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

Let's get to the point

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

Weaknesses do not need to be listed on your resume.. Not necessary at all. Under no circumstances. Even if a vacancy or a special questionnaire asks you to describe your shortcomings, it’s still not. No no and one more time no. Never write bad things about yourself!

There are several reasons for this.

• Note weaknesses character in resume increases the likelihood that your resume will be thrown into the trash. Someone will definitely understand your words “wrong” and decide that such a candidate is not needed. Let them first invite you to an interview, and there you will answer the employer’s questions and tell about yourself in all details.
• Second point - don't judge yourself. You may be biased and most likely you will. Many people are demanding of themselves and self-critical, they make mountains out of molehills and scold themselves out of the blue. Let others evaluate you. Let the employer look at you, talk to you and draw his own conclusions. For him, your disadvantages can be advantages (and vice versa).

  For example, shyness may be rated very highly. She may be seen as having a calm disposition and easy-going personality. Likewise, an active and energetic person may be called an upstart and a troublemaker.

• If you indicate weaknesses and shortcomings in your resume, this will show your low self-esteem. Low self-esteem = low salary. Therefore, there is no need to be completely honest in your resume, show yourself from your advantage.

What if you still need to write something?

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

Examples of indicating weaknesses in a resume:

— “I am ready to answer your questions in personal communication”
- “I prefer to talk about it in person”
- Just put a dash

No disadvantages - only advantages

I want to say a few words about reverse side medals. If you don’t need to indicate your weaknesses in your resume, then your strengths should. This is really important. Focus on your strengths, on strong traits ah and skills. This will help the employer make the “right” choice.

We decided to prepare our own version of the analysis of the interview question for the general collection, perhaps some of our fellow recruiters will find it useful not only as an example of how to apply for a job on , but also in their work. And the topic is one of our favorites - the question about the weaknesses of candidates.

Applicants often consider this question about shortcomings to be provocative or tricky; they suspect the employer of wanting to find reasons for refusal, catching him at his word and other sins. Is it really? Let's try to figure it out.

Target

There are no ideal employees; there are those whose “peculiarities” the company can or cannot tolerate.

When asking the interview question: “What are your weaknesses?” or "What are your main weaknesses?", we want to evaluate:

1. openness,
2. adequacy of self-esteem,
3. self confidence,
4. ability for self-analysis and development,
5. ability to talk about uncomfortable topics,
6. flexibility and ingenuity,
7. presence of operationally critical deficiencies.

Restrictions

From the candidate's side

Training. Candidates now prepare for interviews as if they were preparing for exams. Thematic websites and forums, career consultants and coaches do everything to ensure that the applicant appears fully armed before the employer. Answers to standard questions are memorized to the point of bouncing off your teeth.

On the one hand, this is bad, because getting anything even remotely resembling sincerity from a candidate is becoming more and more difficult. But on the other hand, the majority of the “helpers” listed above strongly recommend not lying during an interview, which is good. In addition, if the candidate took the trouble to prepare for the conversation, it means that he is serious about his career, does not like to leave things to chance, and the vacancy is important to him. And this is a “plus” in his piggy bank.

From the recruiter's side

The temptation to play detective. In pursuit of the weaknesses and shortcomings of our future employee, it is easy to go too far. You should not make the interview focus on this aspect. The candidate may be left with an unpleasant feeling, which may affect his perception of the company as a whole and discourage him from further cooperation.

When it comes to weaknesses, it is important for us not only WHAT the candidate says, but also HOW he presents the information. This is precisely what gives us the opportunity to cope with learned and unnatural responses. Behavioral reactions, calmness or nervousness, lengthy or monosyllabic phrases, and the ability to give examples will say much more than the content of the answer.

To whom, when and how do we ask a question?

It is most logical to ask this question after the candidate has spoken about himself, his experience and achievements. It can be addressed to candidates for any vacancies. The ability to soberly evaluate oneself is important in every business. It is rather the expectations from the answers that should be ranked. Managerial positions require a much higher level of reflection than executive positions. Potential managers can be asked to give examples of professional failures, describe the conclusions drawn and steps taken to correct the situation.

