Strengths at work. How to indicate weaknesses and shortcomings in a resume. Strengths of a person in a resume

In the applicant's resume, a separate section is devoted to personal and professional qualities.

What qualities should you include in your resume?

We are offering to you possible options personal qualities of a person for a resume:

  • accuracy;
  • activity;
  • ambition;
  • analytic skills;
  • fast learner;
  • politeness;
  • attentiveness;
  • high efficiency;
  • flexibility;
  • discipline;
  • friendliness;
  • conscientiousness;
  • initiative;
  • diligence;
  • communication skills;
  • creativity;
  • loyalty;
  • reliability;
  • persistence;
  • resourcefulness;
  • focus on results;
  • non-conflict;
  • optimism;
  • oratory;
  • organizational skills;
  • organization;
  • result orientation;
  • responsibility;
  • responsiveness;
  • decency;
  • enterprise;
  • presentable appearance;
  • integrity;
  • punctuality;
  • innovation;
  • self-control;
  • self-criticism;
  • independence;
  • scrupulousness;
  • ability to make quick/independent decisions;
  • justice;
  • desire for promotion professional level/ self-improvement / professional growth / development;
  • stress resistance;
  • a creative approach to finding ways to complete assigned tasks;
  • hard work;
  • self confidence;
  • ability to adapt to change;
  • skill to work in team;
  • ability to persuade;
  • good diction;
  • determination;
  • honesty;
  • sense of humor;
  • energy.

This list of personal qualities in a resume is not exhaustive.

Strengths and weaknesses in a resume

When indicating positive and negative qualities in a resume, you need to be very careful, since the same characteristic in one situation may turn out to be an advantage, but in another, on the contrary, a disadvantage. Much depends on the position for which the resume is written, corporate culture employer company and other personal factors.

Examples of character strengths and weaknesses in a resume

In the above list of business and personal qualities for your resume, you can select several (5-10 pieces) of your strengths that meet the employer’s requirements for the position for which you are applying. When specified personal qualities In your resume, be prepared to give a specific example at the interview that demonstrates that you have this characteristic.

Examples of character weaknesses in a resume: lack of work experience; excessive emotionality; inability to lie, etc. - unless you are specifically asked to indicate negative qualities in your resume, you should not mention your shortcomings on your own initiative.

Constantly writing a resume, I always recommend everyone to write achievements in their resume. This makes the resume stronger and more impressive, the applicant looks more respectable and you want to talk to him.

What achievements will give you on your resume

  • Achievements will show you as a successful and productive person. You don't just work and fulfill your responsibilities, you lead the company to prosperity. You do it! Not your boss, but you!
  • Professional achievements on a resume play into employers' egos. They also want you to increase their profits, reduce costs, speed up some processes, simplify, secure, invent, etc. Owners want these achievements and that's why they need you.
  • Your successes show your responsibility and determination. I don’t like it when people list their personal qualities in their resumes as responsibility, determination, commitment... Such a list doesn’t say or prove anything, but your achievements do. These are indisputable facts that confirm that you are achieving your goals.
  • Your accomplishments on your resume hint at your career and growth. They emphasize that you value and love your job and want to succeed in it, grow, and achieve more. This in turn is a subtle hint to high salary and a serious position.

How to write achievements on a resume

Now let's figure it out How indicate your successes. I recommend following three rules.

1. Specifics

Personal achievements in the resume need to be formulated specifically - increased by 17%, accelerated by 6 seconds, trained 3 managers, wrote 74 articles, passed 4 audits, drew 23 advertising posters, etc.

What to write about yourself in your resume: examples of personal qualities

It doesn’t matter what units you measure, as long as your result is expressed in numbers.

If the result is difficult to measure, write without numbers and try to describe the essence.

2. Linking achievements to the place of work

Usually the employer is interested in the last 2-3 jobs, so it is better to describe your successes specifically for them. Each place has its own list of achieved goals.

