What weaknesses to indicate in the resume. Interview: what are the negative qualities worth mentioning, and which are not? How to voice your positive traits, strengths and weaknesses

20.10.2019

It so happened that some employers, when surveying, and sometimes in the job description, ask you to indicate your shortcomings and weaknesses in your resume. Thus, they want to simplify the selection of personnel, weed out unnecessary candidates, etc. In a word, HR managers solve their problems in a way that suits them.

Let's get to the point

Enough long time I help people write resumes and look for work and I want to say that the topic of shortcomings in a resume rarely pops up. But if it pops up, I tell everyone the same thing.

Weaknesses in the resume do not need to be indicated. Not at all. Under no circumstances. Even if it is written in a vacancy or a special questionnaire that you describe your shortcomings, it is still not. No no and one more time no. Never write bad things about yourself!

There are several reasons for this.

Pointing out the weaknesses of the character in the resume increases the likelihood that your resume will be thrown into the trash. Someone will definitely understand your words “wrong” and decide that such a candidate is not needed. Let them first invite you to an interview, and there you will answer the questions of the employer and tell about yourself in all details.
Second moment - don't judge yourself. You may be biased and most likely you will. Many people are demanding of themselves and self-critical, they make an elephant out of a fly and scold themselves out of the blue. Let others judge you. Let the employer look at you, talk to you and draw your own conclusions. For him, your minuses can be pluses (and vice versa).
For example, shyness can be highly valued. She can be seen as a calm disposition and accommodating. Similarly, an active and energetic person can be called an upstart and a troublemaker.
If you indicate weaknesses and shortcomings in your resume, this show your low self-esteem. Low self-esteem = low salary. Therefore, you do not need to be extremely honest in your resume, show yourself from the best side.

If you still need to write something?

If you have a questionnaire or a form on the site where there is a special column “your shortcomings”, write a neutral phrase.

Examples of indicating weaknesses in a resume:

- "Ready to answer your questions in person"
“I prefer to talk about it in person.”
- Just put a dash

No disadvantages - only advantages

I want to say a few words about reverse side medals. If it is not necessary to indicate the weaknesses in the resume, then the strengths are necessary. This is really important. Focus on your strengths, strengths and skills. This will help the employer make the “right” choice.

Everyone sooner or later faces the need to clearly identify all their strengths. Most often this happens at the time of writing a resume. The employer wants to see a list before the interview - the strengths of the person. In order for this question not to take you by surprise, you should analyze yours in detail.

Talent

It is on talent that all strong character traits are based. Each person knows perfectly well what he can do best.
It takes effort to develop talent. Few can achieve perfection, but everyone can hone their skills.

In order for talent not to go to waste, it is best to associate your profession with it. Life will be much more interesting if work is fun. For this, it is simply necessary that it suits a person in character, temperament, and meets his interests.

Work on yourself

The strengths and weaknesses of a person are closely intertwined with each other. No one can boast that he is perfect and has no weaknesses. A self-sufficient person always admits that he has flaws. There is nothing wrong. After all, human shortcomings are traits that, with volitional influence, make it possible to develop further, not to stand still. If you engage in self-development, then over time, a person can turn all the weaknesses into strengths.

It is not always easy to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a person. Their people are not inclined to hide, they know perfectly well what they can do best. However, sometimes people overestimate themselves, do not always correctly assess their capabilities.

If everything is more or less clear with positive character traits, then everything is more complicated with shortcomings. Few people are able to honestly admit to themselves that they are excessively lazy, constantly late or cannot bring the work they have started to its logical end.

Weaknesses of a person, what are they? In most cases, people are characterized by laziness, excessive softness of character, shyness, problems with observing the daily routine, indiscipline.

Many human shortcomings are easily corrected on their own, while others cannot be dealt with without the help of a psychologist. Some human flaws cannot be removed. Under them, experts advise to adjust their own way of life so that they do not cause inconvenience.

Objective assessment

What are my strengths? On the one hand, the question is not difficult, but many cannot accurately characterize themselves. Assessing your capabilities is important. If self-improvement is also important to you, you should not neglect it.

By making a list of your strengths, you can understand what you lack for career development, and therefore begin the journey to address gaps in knowledge and capabilities.

