your positive and strongest qualities. If you do it beautifully, you will stand out from the crowd of resumes.

Common error

Often, when counseling clients on career issues, they send me a resume describing the abilities of a superman:

This is a bad and banal way to increase your importance. According to statistics, a similar list of abilities is found in 9 out of 10 resumes. Let's get rid of this and learn to attractively indicate personal qualities in a resume. There are two ways to present yourself more effectively:

Just delete all such list. Leave only your professional skills.
The second method is stronger and more effective. Choose one of your abilities (the strongest) and write about it in detail. You can choose two abilities, but this is the maximum.

Examples of personal qualities in a resume

To write beautifully about your qualities, be more specific and try to be concise. Here are some examples:

(instead of leadership) Presentable, energetic, able to speak in public and inspire people.
(instead of sociability) Sociable, open (I know how to not just go to conferences, but make useful connections there; I know how to effectively use social networks for business and sales).
(instead of stress resistance) I can act quickly in time pressure situations.
(instead of initiative) I am open in communication with management, I am able to propose new ideas, as well as think through and implement them.

Look for the necessary wording and criteria and write about personal qualities in your resume in a tasty way. It will work!

Today, to get a job, you just need to send your resume by email. The part where the professional qualities of the individual will be specified is one of the most important for the employer; thanks to the list of characteristics, you can learn a lot about a person without communicating with him.

An employer will understand a lot about a person by reading a list of his professional qualities

How to present yourself correctly

When compiling a list of qualities of an employee of an organization, it is necessary to list and explain:

Personal qualities of a person. These are the characteristics that appeared during his socialization.
Business qualities of the employee. These are the characteristics that describe a person as a potential specialist.
Key skills. You need to point out the skills acquired at school, university or while working in another company that will help you cope with tasks in a new place.

When compiling this list, there is no need to deviate from the main goal of the resume - further employment in a prestigious organization. You should not list those personal qualities that you do not possess. The deception will be revealed quickly, but the feeling of shame will remain for a long time.

What to write about in your resume

Many people think that a cheerful person will join the team faster. A good sense of humor can help with informal communication with colleagues, but such a characteristic will not give the desired result unless you are applying for a job as a toastmaster or animator. What professionally important personality qualities should be indicated in a resume:

If you want to emphasize that you are ready to work hard, then it is worth pointing out the desire to develop, the presence of increased efficiency, the desire for career growth, and resistance to stress.
If you want to indicate the presence of leadership potential, then the following phrases will help: the ability to distribute powers and responsibilities, responsible, have negotiation skills, have the ability to quickly navigate a situation and get out of it.
If you are attracted to a position where deep knowledge and good mental abilities are required, then you need to write about entrepreneurship, the ability to quickly solve problems, accuracy, organization, and analytical thinking.
If the vacancy requires frequent public speaking, then it is necessary to declare such useful qualities as emotional balance, the ability to control oneself even in front of a large crowd of people, the ability to find a common language with people, self-confidence, and oratorical abilities.
If in the process of work you need to show creative abilities, then it won’t hurt to talk about the presence of creative thinking, a non-standard approach to standard things.

Creativity is essential for creative work

In addition to the typical useful qualities of a real professional, it is worth pointing out characteristics that could replace the lack of something in a potential specialist. If you have no experience in a certain area, then you should point out the ability to grasp everything on the fly and learn quickly.
Before including this or that characteristic, you should think and soberly evaluate yourself. To confirm or refute the presence of a particular personal quality, you need to give an example of a life situation.
When writing a resume, you need to rely on those characteristics that are necessary when working in this position. If an employee will be entrusted with managing a team or a project, and he has managerial skills, then you need to focus on this.