3. Compliance with the desired position

Very often in consulting I come across the fact that people indicate achievements that are not suitable for future work. Many people confuse the level of manager and subordinate. For example, they are looking for a job as a chief accountant, but successes are written at the level of a junior economist. Or a person wants to get a job as a programmer, but before that he worked in his own business and describes his achievements at the highest management level.

So, what achievements should you include on your resume? If you are looking for a management job, make sure that your level of success is at a management level. If you are looking for a job as a line specialist, meet this level.

It doesn't matter what you did before, what matters is what you want to become now. Make your resume for your future job, rather than describe what you have now.

Examples of achievements in a resume

I want you to see not just examples of achievements on your resume, but also standard errors, so I made a sign in the style of “right - wrong.”

Blurred Strongly
Trained new sales employees (this phrase is not an achievement, but a responsibility) Trained three new sales employees
Implemented a number of changes that simplified document flow (what changes? how did they simplify it?) Simplified document flow: each forwarding driver received a scanner to automatically record invoices in the system; together with programmers, I came up with a system automatic creation transport documents - now the logistician simply checks the box and everything is done by itself).
Built a department from scratch Built a department from scratch (hired and trained 7 people, wrote down instructions and regulations, developed a system of motivation and salaries).

Think about how to describe your achievements in your resume in a way that makes sense; look for good wording. This determines whether they will invite you for an interview.

Here are a few more examples of successes and achievements from real resumes:

  • Organized the transition from GAAP standards to IFRS standards.
  • Organized the merger of two CASCO/OSAGO databases into one database of a single format.
  • Made the transition from 1C 7.7. on 8.2.
  • Successfully passed 4 tax audits.
  • I discovered a direct loss from selling products at prices below cost.
  • Licensed 18 fuel filling stations.
  • Took first place in terms of clothing models produced and sold in a year.
  • Increased the base of regular English-speaking clients by 70%.

If the details of your work are a trade secret

If you are prohibited from sharing details of your work, metrics and numbers, then stay on the edge of what is possible. Anyway, tell us about your achievements - a little vague, without names, but tell us.

Systematically and step-by-step about creating an effective resume

If you feel like there are no achievements

It seems to you. Everyone has successes and to find them you just need to start looking for them. Perhaps you will not have super achievements and feats, but will end up with a modest list. Well, so what!? Everyone's success is different.

I want to make a reservation right away, there are a number of positions where achievements do not matter - cleaner, loader, handyman, cashier, fast food restaurant worker, driver, etc. If your job is listed as unskilled labor, do not write achievements. They will be superfluous there.

Also read

»How to write a resume correctly

»How to list key skills on a resume

»How to indicate weaknesses and shortcomings in a resume

Personal qualities in a resume with examples

Home / How to write a resume

7 “don’ts” for a resume

From year to year, in various employment publications, experts explain what and how to include in a resume. Today we will talk about what should not be in this document.

Practice shows that many applicants strive to distinguish themselves by using a non-standard approach to compiling a resume: either to say something about themselves that should make a lasting impression on the employer, or simply to tell everything, everything, everything about themselves. Meanwhile, most of these masterpieces only cause bewilderment or laughter. However, all this would be funny if it were not so serious. After all, sometimes because of one single insidious line, not a single employer invites a person for an interview.

So, what information should not be on your resume...

90-60-90, photo and other physical data

Describing your appearance in a resume is only relevant for models. When a person applies for a managerial position, height, weight and other specifications cause the employer quite natural amazement. Of course, there are vacancies that require certain standards. For example, they want to see salespeople in boutiques and youth clothing stores slim and no larger than size 46. Or, say, in stores for overweight people - vice versa. And, nevertheless, first of all, normal employers are interested in the experience, education and business skills of a candidate for a vacancy. And when an applicant for a manager position writes about himself that he is “tall, slender, with a pleasant appearance,” it looks strange.

Sports results

One applicant for a leadership position, 48 years old, invariably wrote on his resume: “I run a hundred meters in 14 seconds.” The man, according to his explanation, wanted to emphasize that he was young and vigorous in soul and body. But how did employers perceive this revelation?

