Negative qualities in an interview. Weaknesses and professional qualities. List of negative qualities

“Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses” is perhaps one of the most common interview questions. Someone is asked to name three bad qualities and three good ones, others are asked to describe personality traits that hinder or help them in building a career - there are many options for exactly how recruiters formulate this question.

How can you communicate your strengths and weaknesses in order to win over your employer? Recommendations will help you learn to turn minuses into pluses.

There are no ideal people
First, let's look at why this question is consistently one of the most frequently asked questions during interviews. What do recruiters want to hear from applicants? A frank confession about laziness and disorganization or a pathetic speech in the spirit of “I have practically no shortcomings”?

Neither one nor the other. When asking an applicant about his strengths and weaknesses, the recruiter wants to find out how mature the person is sitting in front of him, what his self-esteem is, and whether he knows how to work constructively, including on himself. As we know, people without shortcomings do not exist: we are all intertwined from good and bad qualities. It is in their awareness that psychologists tend to see a sign of a stable and mature personality.

However, to show the recruiter that you are fully qualified for the vacancy for which you are applying, you don’t need to invent anything. won't help you make a career. Be frank, but consider your answer in light of the recommendations provided.

"I'm working on it..."
First of all, show that whatever your shortcomings are, you are working on correcting them and know how to compensate for them. Here are some examples.

“I always try to keep everything under control. In life and in work, this gives me a lot of inconvenience: people don’t like that I constantly control their actions. Therefore, I am learning to delegate authority, I try not to ask my subordinates too many questions about the progress of work, even if I am eager to know how things are going”; “When I was in college, I was often late for classes and meetings. Now I have learned to value my own and other people’s time: I set the alarm for early in the morning, and if there are serious traffic jams in the city, I go to work by subway. Now I always come to the office 10 minutes before the start of the working day,” such answers will completely satisfy the recruiter. You show that you have adequate self-esteem, that you are able to recognize your mistakes, and most importantly, work constructively on them.

Cons to pros
Psychologists believe that it is best, when answering a question about shortcomings at an interview, to indirectly point out your strengths. “My friends consider me meticulous. I'm really meticulous, I like to check every detail, and people get annoyed by that. But I’m trying to learn to look at things from a broader perspective,” is an excellent answer for a candidate applying for the position of design engineer. “Perhaps I am overly talkative, perhaps this is a consequence of my profession,” is a good option for a candidate for the position of PR manager or marketing specialist.

Not too personal
When asked about your shortcomings, remember that no one expects you to confess. It is better to remain silent about some things, especially if they are not directly related to professional activities. Are you addicted to computer games? Have you experienced two divorces due to your inability to build long-term relationships? Think about whether it is necessary for the HR manager to know about the nuances of your personal life.

“I’m not particularly knowledgeable about this...”
Another option for answering the question about shortcomings is to mention a lack of professional knowledge that is not directly related to the desired position. By doing this, you will demonstrate to the recruiter your frankness and willingness to develop. For example, if you are applying for a job as a news reporter, you can safely admit that you have not yet mastered the essay genre: in this job, you most likely will not need this skill in the near future. True, you should still be careful not to harm yourself - think carefully about your answer.

“Everything is so awkward...”
Think about how the qualities you are going to tell the recruiter about will create a competitive advantage over other candidates. For example, you should not point out your leadership qualities where they are not necessary. “I’m quite ambitious,” says a candidate for the position of accountant in a company with an established structure and... is left without a job offer. But in a young company that is energetically capturing the market, this quality may well come in handy.

“I’m all so sudden, so contradictory all over...” the heroine of the film “Pokrovsky Gates” said about herself. And if an applicant for a creative position (for example, a copywriter) can still afford to say something similar during an interview (“Like many creative people, I don’t always strictly follow my plans”), then, for example, a sales manager would be better off emphasizing what something else. For example, on communication skills or punctuality.

Calm, and only calm!
The question of advantages and disadvantages cannot be called easy. It's no wonder job seekers are nervous about answering it. This is right in the hands of the recruiter, who, observing your reaction, will appreciate your resistance to stress, your intelligence, and your ability to quickly answer complex questions.

Forewarned is forearmed. If you are reading this article, it means you are already thinking about answers to possible questions from the recruiter. And this inspires confidence that at the right moment you will not get confused and present your qualities in a light favorable to your career.

Good luck with your interviews!

