Irina Davydova


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How to please the future boss if his profile contains an insidious item - weaknesses of character? In a resume, unlike a normal conversation, every word has weight, so it's better to prepare in advance for uncomfortable questions, and weak qualities in you must be presented as very useful for business.

  1. You can simply not indicate your weak professional qualities in your resume. Concentrate on your skills, experience, education, and you can talk about personal qualities at the interview. However, it is impossible to refuse that item if you fill out a resume electronically. Read also:
  2. A dash instead of information is another mistake of future employees. If the boss decided to leave this column, it means that he is really interested in this information. And the point is not even in it, but in checking an adequate perception of oneself, the ability to learn and understand the leader. Emptiness can speak of excessively high self-esteem or, on the contrary, self-doubt. Read also:
  3. Of course, you should not list all the shortcomings in too much detail or engage in self-flagellation. It is enough to remember that any weaknesses in the resume have a downside for the employer. And what may be a problem for one may be an advantage for another. For example, if you are an accountant, your lack of communication will be useful in your work. And if you are a manager, then this is a serious omission.
  4. Filling in the summary of strengths and weaknesses, try to build on the position you want to occupy. For example, select deficiencies that are not related to your activity. Restlessness for a sales manager is the norm, but for an accountant it is a minus.
  5. "Turn weaknesses into strengths" is the old approach. It works if you can think creatively. Otherwise, the efforts will be too primitive and they will figure you out. So the trick of "with a heightened sense of responsibility, workaholism and perfectionism" may not be successful.
  6. Remember that some bosses do not look for faults in you at all. , but only evaluate the adequacy, truthfulness and self-criticism.
  7. It is better to describe your weaknesses in a resume that can be improved. This should also be reported in the text of the questionnaire. There are some bosses who want to train employees for themselves. In this case, your frankness and willingness to work on yourself will be appreciated adequately.
  8. Indicate not only individual characteristics, but also your properties in teamwork .
  9. Do not use flowery phrases like "my flaws are extensions of my virtues." This will not surprise, but only show the unwillingness to conduct a dialogue with the employer.
  10. The optimal number of flaws is 2 or 3 . Don't get carried away!

Weaknesses in the resume - examples:

  • Selfishness, pride, scrupulousness, inflexibility in labor matters, the habit of telling the truth directly, inability to establish contact with strangers, increased demands.
  • Propensity for formalism, overweight, lack of punctuality, slowness, restlessness, fear of airplanes, impulsiveness.
  • Reliability, high anxiety, hyperactivity, incredulity, straightforwardness, need for external motivation.
  • Hot temper, isolation, self-confidence, stubbornness.
  • Among the weaknesses, you can indicate in your resume that you do not always express your thoughts perfectly or tend to reflect . And if you are asked why this interferes, answer that you would like to spend less time analyzing the problem.

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;
  • a 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.

A 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.

When applying for a job, employers often require a resume. Some of them, in addition to work experience, general information and a list of advantages, are asked to indicate the weaknesses of character. And here a dilemma arises: how to correctly reveal your shortcomings in a resume? If you think that they do not need to be indicated at all and that it is enough just to put a dash in the corresponding column, then you are deeply mistaken. In order not to get into a mess when you find yourself in a similar situation, check out what HR specialists advise on this matter.

Features of writing a resume

On the one hand, writing a few words about yourself is an easy task and does not require special knowledge and skills. However, as practice shows, those who hold this point of view are often denied employment. Therefore, the more solid the company in which you want to get a job, the more important it is to write a resume correctly.

The volume of the summary does not have to present a large amount of information. Usually it fits on 1-2 computer sheets. Therefore, it is especially important to briefly state the necessary information that will emphasize your individuality and attract the attention of a personnel specialist. When writing a text, weigh each word and correctly present your weaknesses.

For example, if you're worried about being in a certain age group, start by listing skills or work experience. Move your date of birth to the bottom of your resume. Or if your future job involves frequent business trips, and you have a small child growing up, be sure to indicate that you can leave him in the care of relatives or a nanny.

To correctly reflect your weaknesses in your resume, adopt a few basic rules.

  • Pay special attention to the style of presentation of information. The text must be written clearly and understandably. If during the interview you can convey information in different ways, then what is written will be perceived unambiguously.
  • Never ignore the column in which you need to indicate your weaknesses and character traits. This can lead to the fact that you are either written down in the category of insecure and notorious people, or considered a person with too high self-esteem.
  • Don't be afraid to be honest. The truthful reflection of information, especially regarding your weaknesses, indicates how self-critical you are and adequately assess your own strengths and weaknesses.