What personal qualities should I include in my resume?

Definitely: no one was in a hurry to invite the candidate for an interview. And as soon as this line was removed from the resume, the applicant immediately began to receive very decent offers.

Also, you should not write about your sports ranks received in early childhood, unless you are applying for vacancies in sports clubs and similar organizations.

Family status

In principle, there is nothing wrong with a candidate succinctly indicating “married” or “married” on his resume. But when people go into detail, it looks ambiguous. Why does an employer need to know what age and gender your children are when you first meet them? Or how many times have you been married? Of course, you may be asked about this at an interview, but this information is clearly superfluous in a resume. And most personnel officers who will read your message will decide that for you family life priority over career achievements. And this, you see, is not in your favor. The fact that you are an exemplary family man is certainly good. But when you yourself focus on this, you raise doubts among personnel officers.

Personal qualities

One candidate greatly amused the personnel community from the forum on our website. He said the following about himself: “I take an active life position, but I don’t have bad habits (playing cards, drinking wine, smoking, being attracted to many women).

High efficiency. Scrupulous, attentive, inquisitive, sociable. Seriousness and accuracy characteristic of adulthood. I visit the pool." If the candidate’s task is to make the employer laugh, then he did it. But he’s unlikely to receive an invitation to an interview.

Moreover, you don’t have to write about personal qualities at all. After all, no one will say about himself that he is inattentive, unnecessary and careless. So personal characteristics are nothing more than general words that do not give the employer any up-to-date information. Instead, focus on your responsibilities and accomplishments at work.

Achievements

Take this resume line seriously. The listed achievements should be closely related to the field of activity in which you are going to get a job. Therefore, “1st category in rugby” for a sales manager or “winner of a woodcarving competition” for an accountant are completely unnecessary information that will cast doubt on the adequacy of the candidate. If nothing valuable comes to mind, it’s better to exclude the “Achievements” section altogether.

Hobby

If the hobby is related to professional activity, then it is not forbidden to mention it in your resume. But more often than not, your hobbies are a purely personal matter, and there is no point in introducing them to a potential employer.

There have even been cases when a candidate was denied a job solely because of his hobby. One manager was looking for a chief accountant. After a series of interviews, he was left with two candidates, and he found it difficult to make a final choice. But then I noticed that one of the applicants indicated extreme sports as a hobby on her resume. And the employer gave preference to another candidate, not an extreme one, because he considered that a love of risk does not adorn the chief accountant.

Dreams and plans

It’s better not to write about your dreams of becoming a director or simply unleashing your personal creative potential in your resume. To talk about career aspirations, you need to be absolutely sure that the company welcomes it. And in any case, it is better to leave this topic until the interview. After all, a resume is designed to show what kind of specialist you are at the moment, whether you have sufficient experience to take a job vacant position. And further growth, you see, is a matter of the future.

Concerning creative potentials and self-realization, then the employer is also not very interested in them, especially during preliminary acquaintance. Moreover, applicants often invent such phrases that after reading them, the personnel officer no longer wants to get to know the candidate better. It’s better not to write anything at all than, for example, this: “I have a career dream: to find not only a job that provides a livelihood, but also the joy associated with it that brings a sense of peace.”

Elena Khudyakova
Work For You

There are different points of view on what to do with a person's strengths and weaknesses. We all naturally have different inclinations and talents. But the most successful people become those who apply a large number of effort towards your work. That is, a hardworking person with average abilities will achieve more success than a talented one. Henry Ford believed that this was the main way to achieve success. Finding a person's strengths and weaknesses is closely related to finding purpose () and long-term success.

Some psychologists believe that a person should try to correct his weaknesses. Majority successful entrepreneurs They believe that emphasis should be placed on a person’s strengths - his talents and natural abilities, and weak qualities should be compensated with the help of a team. That is, with the help of .

But how to find your strengths and weaknesses? Which ones should be developed and which should be left alone?