Examples of undesirable flaws in a resume

There are shortcomings that are not advisable to point out, as they can scare off the recruiter. Examples of such shortcomings:

• habit of being late;
• love of gambling;
• bad habits (cigarettes).

There are also disadvantages that in themselves are not so bad, but mentioning them may also not work in your favor. The undesirable list of shortcomings may include:

• excessive demands (you are not loyal and can provoke a scandal);
• habit of expressing your opinion (you do not know how to listen to the opinions of others);
• painstakingness, the desire to complete the work, despite the late hour (you do not know how to plan time).

To understand what shortcomings can be indicated in a resume, study all the requirements specified in the vacancy and try to imagine a psychological portrait of the person whom the employer wants to see in this position.

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What shortcomings to include in your resume: list of examples

Psychologists and experienced recruiters advise that when listing shortcomings, select those weaknesses that may turn out to be strengths for future work. Examples of your shortcomings in your resume include the following:

• hyperactivity;
• pedantry;
• scrupulousness.

When pointing out your own shortcomings, try to turn them into advantages. Here are the shortcomings you can indicate in a manager’s resume:

• demanding of oneself and others;
• perfectionism;
• emotionality.

All these qualities can be used to your advantage, because all of them, ultimately, indicate that you are responsible for your work.

You can do things differently and reformulate your shortcomings, softening their meaning. For example, the same pedantry can be disguised with the words: “I like to get to the bottom of things and bring the work to perfection.”

Finally, you can list shortcomings in your resume that will have virtually no impact on your future job. You can report your fear of airplanes and spiders. If your job does not involve frequent flights, and you are not going to get a job as a manager, for example, in a pet store, then all these shortcomings will not compromise you in any way. This means that you can safely indicate them.

HR professionals often ask job candidates to list their negative traits. This is done for a reason: the potential employer is trying to understand how self-critical the employee is, how he evaluates himself and whether he is able to perceive criticism.

This question cannot be ignored, or put a dash through if it appears in the questionnaire. Such a gesture will give the employer a reason to think that you do not know how to soberly evaluate yourself. Some disadvantages can become advantages in certain professions.

How to identify your negative qualities?

In the professional field and in life in general, awareness of your weaknesses will greatly help. A person can eradicate many of these traits or learn to compensate for them with positive ones. It is only important to understand your capabilities and analyze yourself. To do this you can:

• Start keeping a diary. Writing every day about the things that bring you the least pleasure, bother you, and cause problems will help you do some self-reflection later. The deeper the self-awareness, the easier it is to identify the disadvantages.
• Listen to outside opinions. First, you need to choose “independent experts” - people who are not afraid to tell you the hurtful truth, but also will not take the opportunity to humiliate you. For this procedure, it is better to use electronic correspondence. This will give you time to think, and then the answer will turn out to be more sincere. Having received all the answers, you need to highlight the common points in them. If 7 out of 10 respondents think you are an unsociable person, you probably are.
• Analyze difficult life situations which I had a chance to visit. A spontaneous reaction to sudden actions is important: the threat of a car accident, a person running out onto the roadway, etc. But you can’t look at the situation from only one angle and blame yourself for, for example, asking for help. The ability to realize that the help of an outsider is needed is a strong quality.

List of negative qualities for a resume

It is clear that in a resume everyone tries to “sell” themselves more expensively and present themselves in the best light. Paying attention, people often neglect the weak ones, which are no less important.

First of all, when compiling a list of negative characteristics, it is important to focus on the type of activity. For some work, one and the same trait can be an irreplaceable advantage, but in another it can only be a hindrance. Most attempts to get a job or promotion fail due to low or high self-esteem, the inability to soberly assess your qualities and indicate them in your resume.

Advice: some disadvantages can become advantages for certain professional fields.

Negative qualities that can play into your hands are the following:

• Increased demands on others;
• Excessive scrupulousness (if a person works with money);
• Inflated sense of responsibility;
• Lack of work experience may be considered a positive factor. The fact is that some companies prefer to train employees themselves, and it is much easier to do this from scratch than to retrain already experienced ones;
• Hyperactivity will help in areas where constant action is required;
• Lack of communication/dislike of communication will be perceived positively in an area where there is no need to communicate directly with clients. If this is working with numbers, tables and information in general, sociability is useless and can only interfere with concentration;
• The inability to think outside the box will play into the hands of the future accountant. It is important for a representative of this profession to be scrupulous and responsible; he has no need to show his creativity.