Strengths: list

The combination of strengths gives a strong-willed character. There are qualities by which one can judge the strength of the human personality.

To be successful in your career and life, you need to have:

sociability;
Confidence;
professionalism;
Purposefulness;
analytical thinking;
Patience;
Learnability;
diligence;
Responsibility.

Developing your strengths

Professionalism

One of the strengths of a person is the ability to improve in a chosen area. Experts recommend every month to read at least one book in their specialty.

Analytical thinking, learning

These strengths of the personality are fully dependent on the level of intelligence. It, in turn, is determined by the genetic data and the training that has been received.

Discipline

To increase the level of discipline, you need to learn how to motivate yourself.

industriousness

Few people can boast of having this quality from birth. A person starts work not because he is tired of idleness, but only because there is such a thing as “necessary”. Each action performed brings a sense of satisfaction, which works as a great motivator.

Patience

You can't get everything you want right away. It takes time to reach the goal. The ability to wait is a valuable character trait.

Confidence, focus

These strengths come with acquired experience and skills. The more knowledge you have, the easier it is to follow the chosen path.

These human strengths can be supplemented by the following:

Courage;
Honesty;
Responsiveness;
Reliability;

People who possess all these qualities can control their actions and desires, manage their lives.

Exercises to determine your personal capabilities

Analyze your strengths and weaknesses. To do this, you need to remember what actions cause you the most. positive emotions. Write them down in a notebook, starting with the most significant and ending with those that are the least pleasant.
The next step will be a reassessment of values. Rethink your life beliefs to understand which ones are strengths and which are weaknesses.
Remember the people whose opinion is valuable to you. Why do you respect them? What traits do they have? Do you have these virtues?
Remember the last time you were happy? What happened at that moment? Why were you happy?
After studying your answers, try to find similarities in them. Those features that will be repeated in most of the answers are your ideals, what you are striving for.
Determine if your beliefs match your real life.
Learn what is good and what is bad in the area where you live and work.
Determine if it is Environment optimal for the development of your personality.
Conduct a survey in which you ask people who know you what are inherent in you.
Having received answers from loved ones, you should find in them all the common points. Make a list of the personality traits most people find in you.
Make a self-portrait. As a result, you will get a deep characterization of personal qualities.
Make a list of things you need to do to improve your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

Self improvement

Human shortcomings can be overcome only through constant development. It is impossible to ignore not only shortcomings, but also strengths of character, as well as talents. They require improvement, because even the most outstanding abilities, without daily training, weaken over time.

Each person knows what he can do best. Therefore, only rare individuals do not pay attention to them, do not engage in self-development.

Merits rarely cause problems. After all, there are a huge number of methods of self-development. And if desired, everyone can improve their abilities, make them brighter and more outstanding.

The situation is different with disadvantages. Everyone tends to underestimate them. If you do not see the problem, then you can get along well with it, but life will lose something important from this. You can stubbornly ignore your weaknesses, put up with them, but in order to develop as a person and as a professional, hard hard work will be required.

Each person has strengths and weaknesses of character that can play to his advantage, and to his detriment. Especially when applying for a job or at an interview, on which your future depends.

Human strengths

It is known that among us, ordinary people there are no "saints". And each person has their own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the first of them. In order to “shine” in live speech during an interview and live communication, think in advance about the qualities that you think are inherent in you.

Example good list human virtues:

sociability;
Determination;
good faith;
performance;
friendliness;
Stress tolerance;
Responsibility;
Punctuality, etc.

If you list at least some of the above traits and qualities, this is half the battle. If the manager sees how seriously you approached this issue, he will appreciate your ability to correctly express thoughts and convey the essence. You should not praise yourself, and promise what you cannot deliver.

For example, if you do not specialize in a particular industry, but you are asked provocative questions on a specific issue, it would be more honest to answer that you do not yet possess such skills, but are striving and want to expand your boundaries and skills. Then the employer will be able to assess your honesty and desire to develop and move up the career ladder.

A future leader may ask you tricky questions, which will not be very convenient to answer. Endurance and ability to get out difficult situations and is checked in this way by the candidate.

It doesn't seem right. But if you are applying for a good position, with a high salary, and you need the ability to communicate with people competently and without emotions, then you must have endurance and discipline.