SWOT analysis can be applied not only to business projects, but also to the study of personal qualities. The elements of SWOT analysis include an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the phenomenon under study.

How to understand your strengths?

The famous Russian psychologist Nikolai Kozlov talks in his books about the fact that people usually like to do what they can do well and vice versa. And to understand your inclinations, you can try to remember your hobbies and what you were interested in as a child. Often children's hobbies in the future develop into a full-time job or even their own business.

To be as involved as possible in your work or business, you need to really like this business. And this will be the key to success. That is why it is so important to develop such a quality in yourself as - in order to feel well your desires, interests, inclinations and emotions. In addition, to find yourself and your strengths, you need to spend a lot of time experimenting. Constantly try new things.

When you try a new business, it takes some time to understand whether it is for you or not. The first pancake is always lumpy. And that's okay.

If you have managed to find your strengths, then, if possible, you should strive to develop them. If you add persistence and consistent effort along with your talents, then you can achieve outstanding results.

We are able to develop any of our talents. This is due to the property of neuroplasticity of the brain. But it is better to direct more efforts where there are already some serious inclinations.

There are character traits that are useful for any person to develop:

Working with personality weaknesses

Objectively, in addition to our strengths, each of us has our own disadvantages. There is no need to be ashamed or hide this. On the contrary, you need to understand yourself properly and know about your shortcomings. By and large, there is no point in directing all your efforts to fight your weaknesses. By developing a quality that we initially lacked, it is difficult to achieve an outstanding level. Although - in some cases this may well be possible.

As a rule, you should simply avoid work that is not compatible with your weak qualities. In some cases it may help work on your weakness and bringing it to the minimum acceptable level.

You should take your weaknesses into account when choosing a job or place of study. And this will promote life balance. We recently wrote material about.

But there are weaknesses that are worth fighting in any case. this is about:

  • and procrastination;
  • and self-flagellation;
  • and other low-tone conditions such as.

There are cases when people the most difficult situations were able to get together and do what they want not because of their capabilities, but in spite of them.

Availability is of great importance here will And character. attitude to life and optimism are also companions of success.

The fact is that in order to be productive, and to be in the so-called state, you need to avoid such negative habits and depressed states.

You must clearly understand that we can reconfigure ourselves very flexibly by working with our mood, as well as by training the necessary qualities and getting rid of unnecessary habits. Even people who are terribly afraid of public speaking can, over time, completely get rid of their fears and become excellent speakers. always unpleasant, but it allows us to develop.

Balance between personality strengths and weaknesses

As I already wrote, during interviews and in life in general you shouldn’t be ashamed of your weaknesses. You need to choose a job where your weaknesses will not interfere too much, and where your strengths, on the contrary, will drag your career forward.

At the same interviews, it is better to honestly talk about your weaknesses. Because they will still pop up later. And it is better for the employer to know in advance that you have both advantages and strong personality traits, as well as disadvantages that are specific to you.

Everyone wants to have interesting work in a company that he has known and dreamed about for a long time. But before you become an employee of such a company, you have to write a resume. If the employer is interested in it, the candidate will be invited for an interview. At this stage, it is important not to relax, but to prepare.

Before the interview, you will have to go through a resume selection stage.

First, review the possible interview questions and think about your answers. One of the most popular is a description of strengths and weaknesses. Often at this stage many candidates are eliminated. Therefore, it is worth paying special attention to it.

Rules for conducting self-analysis

Introspection – The best way independently determine your positive and negative qualities. Set aside 1-2 hours for reflection. You need to be in complete silence and a calm atmosphere at this time. It is important that the person is not distracted by anything. Writing down all the qualities on a piece of paper is the most effective solution. The following rules must be followed:

  1. The list of pros and cons needs to be updated every 2-3 months.
  2. You need to be as sincere as possible.
  3. All your thoughts and ideas on this matter must be written down.
  4. It is important to keep your records in one place. This could be a diary, notebook, or electronic document.
  5. This simple method will help determine the effectiveness of working on the negatives. It will provide a powerful incentive for self-development.