Advice: focus on those shortcomings that can be corrected with minimal effort or developed into positive qualities. During a personal conversation with an HR specialist, it is important to point out that there is a constant struggle with shortcomings, and to mention in what ways.

Before writing a resume to interest an employer, pay attention to. Don't forget about.

Do I need to provide only truthful information?

If the employer did not ask you to indicate negative qualities in a separate column of your resume, you do not need to do this yourself. If such an item is included, it is recommended to fill it out carefully.

You need to be careful with the desire to make yourself look better than you really are. Some qualities listed on a resume are very easy to check. So, if a person described himself as resistant to stress and then became nervous due to a two-hour delay in the interview, this discrepancy will give a potential employer pause. This will call into question every line written on your resume, and it will become almost impossible to get a position.

And yet, there are qualities that should not be included in a resume in order to leave at least the slightest chance of getting a job:

• Love of gambling;
• Alcoholism;
• Frequent delays;
• Craving for office romances;
• Negligence;
• Laziness;
• Indifference to the surrounding world and work in general.

Advice: Don't say that the only reason to work is money. No employer will like this.

Let's sum it up

Negative personality traits are just as important on a resume as positive ones. They help a potential employer form a vision of a candidate for a position as a holistic person. There are no people without shortcomings, so the question about them cannot be left unanswered.

Some negative qualities can be played up and presented as positive. Others will be advantages for certain professional fields. It is important to remain as honest as possible with the employer so that he appreciates it. But some bad habits, such as alcohol and gambling, are better to remain silent about (and try to eradicate them).

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When applying for a job, your application form becomes the only link with your employer. It is difficult to get a good job without the correct presentation of your own capabilities. However, many serious ones require filling out an insidious item - character weaknesses.

In a resume, every word written is important. Do not fill out this line hastily!

Your weaknesses on your resume should be a mirror image of your strengths.

How to turn weaknesses into strengths on your resume

But you shouldn’t be too zealous in listing your shortcomings. And there is no need to reproach yourself for your personality weaknesses. Remember that what is good for one person is unacceptable for another. For example, for someone you are wasteful, someone will consider you generous; Some will see greed in you, others will say - economical.

Present your negative character traits to the employer, wrapping them in a beautiful package. For example, for an accountant, unsociability can even be useful in work, but a manager with this quality will have a hard time.

Expert opinion

Natalia Molchanova

HR manager

Find 2-3 traits of your character that would be considered a disadvantage in everyday life, but from the point of view of your chosen profession turn into undeniable advantages.

What weaknesses should you include in your resume?

You should think carefully about this. Sometimes writing a few words about yourself is much more difficult than you thought. After all, what’s at stake is working in a reputable company, and the well-being of the whole family may depend on your ability to show your weaknesses in your application form.

Of course, there is no guarantee that the next employer will take you on to their team. There is no doubt that the future boss will not only not put him aside, but will show his interest and will certainly want to meet. So what trump cards will we have in store to beat our competitors?

Be truthful

The habit of exaggeration will come in handy here. If the employer does not require you to dwell on negative qualities, then there is no need to write anything. Then emphasize your merits as a specialist by mentioning your strengths. If your resume needs to be written in any form, then focus on your positive aspects as an individual and a specialist in the field.

But what shortcomings should you include in your resume in order to become the first applicant for the long-awaited position?

1. Firstly, as we have already said, so that the employer does not get the impression of you as a person with painfully inflated self-esteem, in no case do we ignore the point about shortcomings.
2. Secondly, don't deviate from your resume writing style. When talking with an interlocutor live, it is much easier to convey information to the listener: you can use gestures, facial expressions, and focus on his reaction. In the case of a resume, a special approach is needed, because the manager sees only what is written.
3. Thirdly, the boss will not be able to help but note the honesty of the resume, where you will briefly report your shortcomings, based on some important points.

Don't chase the standard

When reviewing a resume, each employer looks at the situation from its own angle. Sometimes the same character trait can be viewed in two ways. For some, it will turn out to be the positive side of the coin, while others may be blacklisted for having such character traits.

Expert opinion

Natalia Molchanova

HR manager

Each field of activity requires an individual approach. In teamwork, leadership qualities will only hinder the team, but for a manager, the ability to make his own decisions will be quite useful.