Rules for evaluating the answers received to the question about the candidate’s shortcomings

Let’s immediately make a reservation that during an interview the answer to the question about weaknesses can and should be assessed in conjunction with what the candidate says throughout the interview.

		A comment
"I have no flaws"	It couldn't be worse	Almost a clinical case. The candidate is not in the mood for dialogue, is closed, cannot evaluate himself, does not know his weaknesses or is not ready to discuss them, and has inflated self-esteem. He has no imagination and no sense of humor at all
An attempt to reduce the question to a joke: “I have the right not to testify against myself” and similar ironic remarks	A bit better, but still bad	Irony and sense of humor are very useful qualities. The candidate has them, we found out. Otherwise, it is also closed, as in the previous version. The seriousness of intentions regarding employment in the company raises doubts. We repeat the question and ask you to take the answer more seriously.
Formal preparations: “I am a workaholic and a perfectionist” “I’m so engrossed in my work that I forget about everything in the world.” “I can’t rest, I’m always drawn to work” Qualities not related to work: “I eat a lot of sweets” "I can't quit smoking"		The candidate accepts the rules of the game and expresses his readiness to formally follow them. Perhaps this is the influence of those very “co-defendants and assistants” that we mentioned earlier. A person has read “smart” books and articles, and thinks that this is how it should be, that this is exactly what the recruiter is waiting for. We reveal the trick and give you the opportunity to express your own thoughts in relation to the content of the vacancy.
Trying to get the recruiter to justify the question: “Let's discuss the criteria for weaknesses, in which regulatory documents companies they are indicated, and how they are measured"	Bad, with rare exceptions	This answer is only good if you are talking to a future legal adviser or trial lawyer. Such a grip may indicate a professional instinct. In other cases, it is a block, a way to bypass an unwanted question, or an attempt to assert oneself at the expense of the recruiter. The last assumption makes you think about the personal qualities of the candidate. Do we need such a quarrelsome teammate?
Disadvantages not directly related to job responsibilities: For an accountant or programmer: “I find it difficult to speak in front of big amount of people. I'm getting lost" ForPR manager: “It’s difficult for me to work with large volumes of digital data” For the operatorcall center: “I have problems with grammar, it’s difficult for me to answer questions in writing”	Acceptable but uncertain	The candidate is ready to talk about his shortcomings, but not in the context of the vacancy for which he is applying. It remains to be directed in the right direction. Let us specify the question and ask you to concentrate on the position being discussed.
Partial lack of knowledge or experience as a point of growth. The strategy only works if the applicant is well informed about the company's goals and corporate culture. “My experience is somewhat less than what is stated in the requirements. On a formal basis, this is a minus. But if you look at it, I have experience, but I am not tired of work, and I also have a fresh look, a desire to improve in this area. I know that you have a young team, and you strive to maintain a high pace of development. Our goals are the same. I am highly motivated, and I am ready to prove it to you every working day. I won’t face professional burnout for a long time. But experience, like age, is an acquired taste.”		The candidate understands his weaknesses and speaks about it openly. He was clearly preparing for the interview. I studied information about the company, analyzed it and came up with a way out of the situation. We check the sufficiency of knowledge with the help of a subject expert.
You need to be aware of the shortcomings. If they cannot be defeated, then they must be used or compensated. "I am an owl". My productivity in the morning is zero. That is why I chose your vacancy with a flexible schedule. At night I am much more productive than ordinary people during the day. There are no distractions, no unnecessary conversations and no reasons to take time off.” “I don’t think well. This doesn't mean that I don't like numbers, it's just that the computer does the math for me. I'm good atExcel and learned to work with large areas data, analyze it and present it in a user-friendly format. I know better than anyone how hard it is to work with numbers, so I write the most detailed explanations possible. The only time I encounter computational difficulties is when counting change in a store. Although in Lately and I solved this problem - I pay with a plastic card.”		The candidate is self-confident and knows everything about himself. He calmly talks about seemingly unpleasant things. And he does this not without pride. He was able not only to identify his “demons,” he defeated them and forced them to work for himself. He is constructive, knows how to turn disadvantages into advantages, and respects the interviewer because he gives a complete answer to the question posed.