Employers often ask you to name three negative qualities. But it’s better to think about 7 strengths and 7 weaknesses to avoid an incident.

It is not always important to answer correctly. It is better to tell the truth than to voice banal, memorized and alien phrases. After all, they may not correspond to the applicant’s lifestyle and temperament. You should always remain yourself and not imitate ideals. After all, if a candidate lies, then in the process of work all his disadvantages will very quickly appear. And no one is safe from dismissal.

There are situations when it is better to change jobs. Having correctly identified your strengths and weaknesses, you can think about which position is more suitable for a person. After all, there are people who are interested not only in salary levels, but also in the opportunity to maximize their full potential.

Assessment of deficiencies

Admitting your weaknesses is not an easy task. Everyone has disadvantages that I don’t want to talk about at all. But you need to be able to filter information and know what can really be mentioned at the interview and what can be left out.

You need to evaluate what can be said about shortcomings, and what is better to remain silent about

Many people are surprised that excess weight can be listed as a weakness on a resume. But for some professions this is true important factor. It determines endurance, the ability to work for a long time and continuously, and to move quickly. Recruiters immediately write about this in the job description in order to weed out unsuitable candidates.

List of deficiencies that can be reported:

  • excessive self-criticism;
  • perfectionism or excellent student syndrome;
  • excessive emotionality;
  • excessive straightforwardness;
  • reliability;
  • desire to please everyone;
  • learning disabilities;
  • poor understanding of technological innovations;
  • absence vocational education, experience in the desired field, etc.

An excellent solution is to indicate weaknesses that do not affect the efficiency and quality of work. You can mention the disadvantages that are not significant for the position. It is important not to get carried away so as not to question your professional suitability. You need to be as sincere and honest as possible. And it is also important to emphasize your strengths, which cover your shortcomings.

The second piece of advice is to note the weaknesses that were changed. When hiring, this will demonstrate that the candidate is ready to develop and become better. Time management skills can be reported. Especially if a person gets a leadership position or one that involves multitasking. It is important to describe in detail how a person came to be able to manage time wisely. The main thing is to speak briefly.

The third way is to present your shortcomings in a favorable light. The main idea is to make them attractive to the employer and show that they do not interfere with work. It is useful for an analyst to go into too much detail, for a TOP manager - to work for results and do everything only at the highest level.

It happens that a candidate is not suitable for a position due to the lack of important quality. For organizers, these are problems with punctuality, for account managers - with speech, for managers - fear of public speaking. But there is no need to be afraid of this. It’s better to just look for another job where the lack of such skills or qualities will not be critical.

Assessment of positive qualities

Communication skills as a quality are necessary when working in a team

More often than not, it is the question about strengths that puts a candidate in an awkward position. He is afraid of overdoing it and overpraising himself. Therefore, really assess your capabilities, analyze your personal qualities and highlight only the positive ones. Experts advise dividing skills into 3 groups:

  1. Knowledge based skills. They are obtained through experience and training. These are computer skills, fluency foreign language, ability to work with the necessary programs, etc.
  2. Mobile skills. They carry over from one job to another. This is the ability to establish contact with any person, planning and analysis skills, the ability to quickly solve problems, and the ability to work efficiently in stressful situations.
  3. Personal qualities. These are the unique properties of each person.

There is a secret trick - first talk about the positive qualities that are directly related to the desired vacancy.

Examples of strengths that can be mentioned:

  • communicable;
  • purposeful;
  • easily trained;
  • reliable;
  • creative;
  • disciplined;
  • decisive;
  • multifaceted, etc.

Employers value the ability to tell the truth. And this applies not only to answers during an interview. Everyone needs an employee for whom lying is taboo. Therefore, if such a trait exists, it is worth mentioning.

The main rule is to choose 3–5 qualities, no more. It is important that they meet the requirements specified in the job description. It is worth preparing counterarguments confirming the presence of the listed strengths.