Be intellectually mature

It is important that you are aware of your imperfections and do not take criticism with hostility. After all, only an intellectually mature person can calmly and fairly conduct a personal assessment of his positive and negative sides.

It is undoubtedly easier for an employer to give preference to a mature personality than to educate an unbalanced person.

Show your willingness to work on yourself

Having presented your negative qualities to the general court, be sure to indicate that you are actively fighting against the shortcoming you indicated. You can’t let your employer think that you live comfortably with this negativity.

It could be shyness or impulsiveness. You can point out their manifestation in accordance with the situation, and make it clear that you are waging a persistent struggle against the presence of these disadvantages: expanding your connections and striving to keep your ardor under control.

Let's look at a simple example in a resume, where the weaknesses of the applicant turned into a positive side from a professional point of view.

“In everyday life, you are unable to refuse people, and because of this you do not have your own personal life. However, the boss may consider this quality more than beneficial for him. Having hired a reliable employee, the manager expects that he will always be able to rely on such an employee, no matter what issues the assignment concerns. This trait can be simply invaluable for personnel who work under someone’s direct supervision.

Present your strengths as weaknesses

Psychology is a very interesting science. Of course, it’s not worth filling out the field for shortcomings with the phrases “increased responsibility” or “workaholism.” The manager will immediately accuse you of dishonesty.

To take a highly paid position and, along with it, a future boss, you need to:

• gullibility - you will be perceived as a person capable of concluding agreements exclusively with trusted partners;
• self-confidence - they will see you as a leader inclined to move forward;
• hyperactivity - they will place bets on the speed of completing assigned tasks commensurate with other employees;
• slowness - they will find in you a scrupulous worker who can see mistakes and notice important nuances;
• increased anxiety - they will note a responsible approach to work and their responsibilities;
• straightforwardness - you will be considered a master of negotiations who will confidently insist on the terms and requirements of the company;
• demanding - they will think: if an employee is demanding of himself, then you will treat production processes with no less responsibility;
• pedantry - will determine the ability to bring initiatives to perfection through repeated checks;
• restlessness - they will see you as an employee who is ready to carry out new tasks and assignments regardless of external factors;
• modesty - they will be included in the number of employees who weigh what is said, which helps prevent conflict situations and unnecessary misunderstandings.

For the resume of a future accountant, the following can be used as an example of weaknesses:

• suspicion;
• excessive pedantry;
• increased anxiety;
• straightforwardness;
• scrupulousness;
• modesty;
• inability to lie;
• pride;
• lack of agreement in work situations;
• scrupulousness;
• an inflated sense of responsibility;
• inability to negotiate.

But for specialties that require direct communication with a wide audience, this list of qualities is extremely unsuitable.

For example, a manager can indicate in his resume:

• restlessness;
• hyperactivity;
• demandingness;
• impudence;
• stubbornness;
• self-confidence;
• straightforwardness;
• impulsiveness.

Why does a manager want to know about your shortcomings?

If the future boss decides to include a “character weaknesses” column in his resume, then he cannot ignore it.

Be yourself, believe in yourself and you will succeed, and finally, video

Before filling out the box in which you need to indicate your shortcomings, think about your answer. Do not miss it under any circumstances, because ideal people do not exist. As a rule, managers want to see how adequately you evaluate yourself. If you don't know what to write, look at the suggested options and choose something that suits you best.

A universal formula: select character traits that are an advantage for performing this particular job, but in ordinary life can really be considered a human flaw.

The following weaknesses can be written:

• excessive directness, the habit of telling the truth face to face;
• difficulty establishing contact with strangers;
• inability to show flexibility in labor matters;
• reliability;
• increased anxiety;
• excessive emotionality, hot temper;
• love of formalism;
• restlessness;
• slowness;
• hyperactivity;
• fear of air travel.

All of the weaknesses listed in your resume can become strengths if you look at them from a different angle. An example is restlessness. For a sales representative or active sales manager, this can even be a plus. The same goes for reliability. This is a signal to the manager that you may be the person who will do all the overtime work.

Linking weaknesses to the characteristics of professions

All applicants should think about how to write my weaknesses for a resume. For example, a future accountant or design engineer might write:

• distrust;
• excessive scrupulousness;
• increased anxiety;
• excessive demands on oneself;
• straightforwardness;
• pedantry;
• modesty;
• inability to lie;
• difficulties in establishing contact with strangers;
• self-esteem;
• lack of flexibility in labor matters;
• integrity;
• inflated sense of responsibility;
• lack of diplomacy.