Examples of Weaknesses

When filling in the column about the existing shortcomings, take your time, carefully consider each phrase. If you do not know what to indicate in it, look through the options below and choose the ones that characterize you. At the same time, try to select such character traits that, if desired, can be turned into virtues.

Among the weaknesses in the summary, indicate, for example, the habit of speaking everything directly and frankly; difficulties in establishing contacts with strangers; hyperactivity and restlessness; excessive emotionality, susceptibility and impressionability; a tendency to fatalism, etc.

Try to select such character traits that, if desired, can be wrapped in virtues.

However, there is no need to be too frank. Add to one or two professional traits and a few that do not play an important role in the work activity. For example, indicate that you are afraid of flying or are overweight. You can also point out such shortcomings as excessive gullibility, a tendency to reflection, or frequent self-digging and self-criticism.

From social weaknesses, you can write that you do not fit well into the work team, because you do not like gossip, or you cannot fight back in response to boorish behavior. With a skillful approach, each flaw can really be turned into a virtue. And if among the weak character traits you indicate reliability, then this is only in the hands of the employer himself, since he will see in you a person who can be entrusted with overtime tasks.

How to present the weaknesses of the character

Some weak traits can be directly correlated with the characteristics of the profession. So, for example, for an accountant or storekeeper, such shortcomings as distrust, pedantry, inability to lie, an increased sense of responsibility, lack of diplomacy and flexibility in labor matters, can become positive in work activities. But it is better for a manager or a realtor to indicate hyperactivity, self-confidence, impulsiveness, inability to take a word and a desire to double-check the information themselves.

It should be noted that often job seekers go to the trick and present their merits in the resume under the guise of shortcomings. Before doing so, it is worth carefully weighing the consequences of such actions. Of course, you can point out the desire for perfectionism or excessive hard work among the weaknesses, but keep in mind that the employer can easily suspect you of insincerity.

Important nuances

Honesty is good. However, some negative features are still not worth pointing out. In no case do not write that you like to be lazy, afraid to take responsibility or unable to make decisions, not punctual, often distracted, etc. There is no need to get too carried away when listing weaknesses. It is enough to name 2-3 negative qualities. Do not use vague language and do not indicate those features that will go against the requirements of the position.

Serious attention when compiling a resume should be given to their professional qualities. It is by them that the employer will judge whether you are suitable for the company or not. Accordingly, professional qualities for a resume must be selected and listed very carefully in order to attract a recruiter who will communicate with you during the interview.

Professional qualities for a resume

Professional qualities - this is how you can characterize the totality of personal qualities, as well as all the skills that a person managed to acquire throughout his professional activity. They can help you improve in the future and bring tangible benefits to your company.

Sometimes there are qualities that can be called professional only conditionally. For example, referring to them as “a developed sense of humor”, the applicant is unlikely to attract the attention of a recruiter. Unless a person is looking for a job as a party host - then a sense of humor can still be called professional.

How to get an effective resume with a profitable description of your professional qualities?

We offer professional assistance to job seekers who want to take their job search seriously and get a quality result.

Strong professional qualities for a resume

  • desire for professional growth;
  • the ability to convince;
  • increased performance;
  • analytical thinking.

All this will allow the recruiter to navigate and understand how to build communication with you and what your qualities should be better revealed at the interview.

For example, the same lack of experience can be supplemented with qualities such as result orientation and a quick learner. Thus, the employer, realizing that there is no need to expect instant results from a new employee, still gets the opportunity to create from him exactly the specialist that is required. If your future employer is forward-thinking, you stand a good chance.

Examples of professional qualities in a resume

It must be remembered that when listing any of the professional qualities, it is necessary to coordinate this list with the requirements that apply to the position. For example, accuracy can hardly be attributed to professional qualities and defining criteria for a candidate applying for a vacancy of a top manager. But it can be a very tangible plus for the post of secretary. Therefore, when choosing professional qualities for a resume, consider how one or another of them will be appropriate for you in a future position.

Here are a few situations related to certain professions that require some specific qualities.

An example of professional qualities for a manager's resume

  • a responsibility;
  • performance;
  • the ability to negotiate;
  • enterprise;
  • ability to make decisions quickly.

An example of professional qualities for an accountant resume

  • performance;
  • accuracy;
  • punctuality;
  • organization.

An example of professional qualities for a sales manager resume

  • the ability to find a common language with people;
  • public speaking skills;
  • the ability to quickly navigate the situation;
  • creativity.

As you can see, there is a difference in professional qualities. It all depends on what position you intend to apply for. But do not forget that the list of qualities should not be too long. If it contains about 10 points (or even more), then there is a high probability that your resume will be put aside: after all, the recruiter will get the feeling that you are just praising yourself. Show moderation - and the recruiter will appreciate your professional qualities in the resume.