It must be remembered that the applicant’s answers during the interview are a reflection of his professionalism. The recruiter is looking for the one who best suits his requirements. It is important for him to see that despite some shortcomings, the person is ready to work to eliminate them.

Linking weaknesses and strengths to the characteristics of professions

Find out what qualities are required for the position

Before making a personal list of positive and negative qualities, you need to carefully read your resume. It indicates what an ideal company employee should be like. Some recruiters even describe this in detail. From this it is worth highlighting the pros and cons for yourself.

Initially, you need to decide on the type of profession. There are 5 of them. They are associated with:

  • technology;
  • nature;
  • other people;
  • sign system;
  • in an artistic way.

What is suitable for type 1 will absolutely not satisfy the requirements of another category. The rule works here - the weaknesses of one profession can become an advantage for the second.

If the work involves communication, then stress resistance is important. It is necessary for the employee to be able to control his emotions and remain calm in any situation.

When talking about the positive aspects, you need to mention those that will create competitive advantage before other applicants. When applying for a job as an accountant or salesperson in a small company, the employer is unlikely to pay attention to the candidate’s leadership qualities. But in a company that is just entering the market and plans to actively develop, such an applicant will be very interesting.

Qualities that shouldn't be mentioned

There are things it's better not to talk about. If a potential employee reports that he is lazy, he is unlikely to be hired. When the position is high, a bad decision would be to talk about the fear of taking responsibility. Such a person blames others for all failures. You can’t rely on him or trust him with anything.

Other things best left unsaid:

  • commercialism and thoughts only about money, salary and promotion;
  • lack of punctuality;
  • addiction to romance novels, gossip, intrigue, etc.

But people who are really serious about finding a job definitely won’t mention this. After all, their goal is to find a decent position with good level salaries in a prestigious company.

Often, applicants do not talk about bad habits that they cannot give up. Subsequently, such employees take frequent smoking breaks. On holidays they can drink in work time and encourage colleagues to do the same. They are often distracted by phone calls and spread gossip. Some are initiators of conflicts.

Conclusion

An interview is not so scary if you prepare well for it. The important thing is to create a list of strengths and weaknesses. This will help avoid prolonged silence on the relevant question.

The main rule is to be honest and sincere. We must remember that everything secret becomes clear. When talking about positive qualities, you should not overpraise yourself. When mentioning weaknesses, it is important not to give too bad an impression. All your shortcomings need to be reformulated into strengths. And then the likelihood of passing an interview will increase several times.

When writing a resume, the applicant tries to present himself in the most favorable light. This is understandable, because everyone wants to demonstrate their “combat” qualities, which may turn out to be the most important for future work. However, it is worth thinking about how necessary negative qualities are for a resume. At first glance, such a listing of shortcomings should be avoided. However, everything is not so simple. You can present your negative qualities in your resume to your advantage.

What negative qualities should you include in your resume? Let's tell the truth!

A recruiter who is looking for specialists for his company is somewhat reminiscent of a sapper. After all, if he makes a mistake and recommends the wrong person for employment, then the new specialist, instead of benefiting him, will bring real harm to the company. Therefore, the HR manager tries to find out in advance not only the pros, but also the disadvantages of the next applicant. Knowing this, try to think in advance what negative qualities to include in your resume in such a way that your self-presentation proves that you are open and do not hide anything about yourself.

Why should you include your negative character traits on your resume? First of all, it can serve as proof of your honesty to the recruiter and future employer. Sincerity and openness are always valued in employees, so listing your weaknesses can work to your advantage.

But there is another reason to list your negative qualities for your resume. The fact is that if presented correctly, they can turn into advantages. For example, the resume indicates such a negative quality as pedantry. In many cases, this trait appears to be synonymous with boringness. However, if the HR manager asks where your pedantry is manifested, you can say that you are used to “eating” into your work and studying this or that issue thoroughly. And this will already become your advantage.