• hyperactivity;
• self-confidence;
• restlessness;
• impulsiveness;
• the need for external motivation;
• distrust, 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:

• straightforwardness;
• workaholism;
• excessive love of communication.

Applicants for the position of manager must prepare before filling out this column. It is better to think in advance about what weaknesses to include in your resume. You can write to them about the following character traits:

• excessive emotionality;
• pedantry;
• love for little things;
• thoughts about work and planning occupy most of your free time;
• increased demands on others.

A good example would be the following:

• inability to respond to rudeness with rudeness;
• tendency to make decisions based on one’s own opinion;
• distrust of people and love of confirmation of facts.

Some applicants prefer to indicate that they:

• overly trusting;
• can raise their voice to subordinates;
• straightforward, express their opinions without veiled embellishments;
• hot-tempered;
• always looking for confirmation of words;
• have a hypertrophied sense of responsibility;
• prone to formalism and pay excessive attention to detail;
• irritated by clutter;
• slow;
• do not like to do something to please others.

For all occasions

Many people are afraid to write about shortcomings, believing that the employer will immediately send their resume to the trash bin. Of course, you shouldn’t be too frank, but you shouldn’t completely skip this section of the questionnaire. In this case, you can write about some neutral qualities that will not affect your work in any way. For a person applying for any vacancy, among the inherent weaknesses one can indicate:

• 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 of shopping;
• love for sweets.

This information does not characterize you in any way, it simply speaks about your fears or small weaknesses. The following disadvantages can be mentioned:

• I don’t always express my thoughts accurately;
• I trust people too much;
• prone to reflection;
• I often analyze past mistakes, focusing too much attention on them;
• I spend a lot of time evaluating my actions.

These are negative qualities, but they should not affect the work process. Regardless of the position for which you are applying, you can write the following 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 boorish treatment;
• I constantly pass all situations through myself;
• I let people get too close;
• I don’t know how to swear;
• I get noticeably worried when I have to lie.

Important nuances

Please note that there are items that are best left unindicated. You should not write, for example, that you:

• love to be lazy;
• afraid to take responsibility;
• don't like making decisions;
• unpunctual;
• are often distracted;
• you only think about your salary;
• love office romances.

For example, if you write about your laziness in your resume, you run the risk that the employer will decide that you don’t want to work.

Strengths and weaknesses of a person very often you need to indicate it on your resume when applying for a job. So everyone begins to think about their weaknesses and strengths.

Human Strengths

A strong character depends on a person’s strengths, so you need to know exactly what traits and qualities determine a person’s strong character. In most cases, it is this character that helps to succeed in career endeavors. List:

• Strong thinking;
• Learning ability;
• Professionalism;
• Discipline;
• Love for your work;
• Responsibility;
• Activity;
• Hard work;
• Confidence in your strength;
• Determination;
• Patience.

Many who wish to obtain a managerial position can indicate the following qualities:

• work to achieve the expected result;
• the ability to find new prospects for development;
• manifestation of initiative, activity;
• ability to persuade;
• ability to motivate;
• presence of leadership skills, you are ready to be responsible for any results and are ready to take risks.
• self-confidence, perseverance, courage;
• Every time you strive to develop your capabilities and self-development.

Very often people indicate in their resume such character strengths:

• courage;
• honesty;
• justice;
• reliability;
• responsiveness.

Weaknesses of a person

Before filling out the column, you need to think carefully about your answer. Remember that ideal people do not exist and managers always want to see how much a person can adequately evaluate himself. Several options for human weaknesses:

• reliability;
• difficulty in communication;
• excessive directness;
• slowness;
• love of formalism;
• restlessness;
• hyperactivity;
• fear of air travel;

If you want to get a job, then you need to think about your weaknesses and give an accurate answer. For example, an accountant can write:

• inability to lie;
• straightforwardness;
• distrust;
• self-esteem;
• integrity;
• responsibility;
• lack of flexibility in complex issues;
• modesty.

These examples can be used as a basis when creating your own resume. Already at the first interview you can see your desire to work and how sociable you are.

