How to indicate strengths and weaknesses in a resume

Positive qualities for a resume

When showing strengths, highlight and describe 5-7 characteristics that clearly reflect your character. When choosing suitable personal qualities from the list, it is important not to overestimate or underestimate your self-esteem. Evaluate your candidacy wisely and determine what character traits are needed for a particular position:

• activity;
• Analytical mind;
• ambition;
• quick adaptation to changes;
• attentiveness;
• politeness;
• discipline;
• friendliness;
• initiative;
• communication skills;
• reliability;
• goal orientation;
• optimism;
• responsiveness;
• decency;
• punctuality;
• independence;
• ability to make quick decisions;
• stress resistance;
• desire for self-improvement and development;
• creative approach to assigned tasks;
• ability to get along with a team;
• ability to persuade;
• determination;
• honesty.

Classification of qualities

Choosing which positive qualities to include in your resume can be difficult. After all, it is advisable to limit yourself to 5-7 characteristics that will most clearly show your character. Please note that during the interview, the recruiter may ask you to dwell on this point in more detail and give examples.

In your resume, you can indicate your positive qualities that affect relationships:

• sociability, non-conflict, ability to find a common language in a team;
• collectivism, love of teamwork;
• willingness to always come to the rescue and lend a shoulder in difficult times;
• tolerance, respect for the opinions of other people;
• responsiveness, sensitivity;
• individualism, the ability to work independently and be responsible for the results obtained.

In relation to work, the following positive character traits can be identified:

• hard work, responsible approach to all assignments;
• initiative, interest in developing new projects;
• perseverance, perseverance, focus on achieving results;
• creative approach to work, creativity, resourcefulness;
• conscientiousness, diligence, reliability.

Good to know: What weaknesses to indicate in your resume
You can characterize your attitude to things and the organization of work as follows:

• accuracy, pedantry, scrupulousness;
• organizational skills;
• careful handling of things.

The attitude towards oneself can be shown using the following constructions:

• self-criticism, modesty;
• self-confidence, stress resistance;
• ability to adapt;
• decency, honesty, integrity;
• punctuality, discipline;
• politeness, flexibility, friendliness.

To get the most complete picture, it is recommended to select items from all lists.

Negative qualities

All people have flaws, and if you openly show your weaknesses to an employer, he will understand that you adequately assess your character.

Some negative qualities may be ideal for one type of work and categorically interfere with another activity.

The ability to recognize your own negative character traits is always valued by an employer.

Honestly select a few characteristics from the list below:

• trust only confirmed facts;
• trusting people, naivety;
• excessive demands on oneself and others;
• isolation, desire for solitude;
• slowness;
• inability to perform monotonous work;
• non-standard approach to problem solving, creativity;
• lack of skills and experience in certain activities;
• pedantry, scrupulousness;
• increased sense of responsibility;
• straightforwardness;
• self-confidence;
• modesty;
• excessive activity.

# Positive qualities for a resume - list

Choose traits that truly match your personality - don't try to surprise the recruiter with rare wording.

• Activity, ambition, initiative, purposefulness, conscientiousness, diligence, perseverance, honesty, energy, reliability, responsibility.
• Politeness, friendliness, responsiveness, decency, openness, attentiveness, sociability, goodwill, self-criticism, neatness, cleanliness, pedantry, mobility, eloquence.
• Independence, quick decision-making, result-oriented, hard work, self-improvement, discipline, perseverance, persuasiveness, integrity, straightforwardness.
• Stress resistance, ability to find a common language, ability to persuade, optimism, punctuality, cheerfulness, self-confidence, concentration, multitasking, forethought, originality, courage, self-control.
• Analytical mindset, creative thinking, competent speech, perseverance, accuracy, balance, organization, logical thinking, self-development, patience, enterprise.
• Disposing, fair, non-conflict, loyal, scrupulous, trainable, adequate, presentable, interested, observant, demanding, inspiring, diplomatic, cooperative, flexible, multilateral.
• Self-sufficiency, charisma, self-control, determination, leadership, efficiency, perfectionism, resourcefulness, composure, diligence, delicacy.

Common mistakes

When compiling a list of positive and negative qualities in your resume, be extremely careful. The choice of characteristics is determined by the desired position and the internal culture of the company.

It is important that these personality traits are perceived in a positive aspect, and not as shortcomings.

For example, for an accountant, leadership abilities and charisma are undesirable, and in a creative team, pedantry and modesty will be a “minus”.