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Examples of negative human qualities for a resume

In order not to harm yourself and not engage in unnecessary self-flagellation, try to thoughtfully approach the listing of your negative character traits. Consider the specifics of the specialty and the position for which you are applying. In particular, you can give the following list of negative qualities for a resume that can turn into advantages:

  • ambition (a person strives for career growth and that means he will try);
  • scrupulousness (such a deficiency will benefit the accountant or lawyer);
  • hyperactivity (a minus for an architect, but a big plus for a manager);
  • distrust (such an employee will take an extremely responsible approach to any information received);
  • excessive sociability (an irreplaceable quality in order to attract new clients).

By showing your imagination appropriately, you can create a resume where negative qualities will be disguised with the correct wording. An example of negative qualities for a resume is the following description of formalism or pedantry: “I pay too much attention to all the nuances.” The employer will like this characteristic because it shows that you are diligent and strive to double-check all the data.

Every person has strengths and weaknesses. You have them. The employer may ask you to talk about them. Why and why does he do this?

In most cases, the employer needs an analysis of the weaknesses and strengths of a potential employee to make sure how ready you are to interact with other people. Find out if you can do this at all. Finally, by analyzing your strengths and weaknesses, you can draw certain conclusions about your personality type.

Knowing that you will have to talk about your strengths and weaknesses in sufficient detail, you should not worry about the fact that you will have to admit to some weaknesses. Talking about strengths should not be taken as inappropriate boasting; it is better to prepare in advance for this topic that arises during a job interview.

First, you yourself must identify your strengths and weaknesses. Try to make a list in which you carefully write down both your strengths and weaknesses.

This approach is the most useful for communicating with your potential employer.

To begin with, you should identify your strengths that will contribute to your success in the organization where you are interviewing.

Strengths and weaknesses of a candidate for a vacancy

As you know, there are almost no perfect people in the world. Therefore, every person has strengths and weaknesses.

Focus on your strengths first. These are the first things your potential employer should know about.

Focus on your strengths and use examples to explain how your strengths will help you perform your job responsibilities.

Your strengths can be divided into sub-items in which certain qualities are concentrated. For example, this is what it might look like:

Acquired and transferable skills as strengths

This paragraph, which describes your strengths, should focus on the skills that a person gains from performing his duties and is also able to transfer them to others. These skills include: people skills, planning skills, communication skills, and so on.


Strengths and weaknesses, how to use acquired skills

Personal qualities

The strengths of any person are his personal qualities. So, a person can be hardworking, reliable, independent, punctual, optimistic and so on. All these positive qualities can help you in fulfilling your official duties.

Knowledge Based Skills

The strengths of an educated person are the skills that he acquired during the learning process. This includes: your special education, additional courses that you have completed (language, computer and others).

Important: during a job interview, it makes sense to talk only about those skills from this point that will really help you in the position you are replacing.

Your strengths. Specific examples

You will need to think a little about what exactly your strengths are. If, when thinking about your strengths, you doubt some qualities, remove them from the list. Also remove from the list those qualities that are not needed for this job.

Here's what you might end up with when you write a list of your strengths:

Self-discipline It is unlikely that this quality requires any special decoding. Your self-discipline means that the employer can be completely confident that you do not need to be further motivated to perform your job duties
Integrity You are able to accept the policies and procedures of a particular company, you will support its values, confidential information will not leak from you to competitors
Communication skills Your skills in both oral and written communication. Examples of this strength may include your presentation skills, active listening skills, persuasion through business correspondence etc.
Problem solving ability If you are able to analyze problems that arise and are able to find the reasons for their occurrence and identify solutions, of course, this quality should definitely be reflected in the list where you describe your strengths
Teamwork We live in a world of corporate culture, where there is no place for loners for a long time. Today's employers value skills effective communication team player, ability to work effectively alongside others
Initiative If you are able to move one step ahead, if you are not afraid to take responsibility for decisions and results, then add initiative to your strengths
Sustainability This quality includes the ability to concentrate after failures, overcome obstacles on the way to the goal, the ability to respond correctly to criticism and work in a mode of limited material and time resources
Organization Quality includes the ability to multitask, time management skills, the ability to prioritize goals and complete tasks on time.