Additional questions

People don't like to talk about their shortcomings with strangers. For this there are relatives, friends, acquaintances. Among strangers, such things are shared only with fellow travelers. Therefore, sometimes you have to help the applicant, guide him, rephrase questions.

1. What qualities might, in your opinion, hinder your performance? job responsibilities? How do you plan to deal with this? This formulation allows us to lead a person to the strategy that we agreed to consider correct - to be aware of our shortcomings and find ways to compensate for them.
2. Give examples of situations when your personal and professional qualities prevented you from achieving the desired result? We check the accuracy of the information. If a person has come up with “beautiful” flaws for himself, it will be difficult for him to quickly come up with such examples. If the information is true, then examples will appear without problems.
3. What do you think, if we asked your previous manager now how you described your weaknesses? We give the candidate the opportunity to look at himself from the outside.
4. What professional and personal competencies do you plan to develop in the near future and why? In essence, this is the same question, only in a softer formulation. We receive the necessary information and also find out the candidate's expectations in terms of training and development.

Everyone has shortcomings. They are not only the flip side of advantages, but also potential for development. And this is also a fuse that does not allow a person to get involved in a business that is not at all his. A standard question at any interview: “What are your weaknesses?” can make the candidate himself think about how correctly he has chosen the area of ​​application of his strengths and protect him from the wrong career decision.

When writing your resume, you should pay special attention to your professional qualities. It is by them that the employer will judge whether you are suitable for the company or not. Accordingly, professional qualities for a resume need to be selected and listed very carefully in order to attract the recruiter who will communicate with you at the interview.

Professional qualities for a resume

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

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

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

We offer professional help job seekers who want to take their job search seriously and get quality results.

Strong professional qualities for a resume

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

All this will allow the recruiter to get his bearings and understand how to communicate with you and what qualities of yours to best try to reveal during an interview.

For example, the same lack of experience can be complemented by such qualities as result orientation and quick learning. Thus, the employer, realizing that one cannot expect instant results from a new employee, still gets the opportunity to create from him exactly the kind of specialist that is required. If your future employer is forward-thinking, you have a good chance.

Examples of professional qualities in a resume

It must be remembered that when listing any of the professional qualities, you need to coordinate this list with the requirements for the position. For example, accuracy can hardly be considered a professional quality and defining criteria for a candidate applying for a top manager position. But it can turn out to be a very tangible advantage for the position of secretary. Therefore, when choosing professional qualities for your resume, consider how relevant one or another of them will be for you in a future position.

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

Example of professional qualities for a manager's resume

• responsibility;
• performance;
• ability to negotiate;
• enterprise;
• ability to make quick decisions.

Example of professional qualities for an accountant resume

• diligence;
• accuracy;
• punctuality;
• organization.

Example of professional qualities for a sales manager resume

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

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

A person's strengths - How do you know which side is strong?

— What are the strengths and weaknesses of a person?
— Why is it so important to know your strengths?
— Personal qualities: advantages
— Professional strengths
— Three methods for discovering a person’s strengths
— How to competently use a person’s advantages?
— How to correctly describe examples of character advantages in a resume?
- Why develop your dignity?
- Conclusion

Strengths and weaknesses are our initial data: physical (body structure, height, weight, strength, speed, endurance, etc.) and mental (type of temperament, speed of nervous processes, personality traits and character traits).

What are there strengths person? For example, being tall for a basketball player is certainly his strong point. With the help of his height, he is more likely to achieve success in professional sports; it is his uniqueness that helps him achieve outstanding results. For a surgeon, developed fine motor skills will be an advantage. For a pilot - a good vestibular apparatus, for a musician - excellent hearing, for an accountant - analytical warehouse mind.