Personal qualities

What other qualities should a specialist have, personal qualities in a resume:

Knowledge and experience in using technologies used during work.
Clear and prompt resolution of complex issues and tasks. Ability to quickly move on to another task after completing the first.
Be careful when working with important documents.
Responsiveness when receiving requests and suggestions.
Ability to independently motivate and control yourself.
Focus on qualitative rather than quantitative results.
Good speech and presentable appearance. Punctuality.
Communication skills, ability to work in a group and distribute assigned tasks among a number of people.
Quick adaptation to various changes. Rational use of provided resources.
Self-criticism and the ability to listen to criticism and the opinions of others.

You should not write your resume using templates. There are many letters filled with similar texts.

Unusual works, filled not only with typical professional qualities for a resume, but also with interesting nuances, will be worthy of attention.

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 interest a potential employer. It is important not only to reliably indicate age, education and work experience, but also personal qualities in your resume. Real life examples show that it is precisely this information that recruiters and managers have been seriously paying attention to recently. You can seek help from specialists or try to do it yourself.

Important nuances

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

Any information must be reliable and truthful. The deception will sooner or later be revealed anyway, so you shouldn’t fool others or yourself by the nose.
Personal qualities should be stated briefly and clearly. However, you should not use only hackneyed general phrases that do not convey any specific information to a potential employer.
This section, like the entire resume as a whole, must be written correctly, without errors and colloquial vocabulary.
As a rule, you are asked to indicate the five most important personal qualities, so there is no need to overdo it and indicate everything. It is necessary to carefully analyze which character traits or behaviors may be useful for a particular profession or position. For example, an economist does not necessarily need to be creative, but a salesperson will find it very useful to be able to resolve conflict situations.

Groups and Templates

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

Work and job responsibilities. These include: high efficiency and hard work, dedication or focus on results, analytical skills, determination, responsibility, ability to adapt, discipline.
Relationships with people. Templates: sociability, friendliness, resistance to stress and non-conflict, ability to persuade, ability to work in a team, fairness, politeness, competent speech.
Creative thinking and development. Possible options: easy learning, desire for development, desire to improve, creativity, creative approach, resourcefulness.
Character traits. 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 creating a questionnaire. The employer carefully examines the personal qualities in the resume.

Example of a manager:

focus on the results of the entire team’s work;
ability to persuade and direct; availability of skills to quickly analyze the situation and make decisions;
stress resistance;
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, ability to find, remember and analyze volumes of information, perseverance when working with documents, ability to quickly make decisions, contact.

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

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

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

First job

If a resume is being compiled for the first time, and there is nothing to fill out in the column about work activity, then in the section on the specialist’s personal qualities 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, we should not forget about the relevance of qualities for a particular place of work.

Nobody is perfect

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

Under no circumstances should this item be ignored or left blank. Because ideal people simply do not exist. A reluctance to point out your weaknesses may put a potential employer on guard. In this matter, it should be remembered that some negative character traits or behavioral characteristics are simply unacceptable for some professions, but for others they have no meaning 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 a party organizer or animator, such a deficiency will most likely greatly interfere with their work. But such an accountant or financier will be just a godsend for a manager.
Excessive activity. For professions that require perseverance (analysts, accountants, economists, accountants, seamstresses, telephone operators, etc.), this is a big drawback, but for those from whom “moved mountains” are expected (managers, salespeople, journalists, etc.) ), this negative quality is actually simply irreplaceable.
Inability to deceive or be cunning. For a seller, most likely, such a disadvantage will be significant, but an assistant manager with such a weakness 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 at a tobacco company.
Appearance. For example, being overweight can be a huge disadvantage for many professions, but for a customer service dispatcher or a telephone operator taking taxi orders, such a disadvantage does not matter at all, since no one will see it.

Resume for interview

When writing your characteristics, you should take into account the likelihood that during the interview the applicant will be asked to confirm what he wrote with specific actions. Therefore, it is worth seriously considering what personal qualities to include in your resume.

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

Or another example: an applicant for the position of sales manager, who easily finds an approach to people, may be asked to meet and get the phone number from the first person he meets.

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