The list above probably doesn't reflect all of your strengths, but we've just shown you what to strive for.


Advantages and disadvantages. How to talk about them correctly

Weak sides. Full list

All people also have weaknesses. It is important that when you list your weaknesses, you can present them as problems that can be solved and will not affect the quality of your work.

This means that when analyzing your weaknesses, you should immediately look for ways to overcome your weaknesses.

Try to convince the interviewer during a job interview that you are quite capable of turning even your weaknesses into strengths. And you know exactly what and how to do this.

Traditional weaknesses may include qualities such as:

Lack of experience

You show some interest in the job you are applying for, but have the right practical experience to carry it out.

Be prepared to conduct a full analysis of strengths and weaknesses so that lack of experience does not become the main reason for denying you this position. Certificates of completion of courses in the field in which you want to work can be an additional advantage if you do not have the necessary experience.

How to turn weaknesses into strengths

As you list your weaknesses, think about how they can turn into strengths. So, if you are a slightly slow person by nature, then during a job interview you can say that sometimes you lose speed in completing work, focusing on the little things so as not to miss anything.

Weak sides. Sample list

Impatience You always feel like your employees are not doing everything as quickly as you expected.
Absent-mindedness You are easily distracted by external factors right at your workplace. This directly affects your work efficiency
Shyness You are unable to say “no” even when you know for sure that this is not part of your responsibilities and does not promise you the slightest benefit. It is difficult for you to defend your point of view, not because you don’t have one, but because you are shy.
Stubbornness It is difficult for you to adapt to changes, you have difficulty accepting new ideas and practices
Procrastination You always put everything off until the last minute. Then you work in rush mode, and usually have low productivity
Inability to delegate tasks and responsibilities You are afraid to trust others to do a certain job or solve a problem. Failure to fully utilize the skills and resources of other employees
Inability to sympathize When you strive to achieve your goals, you don't change direction. You don't care that other people may have different feelings or needs. You never take this into account
High sensitivity This quality is the exact opposite of the previous weakness. You take everything that happens at your job too seriously
Conflict A person believes that only he does everything right. Other people's opinions do not exist for him. I am ready to defend only my own. Sometimes this is not good for the team, project or product
Lack of some skills No one person has all the necessary skills for the job they are applying for. It is only important to show your readiness for further training

Describe your strengths and weaknesses. How to answer an employer's question?

Be honest in your strengths and weaknesses analysis

If you are interviewing for a job and the employer asks you to provide an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses, be as honest as possible when answering this question. It’s better if you already have a prepared answer, where you can present your strengths and weaknesses in a positive way.

Choose the right qualities

During the job interview process, pay attention to the employer's requirements for the position. Describe your strengths and weaknesses according to these requirements.

When describing your weaknesses, choose those whose presence will not deprive you of your chances of filling a vacant position.


Advantages and disadvantages. Should I talk about them during a job interview?

Don't brag or be ashamed

Every person has strengths and weaknesses. From you, from your employer, from the secretary who sits in the waiting room while you are being interviewed for a job.

When asked about strengths and weaknesses, speak calmly, don't be ashamed to mention your weaknesses, but don't be too arrogant when talking about your strengths. Never say that you have no weaknesses at all, because you do have them.

Take responsibility for your strengths and weaknesses

Often we are proud of our successes, and blame failures either on others or on circumstances. During a job interview and when it comes to whether you have strengths and weaknesses, take responsibility and don’t look for someone to blame.

Don't give too much information

During a job interview, be careful that asking an employer to describe your strengths and weaknesses does not lead you into a verbal jungle where you unwittingly reveal more information that you did not originally intend to voice.

Talk about your job, describing your strengths and weaknesses

When you describe your strengths and weaknesses, talk only about work. Only about how these qualities will contribute to your success in a new place. Only about how your strengths helped you at your previous place of work. Only about how you managed to get rid of several weaknesses and what qualities you plan to improve or change in yourself in the near future.