Personal qualities in the resume: examples, features and recommendations

In the light of total unemployment and crazy contests for open vacancies from employers, applicants must literally go out of their way to attract attention. But even before a direct meeting with a potential employer, they need to create a resume and it is advisable to do it as best as possible. There are many recommendations on this subject and almost every one of us knows how to fill out questionnaires for applicants for a vacant position, but at the same time, some of their items are filled out incorrectly or even remain empty.

First of all, it concerns the section “Personal qualities”. For summary, this item is not mandatory, because it is more important for any employer to receive information about a person’s education, his experience, specific skills and abilities. At the same time, any employee is a person who has a special set of characteristics that allow him to cope with the tasks and fulfill his job responsibilities. Therefore, it is important in principle to understand what character traits help people achieve their goals, and what, on the contrary, prevents them from doing this.

What are personal qualities?

It is practically impossible to give a clear definition to this concept, since it includes too many components. When you need to list personal qualities for a resume, we mean socially significant traits in the character of a particular person. It can be stress-tolerant, punctual and purposeful, tired of all, and more extraordinary qualities: responsiveness, scrupulousness, foresight.

Recruitment experts recommend that applicants do not invent a huge list of their merits. It is necessary to identify no more than five advantages of your person over other applicants, this is quite enough for a resume. Personal qualities indicated in the questionnaire must be real. Later, during an interview, the employer may ask to explain to the applicant why he singled out one or another feature of his character, and how it will help him in the performance of official duties.

Why include such information in a resume?

In fact, a lot of recruiters skip the “Personal qualities” item in the resume. An example of such a negligent attitude to work, for sure, was found in the life of each applicant. But this does not mean that this section does not need to be completed. On the contrary, employers who know whom they want to hire read candidate profiles from cover to cover.

According to experts from employment agencies, good employers, selecting a person for a certain position, analyze the totality of all the advantages of applicants. That is, their professionalism and their personal characteristics. Applicants are also required to understand where they are getting a job and, based on this information, they must adapt their resume to the requirements of the employer.

Gender Approach

Declaratively in the world there is absolute equality of the sexes. But in fact, both representatives of the strong part of humanity and beautiful ladies had to deal with the discontent of employers about their gender. This is because people have exclusively on the mental level a lot of stereotypes about “female” and “male” work. Therefore, personal qualities in the resume for the girl and for the guy usually indicate different. It must be said that there is no single standard in this matter.

It all depends on what position the applicant is applying for. If a woman wants to take the post of leader (and this is traditionally male work), she needs to prove with the help of her profile that she is far from a muscular young lady, but a real man in a skirt. But what exactly indicate personal qualities in the resume? Example for girls:

• analytical skills (something that women often lack, according to men);
• the ability to be a leader and leading person (the girls are likely to be subordinate to the girl, she must be an authority for them as well);
• self-confidence (if you do not believe in yourself and your strength, how will you convince other people of your abilities?);
• self-control and resistance to stress (a girl must prove that she will not cry even when there are objective reasons for this).

In men, the list is different. There is usually no doubt about their willpower and authoritarianism, therefore they should focus on other character traits: contact, focus on results, hard work, and ambitiousness.

Professional component

What personal qualities to indicate in the resume directly depends on the specifics of future work. For the manager - this is one set of characteristics, for the seller - another, and for the trucker - the third. In each individual case, there may be an example. Personal qualities in the resume for people engaged in trade (sellers, sales managers, sales representatives, merchandisers):

• contact;
• flexibility;
• purposefulness;
• willpower;
• a responsibility.

Anyone who wants to work in industry (workers, craftsmen, technologists) needs to emphasize other properties of his character in the questionnaire:

• attentiveness;
• endurance;
• accuracy;
• good learning ability;
• willingness to achieve high results.

It is advisable to indicate the following qualities to specialists who, by occupation, need to provide advice to clients (lawyers, psychologists, doctors):

• listening skills;
• tolerance;
• the ability to win over people;
• ability to logical and analytical thinking;
• attention to details.

For candidates applying for positions involving work with children (governess, nanny, tutor, teacher, tutor), this list may be as follows:

• kindness;
• the ability to find a common language with the wards;
• ability to compassion;
• self-control;
• a responsibility.

The personal qualities of a person in the resume for the employer are an opportunity to understand what the applicant is as an individual, and you should not forget about this when filling out the questionnaire.

How do you feel about yourself?

There are four areas in which employers determine the personal characteristics of applicants:

1. The relationship of man to himself.
2. His relationship with other people.
3. How does he relate to his work.
4. How does he handle things.

The first parameter is directly related to self-esteem, leadership, faith in one's strengths and capabilities. There are types of activities where without these qualities it is impossible to make a successful career.

How do you feel about other people?

Even working at the orbital station or at the North Pole, a person will still have to deal with colleagues and employees of related areas or departments, and in all other cases, employees contact customers, management, subordinates. Each of them has their own character, they have to work in different conditions, often stressful, so it’s important for HR managers to know how job seekers will behave in a potentially unfavorable environment, how sociable they are and whether their appearance in the company will cause problems in the team.

What to write in personal qualities in a resume about this, how to convince the employer of his sociability? It is necessary to talk about the ability to find a common language with different people, about tolerance, about indulgence, because for many types of activity these are fundamentally important character traits.

How do you feel about work?

This provision should be conclusive evidence that the job applicant will do well. Every employer wants to know that his subordinates love the business they do, they try to develop themselves and their company. Examples of qualities demonstrating this:

• ambitiousness;
• willingness to give oneself to work 100%;
• the ability to bear personal responsibility for the results of their activities;
• the ability to "get together" in crisis situations;
• discipline.

The last point is important not to be confused with professional skills, because here you need to provide information about yourself in terms of personalization, and not as a specialist.

How do you feel about the things around you?

The section “Personal qualities” for the resume should also contain information about how a person treats what surrounds him. This is a question about the applicant's sense of material responsibility, his accuracy, pedantry, organizational abilities and frugality. It is important for the employer to know that his employees will take care of the company's property, maintain its normal condition and be able to properly equip their workplace.

On the negative and their own shortcomings

There is one item in the questionnaires of employers that confuses applicants - the negative personal qualities of a person. For a resume, you need to select such character traits that satisfy the curiosity of the employer, but do not alienate him from the candidacy of the applicant, for example:

• maximalism;
• inability to lie;
• excessive emotionality;
• modesty and shyness;
• high demands on yourself.

You should not blacken yourself in the eyes of the employer, you need to find a compromise between his desire to find out the bad qualities of a potential subordinate and his desire to make a good impression on him.