Every person sooner or later is faced with the need to clearly identify all his strengths. Most often this happens when writing a resume. The employer wants to see a list of a person’s strengths before the interview. To ensure that this question does not take you by surprise, you should analyze your personality in detail.

Talent

It is on talent that all strong character traits are based. Every person knows perfectly well what he can do best.
Developing talent will take effort. Few achieve perfection, but anyone can hone their skills.

To ensure that talent does not go to waste, it is best to associate your profession with it. Life will be much more interesting if work brings pleasure. To do this, it is simply necessary that it suits the person’s character, temperament, and meets his interests.

Work on yourself

A person's strengths and weaknesses 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 shortcomings. There is nothing wrong. After all, a person’s shortcomings are traits that, with volitional influence, make it possible to develop further and not stand still. If you engage in self-development, then over time a person can turn all weaknesses into strengths. It is not always easy to identify a person’s strengths and weaknesses. People are not inclined to hide their positive qualities; they know very well what they can do best. However, sometimes people overestimate themselves and do not always correctly assess their capabilities. If everything is more or less clear with positive character traits, then with shortcomings everything is more complicated. Few people are able to honestly admit to themselves that they are excessively lazy, are constantly late, or cannot bring the work they have started to its logical conclusion. What are human weaknesses? In most cases, people are characterized by laziness, excessive gentleness of character, shyness, problems with maintaining a daily routine, and lack of discipline. Many human shortcomings can be easily corrected on their own, but others cannot be dealt with without the help of a psychologist. Some human flaws cannot be removed. According to them, experts advise adjusting your own lifestyle so that they do not cause inconvenience.

Objective assessment

My strengths, what are they? On the one hand, the question is not difficult, but many cannot accurately describe themselves. Assessing your capabilities is an important point. If personal growth and self-improvement are important to you, you should not neglect it. By making a list of your strengths, you can understand what you lack for career growth, and therefore begin the path to eliminating gaps in knowledge and opportunities.

Strengths: list

The combination of strengths gives a strong-willed character. There are qualities by which one can judge the strength of a human personality. To succeed in your career and life you must have:

• Communication skills;
• Confidence;
• Professionalism;
• Purposefulness;
• Analytical thinking;
• Patience;
• Learning ability;
• Hard work;
• Responsibility.

Developing your strengths

• Professionalism

One of the strengths of a person is the ability to improve in a chosen field. Experts recommend reading at least one book in your specialty every month.

• Analytical thinking, learning ability

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

• Discipline

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

• Hard work

Few people can boast that they have 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 completed action brings a feeling of satisfaction, which works as an excellent motivator.

• Patience

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

• Confidence, determination

These strengths come with acquired experience and skills. The more knowledge you have, the easier it is to follow your chosen path. These human strengths can be supplemented by the following:

• Courage;
• Honesty;
• Responsiveness;
• Reliability;

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

Exercises to determine your personal capabilities

1. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses. To do this, you need to remember which actions cause you the most positive emotions. Write them down in a notebook, starting from the most significant to those that are least pleasant.
2. The next step will be a reassessment of values. Rethink your life beliefs to understand which ones are strengths and which are disadvantages.
3. Remember the people whose opinions are valuable to you. Why do you respect them? What traits do they have? Do you have these virtues?
4. Remember the last time you were happy? What was happening at that moment? Why were you happy?
5. After studying your answers, try to find similarities in them. Those features that will be repeated in most answers are your ideals, what you strive for.
6. Determine if your beliefs match your real life.
7. Study what is an advantage and what is a disadvantage in the area in which you live and work.
8. Determine whether the environment is optimal for your personality development.
9. Conduct a survey in which you ask people who know you what personality traits you have.
10. Having received answers from loved ones, you should find all the common points in them. Make a list of character traits that most people find in you.
11. Make a self-portrait. You will end up with a deep characterization of personal qualities.
12. Make a list of things you need to do to improve your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

Self improvement

Human shortcomings can only be overcome through constant development. Not only shortcomings, but also character strengths and talents cannot be ignored. They require improvement, because even the most outstanding abilities without daily training weaken over time. Every person knows what he can do best. Therefore, only rare individuals do not pay attention to them and do not engage in self-development. There are usually rarely problems with advantages. 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 downplay them in themselves. If you don’t see the problem, you can get along with it perfectly, but life will lose something important from this. You can stubbornly ignore your weaknesses and accept them, but developing as an individual and as a professional requires hard work.