A person’s character strengths also play an important role in achieving success in one’s profession or business. If you are diligent by nature and have the ability to painstakingly complete work, these traits will help you in the profession of a programmer. If you are endowed with oratorical abilities, it is easy for you to lead people, you have a loud voice and clear speech, these features can help you in politics and organizational activities.

Along with strengths, each of us also has weaknesses. Understanding them will help you not make a mistake when choosing your professional path. Are there anyone among your friends who graduated from a university, but does not work in their specialty? Statistics say that there are about 50% of such people! This is a huge number of specialists who did not right choice. One of the reasons is that many did not take into account their weaknesses.

What are a person's weaknesses? For example, for a lawyer, such a trait as impulsiveness will most likely be weak side, and will not allow you to build an argument without unnecessary emotions. For a recruiting manager, introversion will be a weakness, since a large amount of communication with different people and a high pace of work will be beyond his strength.

— Why is it so important to know your strengths?

Understanding your strengths and weaknesses is a great tool for increasing self-esteem. A person who loves, values ​​and respects himself is much better realized both in his profession and in other areas of his life. He is much more effective because he knows himself and puts this knowledge into practice.

Stop working on your weaknesses, trying to develop in a direction that does not suit you. You will achieve much better results by finding your strengths and starting to use them.
A person's strengths are powerful weapons in the hands of those who know how to use them!

— Personal qualities: advantages

A person's character strengths can be developed to varying degrees. But it is important that together they give a character capable of overcoming difficulties that arise, improving, and moving forward.

The list of human strengths includes the following:

1) Determination.
The ability to set goals and achieve them.

2) Persistence.
The ability to follow a clearly defined plan, overcome all the difficulties that arise and not change direction.

3) Willpower.
A strong-willed person bases his life not on his desires, but on necessity. The habit of doing what is important, and not what you want, helps not only in activities, but also in relationships with people. People with good willpower are restrained and know how to control their emotions and behavior.

4) Self-confidence.
Quality is an essential component of success. A person who believes in himself and his strength will perceive any situation as an opportunity to take a step forward. Confident people are less likely to experience depression and loneliness. They are more proactive and are not afraid to take risks. Such people attract other people to themselves, so they are often good leaders and leaders.

5) Communication skills.
The ability to communicate with different people is a good help in life and professional activity. A sociable person can not only find an approach to different people, but can also persuade people to accept his point of view.

6) Optimism.
A positive outlook on life is a good foundation for developing a strong character. An optimistic person sees in any situation a life lesson for which he is grateful to fate. It is pleasant to communicate with such people, because their positive charge extends to the people around them.

You may be interested in the article ““.

— Professional strengths

When hiring, every employer strives to find out the employee’s strengths. To do this, he can offer the applicant a questionnaire, tests, or try to understand the character from the interview. Most often, an employer wants to see the following strengths in a new specialist:

1) Hard work.
A person’s achievements directly depend on how much effort and time he is willing to spend on a certain task. Moreover, it is important to love not only the end result, but also the process of work itself.

2) Organization.
A person whose day is scheduled according to hours, and his immediate life according to goals, is much more effective in his activities. Such a person spends less time and has greater productivity compared to a person who does not know how to organize himself.

3) Responsibility.
No matter where a person gets a job, responsibility will always be required of him. It begins with the timely arrival of a person at workplace and permeates everything work time. Irresponsible people can become a burden to the organization and even lead to serious problems in the company or enterprise. That is why you should develop responsibility in yourself, control your words and actions, do your work on time and keep your word.

4) Learning ability.
Have Good work impossible if you don't have one important quality, like learning ability. Modern progress requires that workers keep their finger on the pulse and keep abreast of all the innovations that appear in their professional field.

— Three methods for discovering a person’s strengths

1) Talk to your loved ones and listen to their opinion on this matter.

2) Conduct several special tests - there are plenty of them on the Internet.