To avoid mistakes in describing personal qualities in the application form, follow the recommendations of experienced personnel officers:

1. Don't just use template phrases. Convey in your own words, in a discreet manner, your personal character traits. Exclusively for creative professions, you can use humor and creativity in your resume.
2. Do not indicate more than 5 characteristics. Try to avoid vague, general phrases, for example, talented, responsible. It’s better to choose an individual character trait that exactly suits you and the desired position.
3. Draw the employer's attention to personal qualities that are easy to immediately check, for example, energetic, sociable.
4. When characterizing negative qualities, you should not evade the answer. It’s better to name several options and indicate how you are working on them, how you are improving your character.

Universal designs

Each applicant can choose the most suitable option for him when writing a resume. In this document you can outline your positive features as follows:

• activity, tolerance, accuracy, sociability, initiative;
• scrupulousness, accuracy, honesty, ability to pay attention to details, hard work;
• politeness, punctuality, resourcefulness, conscientiousness, discipline;
• ambition, creativity, communication skills, organizational skills, increased efficiency;
• love of creativity, quick learner, attention to detail, creativity.

Good to know: How to write a resume without work experience

Any of the options presented can be written on a resume. But do not forget that there is no single correct design; you must focus on your own characteristics.

Good human qualities for a resume: list

A resume is a kind of business card for the applicant. Of course, this is not the only document that allows the employer to form an opinion about a person. But it is important because it gives an idea of ​​what personal qualities are characteristic of the person who is applying for the vacancy.

Moreover, not only those qualities of a person that are listed in the resume are taken into account, but also the approach to the formation of this list, the level of self-criticism and self-confidence, education and understanding of what personal qualities are important for performing certain functions. For example, it will look ridiculous if a cashier prioritizes a creative approach to performing work tasks in his characteristics, and a teacher lists a presentable appearance, and charisma is not really needed for an applicant for the position of warehouse manager.

Strengths in your resume

To get a decent job, you need to provide an excellent reference and profile. When indicating your positive aspects in your resume, you need to adequately evaluate yourself professionally and enter only the best qualities in the required fields, which, without a doubt, will be appreciated by the employer. A sample list of strengths is as follows:

• Energy.
• Honesty.
• Sense of humor (a sign of intelligence).

• 
  Determination.

• Good diction.
• Ability to persuade.
• Mobility.
• Ability to work in one team.
• Self confidence.
• Hard work.
• Ability to think creatively.
• The desire for self-improvement and professional development.
• Stress resistance.
• Ability to make decisions independently and quickly.
• Justice.
• Scrupulousness.
• Self-criticism.
• Independence.
• Self-control.
• Innovation.
• Punctuality.
• Integrity.
• Enterprise.
• Presentable appearance.
• Decency.
• Responsibility.
• Responsiveness.
• Organized.
• Result-oriented.
• Oratory.
• Organizational skills.
• Optimism.
• Non-conflict.
• Resourcefulness.
• Reliability.
• Persistence.
• Communication skills.
• Creativity.
• Performance.
• Friendliness.
• Conscientiousness.
• Discipline.
• Flexibility.
• High efficiency.
• Politeness.
• Attentiveness.
• Fast learner.
• Ambition.
• Analytic skills.
• Accuracy.
• Activity.

You should also indicate your business characteristics, which should be described in one sentence, for example: “Seven years of work as a chief accountant.” It is important to ensure that personal and business qualities do not conflict with each other.

Classification of positive qualities

There are several categories of human qualities, each containing a set of characteristics that influence various areas of his life:

1. Attitude towards yourself. Psychologists say that the success of interaction with other people, including colleagues and clients, directly depends on how well a person feels about himself. Healthy relationships in a team are only possible when there are no employees with inadequate self-esteem. Typically, this category includes qualities: modesty, decency, and the ability to adapt to a new environment.
2. Interaction with others. Focus the attention of a potential employer on your communication skills if the vacancy involves working with clients. You should not simply write “sociability”; decipher this term, bringing the wording as close as possible to the professional sphere. For example, the ability to persuade and predict client behavior. It is also important for an employer to have a healthy climate in the team. Therefore, you can indicate the desire to avoid conflict situations, an attitude of respect for the opinions of others, the ability to work independently and in a team, and be responsible for the result of work.
3. Attitude to work and discipline. Any manager is interested in an employee who will be effective for the company’s activities: interested in the final result of his work, aimed at the success of the business as a whole. Creative professions require out-of-the-box thinking and creativity. Write down such positive aspects in your resume, as well as other traits of your personality in accordance with the vacancy, and perhaps your resume will be of interest to the employer.

What strengths and weaknesses should you indicate in your resume?