During interviews with employers and when writing a resume, you have to indicate your strengths. Oddly enough, some people find this more difficult than listing their weaknesses. However, you need to specify both. We will help you decide and create your own list. What strengths to include in a resume A person’s strengths and weaknesses are often asked during a job interview. You have to answer this question by writing your own resume. So you inevitably begin to think about your strengths and weaknesses. With advantages, that is, character strengths, it usually works 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, perhaps your combination of “pros” and “cons” will help them make a choice in your favor.

About the benefits of “soul-searching”

Every person has strengths and weaknesses. It would seem, why look for them at home? What can this do? 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 overcome them, then at least take control of them and engage in self-development. The latter, according to experts, helps in both your career and personal life, and generally leads to harmony with yourself and the whole world.

Strengths

Strengths combine to make a strong character. Let's see what qualities and traits determine a person's strong character. 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 turns out to be quite extensive. So this is:

• professionalism;
• analytical thinking;
• learning ability;
• responsibility;
• discipline;
• hard work;
• patience;
• determination;
• self confidence.

Developing strengths

Professionalism is your knowledge multiplied by experience. If you didn’t spend your time in college in vain, if you love and know how to study, if you know your job well, you will certainly become a professional. By the way, according to experts, there is a fairly simple path to professional self-improvement. To do this, it is enough to read one book in your specialty every month. But analytical thinking and learning ability 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 took a lot of care of you as a child, and you studied diligently and didn’t act like a fool, then you have every reason to add the second and third positive qualities from the list to your resume. What follows are strengths that you may not possess, but which you are quite capable of developing in yourself.

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 what is meant by it is 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 perhaps learn the opposite.

Discipline

This is sometimes difficult. Set an alarm for 6.30 and get up at the first signal, rather than endlessly delaying the moment of getting up. Arrive at work on time, not 10 minutes late. Likewise, don’t be late for business meetings or get-togethers with friends. To become disciplined, you need to come up with motivation. For example, it’s easy for me to get up early in the morning because I know that a cup of coffee with something tasty and an interesting read are waiting for me. The anticipation of all this helps you not to lie in bed. And in order not to be late for work, try to see what a thrill it is to come to the office... first! Silence and tranquility, you can calmly collect your thoughts, make plans for the whole day and get to work. By the way, in the morning hours, the brain works more productively.

Hard work

Rarely do people have this innate quality. All humanity is lazy to one degree or another. And only hunger, cold and fear forced him to get up from the warm skin of a mammoth and do something useful. So we do: we get down to business not because we are tired of resting, but because there is such an inexorable word “needed”. You need to wash the windows for the winter, iron the washed clothes, select unnecessary books and take them to the nearest library... But what a feeling of satisfaction comes over you when you realize that you managed to overcome yourself and accomplish what you set out to do. So you gradually get the hang of it and become... a workaholic in the good sense of the word.

Patience

This is when you realize that you won’t be able to get everything at once and right away. And you learn to wait, gradually, step by step approaching your goal. Career growth, by the way, is exactly what happens. Almost no one gets into top management immediately after graduating from university. Well, maybe some computer genius on the level of Bill Gates.

Determination and self-confidence

You get these strengths as a bonus to the ones listed above. Professionalism breeds self-confidence. The more you know and can do, the more confident you feel in your business. And this helps you go your own way, persistently achieving your goals.

Let's add to the list

We also call character strengths:

• 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 and control their circumstances. Well, such individuals always inspire respect and trust.

We recommend taking a logical thinking test when applying for a job and assessing your capabilities.

© Ilyina Natalia, BBF.ru

Getting a first job is a troublesome and incomprehensible matter. In college, they don’t teach you how to fill out forms, and if they talk about it, it’s in a general sense, without specifics. That’s why young people get stupefied when they need to name a person’s weaknesses. What to write? How, in general, should we approach such points? How are the strengths and weaknesses of a person determined in the context of professional activity? Let's figure it out.