3) Go to trainings or personal sessions with a psychologist who will help you determine your strengths.

— How to competently use a person’s advantages?

The masterful ability to use your strengths is to act according to the situation.

That is, you must understand that the future boss needs to demonstrate some virtues (the ability to learn quickly, high qualifications, responsibility), but the loved one you want to marry needs to demonstrate completely different ones: the ability to cook deliciously, femininity, sexuality, readiness to compromise etc.

The problem for many people is that they do not understand to whom and when to demonstrate their strengths, therefore, instead of admiration, they cause bewilderment.

To make the most of your strengths, do this:

1) Decide on a list of your strengths.
If you have too few advantages or all of them characterize you, for example, as a good housewife, that is, only on one hand, then work on expanding and diversifying the list.

2) Showcase your strengths in a subtle way.
If you pride yourself on being punctual, then show up to work on time every day. Emphasize thriftiness and neatness in perfect order on the table.

Consider that you have impeccable taste and manners - don’t dare come to work with an unwashed hair and slurp at lunch, etc.
Sooner or later, those around you will begin to discuss your strengths themselves.

— How to correctly describe examples of character advantages in a resume?

Even if you are the happy owner of all these worthy traits, you need to distinguish yourself from the masses. So you can go two ways:

1) Just delete this item. Fully.
Believe me, most likely, the employer will not notice the absence of this point and will find out about everything during the interview. However, if such a list exists, the interview may not take place;

2) Choose two, no more, really strong character traits and describe them in detail - one full sentence or two.
Then they will look reasonable and not pompous. But avoid the thought spreading over the tree - it is necessary specific examples and details confirming this or that character trait.

Examples of describing character strengths in a resume: So, if you want to write about your focus, write - I quickly navigate the situation and know how to make decisions on my own, I finish the things I take on.

If you want to emphasize communication skills, describe related work experience, completed projects, contact base, etc. But remember that you should only describe those properties that are really important for the vacant position. It would be nice if, in support of this or that character trait, you give an example of a completed project and show the result to which your trait contributed. Employers are interested in specifics. Indicating strong character traits requires special delicacy. However, like all points related to the personal side. In addition, in the personality review it is worth indicating not only personal characteristics, but also specific skills.

- Why develop your dignity?

In order to become a leader, leadership skills alone are not enough; you need to cultivate other strengths. A person claiming to be a leader in any team must be able to think constructively and creatively, and also set an example to all his subordinates.

If you set yourself the task of becoming a leader in a team, you must start working on yourself and developing your human strengths, one of which is strength of character. People with this trait are able to influence others than people with other abilities. It is your character that is your calling card, by which others will form their opinion about you. Your character is a reflection of your mind, values, priorities.

Many are confident that a person’s character, at least the main part of it, is formed in early childhood, and later it can no longer be changed or modified. However, this belief is incorrect. In fact, a person’s character develops and changes throughout his life, although these changes occur rather slowly and are therefore not noticeable to others.

The main indicator of character can be considered a person’s behavior, which can be weak or strong, bad or good. We unmistakably highlight people with strong character by their energy, determination, strong nerves, endurance and willpower. The listed qualities are a person’s strengths, which means that by cultivating them you can become a real leader with a strong character.

Let's take a closer look at a person's strengths.
What qualities can be attributed to them? This list will be quite lengthy:

1) discipline,
2) honesty,
3) courage,
4) responsibility,
5) hard work,
6) patience,
7) self-confidence,
8) compassion,
9) justice,
10) leadership,
11) devotion,
12) reliability...

You can continue this for a long time.
People with these qualities are able to control themselves, their actions and thoughts, and also try to take the right actions.

- Conclusion

Each person has in his arsenal both strengths and weaknesses. To become successful and happy man it is important to know your positive and negative sides. This knowledge will help you find your purpose and get your dream job.

In addition, a person is constantly changing and can always turn any negative trait into a positive one. There would be a desire.

The material was prepared by Dilyara specifically for the site