A potential employer, through live communication, will be able to identify your strengths and weaknesses, and draw conclusions about your personality.

The manager will also ask you about your strengths and weaknesses. You should not take this question seriously, and completely get all the "skeletons" out of the closet. It will be enough if you name some minor shortcomings: for example, shyness. This little vice rarely scares away. Therefore, you should not worry about this.

In order not to be embarrassed during an interview and a personal conversation with a potential employer, make a list of your strengths in advance. It will be useful for you to analyze the turn of your mind and character, thereby you will be ready for such a question and will not be at a loss.

Take Blank sheet paper and start writing the qualities you are proud of. For example, kindness, understanding, responsiveness, sociability, learning ability, etc. This is some kind of training. You will be able to objectively assess your pros and cons. And in advance, you can write a list of those qualities that you do not possess, but are trying to develop in yourself. This will give you a push and an incentive to change.

Weaknesses of a person, their list

Now we will try to consider the weaknesses of the human character. Most often, when trying to get a job, during the interview, the employer may notice some shortcomings of the future candidate for the position. For example, he may be alerted by inattention, absent-mindedness and slurred speech.

Consider a list of the most common shortcomings and weaknesses of a person:

indecision;
emotional stiffness;
Shyness;
Timidity;
Coarseness;
Rudeness, etc.

When talking, try to tell your boss about your hobbies, hobbies, a little about the family in which you grew up. Thus, you will position the employer, and he will appreciate your aspirations and see that you are ready for a lot for the sake of work. Honesty and unobtrusive frankness will do you good.

Weaknesses in resume

When writing a resume, be careful about the reason for leaving your previous job. For example, if they were conflict situations with employees, or disagreements with the employer. It doesn't matter why you quit. Do not paint about the reasons for leaving, it is better to write about it with restraint. For example, I didn’t like the work schedule, or I had to change my position due to moving.

Also, try not to get personal and dedicate the future employer about the past work team. It is better to get around uncomfortable topics tactfully and carefully. At the same time, without losing self-control and self-esteem.

Strengths of a person in a resume example

When writing a resume, be careful about your strengths. For example, you should not write about character traits that you do not possess. It is better to focus on the merits of your character. For example, you can write the following traits:

Determination;
Curiosity;
Stress tolerance;
sociability;
Ability to get out of different situations;
Active life position.

By listing these qualities, you will definitely make a positive impression on the boss, and your candidacy will be considered.

Strengths and weaknesses of a leader

Additionally, you may be asked what qualities and personal merit you would like to see in your boss. It is worth considering the answer to this question in advance. For example, you can say that in the leader you want to see:

Purposefulness;
Restraint;
Responsiveness;
Demanding;
sociability;
Individual approach to employees;
Decisiveness, etc.

You will not just be asked such questions. After all, every employer wants to see what the employee expects from the authorities. If you answer with dignity and like a potential boss, you will get a place in the permanent staff.

Strengths and weaknesses of character

Let's sum up a little. When applying for a job, you should think over your answers in advance in order to make a good impression on future employers. If you actively communicate, prove yourself with better side By focusing on the merits of your character, you will definitely get a promising job and the desired position.

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. About how to do right choice and how to evaluate a future employee, we will tell in our article.

Business and personal qualities

The business qualities of an employee are his ability to perform certain labor obligations. 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
Skills business communication	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
Ability to negotiate/ business correspondence	Tact
Ability to negotiate	Patience
Ability to express thoughts	exactingness
The ability to find mutual 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 mean. general concepts. 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.

Applicant included in resume negative qualities may be honest, or may be reckless. Such an act does not justify itself, but if you want to know 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 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 trade list best qualities will look like this: flexibility of thinking, customer interaction skills, ability to negotiate, work in a team, as well as quick response, politeness, 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 characteristic of the secretary includes a variety of positive traits: skills of interaction with clients, business communication, literacy, the ability to negotiate and business correspondence, the ability to deal with 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

To avoid wasting time and money 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 conventional 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 for him to achieve during the game, or simply 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.

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.

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.

Universal formula: select such character traits that are a virtue for performing this particular job, and in ordinary life can indeed be considered a human defect.

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.

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.

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.

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.