Self-knowledge

Let's start with the fact that a person, one way or another, evaluates his character, inclinations, and abilities. He knows more about this than anyone else. A person’s weaknesses are an obstacle that hinders his realization. We usually consider these to be laziness, absent-mindedness, gluttony, love of sleep, desire to have fun rather than work. But this has an indirect relation to the place of service. And is it worth telling your employer that you like to eat cakes three times a day? This does not particularly affect the performance of work duties. When you need to talk about yourself, you need to focus on the conditions in which you will have to work. That is, analyze your qualities, identify those that will help you work, and those that will hinder you. Pay special attention to the point “person’s weaknesses”. Say too much and they will refuse to hire you. If you hide what is relevant, you will be fired in a few days. The moment is very subtle. It should be approached in a balanced, thoughtful, careful, but honest manner. Below we will try to fill out this item in practice in such a way as to avoid negative consequences. But first, take a piece of paper and write down what you consider to be your weaknesses. Don't think about work yet. Record everything that comes to mind. We'll sift out the excess later.

How to analyze your abilities

To describe a person’s weaknesses for a questionnaire, it is necessary to carefully understand the character, habits, and internal attitudes. Would you say that only a specialist can do this? You will be wrong! Now you will see everything for yourself. Sit comfortably, armed with a pen, and make lists. Enter in the hotel columns the following:

• works well;
• likes to perform;
• It doesn’t work out at all;
• still needs to be mastered;
• causes disgust;
• it is done, but with a creak, without enthusiasm.

If you approach this process thoroughly, you will get the basis for identifying a person’s weaknesses for the questionnaire. This is, in principle, what specialists do. They extract this information during conversation, observation, and testing. But you know yourself, and therefore things will go faster. And to make your work easier, here is a list of what are considered weaknesses. Focus on this data, but try not to copy it. Use your own brains!

Human weaknesses: examples

The employer needs you to keep things moving and not stand still. A person is given a range of responsibilities that must be strictly fulfilled. His personality traits may interfere with his work. To identify such inconsistencies, a column is filled in that identifies a person’s weaknesses. Believe me, there is nothing shameful in this. We are all different, different from each other. One can command, the other is better at executing. Both individuals will find a place that will bring them satisfaction and profit, and benefit the common cause. Weaknesses can be as follows (for the employee):

• lack of inclination to communicate, low sociability;
• isolation;
• little experience;
• excessive emotionality;
• lack of specialized education;
• poor skills;
• conflict;
• lenient attitude towards lies.

The list is very approximate in order to guide those who are faced with the problem for the first time. Here you can add, for example, fear of public speaking (if necessary), inability to count money (if necessary), and so on. It should be based on the job responsibilities for which you are applying.

Strengths

By analogy, you can praise yourself in a questionnaire. Indicate all your talents, abilities, skills, experience. Eg:

• strength of will;
• endurance;
• durability;
• leadership skills;
• determination;
• calm;
• organization;
• clarity of mind;
• determination;
• communication skills;
• initiative;
• patience;
• love of truth;
• justice;
• thrift;
• business abilities;
• financial skills;
• tolerance;
• spirituality;
• analytics;
• ability to compromise;
• artistry;
• accuracy;
• respectful attitude towards leaders.

The list is also very approximate. It will be easier to correct it if they explain to you what you will need to do at work. Be sure to inquire. And from the responsibilities, highlight the skills that are necessary for their successful implementation.

What is desirable to hide

It is not recommended to lie when filling out the questionnaire. But there are moments that are better not to talk about. For example, you lack willpower. That is, there were no moments in life when it needed to be demonstrated. So you think that it doesn’t exist. Then just don't include this item. There's nothing wrong with that. Believe me, this quality, called positive by society, is questionable for the employer. If a worker is stubborn, having all the inclinations to achieve the goal, it is difficult to deal with him. Such people complain to the courts and can write a statement to the authorities. Why do management need these problems? When filling out the questionnaire, focus more on business characteristics. This is where you have to be extremely sincere. Each item indicated in the questionnaire will be checked in practice. It will be awkward and embarrassing if you are caught in a lie. If you don’t know how to talk to a client, point it out. This is a profitable business - they will teach you. And for honesty you will receive bonuses, albeit intangible ones.

You know, interviews are usually conducted by people who know how to identify a person’s strengths and weaknesses. Examples constantly pass before their eyes. Involuntarily, you will learn to notice the subtleties and nuances of behavior and project them onto characters. When you come across such a form, fill it out and read what you write twice. It is necessary to take a look at your data as if from the outside. You have two lists. Look at the list ratio. It is desirable that there be three times more positive, strong qualities than weak ones. Judge for yourself, who needs a worker who can’t do anything and doesn’t want to? It is foolish to give such an individual a chance to grow. And what do you think?