The formation of a person’s character and behavior occurs through the prism of his inherent advantages and disadvantages. There are negative and positive qualities in each of us; life would not be so interesting if we did not strive for the best, if we did not try to become more perfect.
But the attitude towards your negative traits is another question, which can have three different scenarios:
- I am this way from birth, this is my personality. If someone doesn't like my shortcomings, don't communicate with me.
- I am bad! I can't keep my emotions to myself. And that’s why I won’t see relationships, promotions at work, decent wages, etc.
- I am aware of my shortcomings and will try to do my best to get rid of them or reduce their manifestation.
A person who lives according to the third principle, constantly working on himself, has every opportunity to transform disadvantages into advantages.
Human dignity
Following the principles of public education, a person should not focus on his merits. It is considered more correct to apply them in practice, in the form of noble deeds.
A well-mannered person has hundreds of virtues.
In search of ways for development and improvement, a person should not go to extremes. You need to try to remain an individual - to achieve public recognition without blending in with the crowd.
A person who constantly works on himself has the following advantages:
- The ability to be compassionate. Showing concern for your neighbor in both sorrow and joy, supporting and helping any living creature is not just a virtue. This is either a gift or painstaking work on yourself.
- Development alone is impossible. To develop communication skills, you need the skill of communicating with familiar and unfamiliar people. This will help you develop not only intellectually, but also socially.
- Nobility and selfless help are a manifestation of the highest morality.
- The most important human qualities are devotion and fidelity.
- Reading between the lines - the ability to grasp details. This quality will allow you not to drown in the information flow.
- To prevent mistakes in the process of improvement, it is necessary to have foresight and insight.
By improving these moral and volitional qualities, a person complements his individual positive character traits.
In addition, they are excellent helpers in controlling negative emotions that push them to actions that are not typical for a well-mannered person.
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.
But such a list is absolutely not suitable for a person whose job is to communicate with people. Sales managers can point out the following negative character traits:
- 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.
Good to know: Your strengths in your resume
A good example would be the following wording:
- 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.
Personality flaws
A person has a unique set of qualities, each of which can be classified as both advantages and disadvantages.
Let's look at the example of responsiveness and generosity. Public opinion positions these qualities as positive, but looking from a different perspective, we begin to perceive them as negative.
If someone needs help, a sympathetic person will definitely provide support. And this is considered a virtue. But with excessive responsiveness, it is difficult for a person to live; he cannot resist the “exploiters” around him and refuse requests. From this perspective, responsiveness is already a flaw for its owner.
There is no arguing about generosity either; it is undoubtedly one of the virtues. But in the case of immeasurable generosity, when a person begins to distribute gifts in all directions, to the detriment of himself and his loved ones, this already becomes a negative quality and is called wastefulness.
Disadvantages are personal characteristics that negatively affect, first of all, the life of the person who possesses them.
Any human passion can become a vulnerable spot, for example:
- destructive emotions - rage, sudden mood swings, hot temper;
- depravity - greed, gluttony, envy, etc.
You can conditionally divide all the shortcomings into groups:
- Psychological : restlessness, rigidity, laziness, deceit, cynicism, excessive sociability or, on the contrary, isolation, lack of self-control, the need for constant evaluation of actions, low or high self-esteem, etc. These shortcomings can drive their owner into deep depression, creating problems at work and in personal life.
- Physical : problem skin, crooked teeth, weight, height, etc. These physical flaws are purely subjective, each of them can be turned into some kind of highlight. If you don’t work on them, then they can provoke complexes and non-acceptance of your inner world. And in the future, deep personal problems, unfulfillment and misunderstandings with other people may arise.
- Female : shopaholism, callousness, resentment, swagger or excessive modesty, duplicity, greed, excessive narcissism or denial of one’s feminine side, lack of emotion. Such flaws lead to the development of diseases and destroy personal life. Lack of emotional self-control disrupts feminine energy, which begins to repel men.
- Male : rudeness, stinginess, sloppiness, lack of determination, dictatorial and patriarchal views on life, etc. Such shortcomings do not allow men to calmly build a career and personal life.
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.
Good to know: What to write about me in a resume
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.
How to get rid of shortcomings
You can improve your life and give meaning to your existence through personal growth and self-improvement. By getting rid of a quality that interferes with your life, you make your life path easier and more joyful.
Step-by-step plan for getting rid of shortcomings:
- Recognize your shortcomings. Often, a person knows what exactly prevents him from living in peace. To improve your characteristics, start by analyzing the irritating qualities in the people around you. They are the ones that bother you because you cannot accept them within yourself.
- Having discovered a shortcoming, there is no need to remain inactive and complain about life, taking the position of a victim. Some people take pleasure in their “suffering”, but at the same time become incapable of responsibility and control of their lives.
- Realize your shortcomings. You need to understand and accept it. Also, you should not strive to correct the shortcomings of your loved ones, but try to accept the person along with his shortcomings. If you can’t accept it and he continues to bother you, start with yourself, not with your loved ones.
- Control and tracking your thoughts. It will be difficult at first, but anyone can learn it. Then gradually all shortcomings will become conscious and under your control.
- Flaw analysis. Understand his character, how he interferes, what he can lead to. Draw a mental picture of what will happen to you if the flaw remains with you forever and how this could end. This will be a motivation to quickly get rid of your negative quality.
- Replacing disadvantage with advantage. By destroying the irritant, you will free up space that needs to be filled with something. If you don’t fill this place with something correct and positive in time, you risk acquiring new shortcomings and bad habits or the return of old shortcomings with new strength.
- Forget about excuses. Both yourself and your shortcomings.
- Find the source of its origin, understand where this deficiency came from. The bulk of complexes and qualities originate from childhood. By observing his parents, the child absorbs their behavior, which establishes and programs his further development.
- We multiply the positive quality acquired after getting rid of the negative.
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.
Along with positive personality characteristics, you can also indicate your weaknesses in your resume. This point shows your attitude towards yourself, your ability to self-criticize. It is rarely present in a standard resume, but may appear in a questionnaire asked to be filled out by an employer. In addition, a question about a person’s weaknesses can often be asked during an interview.
Return to resume sample
Advantages and disadvantages of a resume
When filling out an employer’s application form, you may come across a point where you are required to indicate your shortcomings. This is just a test of the candidate's adequate self-esteem, and not an attempt to identify all your imperfections.
If such a point appears in the questionnaire, do not be alarmed and do not skip this column. Everyone has shortcomings.
When choosing qualities for your resume, take into account the specifics of the position you want to get, correlating them with your personal capabilities and abilities. Basically, the applicant must have the following strengths:
- discipline;
- responsibility;
- determination;
- attentiveness;
- responsibility;
- communication skills;
- work for results;
- resistance to stress;
- ability to learn, etc.
Stop at a couple (no more!) of your strengths, write a description about each. One sentence is enough, but in detail and with specifics.
Here are examples of strong characteristics for a resume:
- I work for results - I don’t leave unfinished business, I’m able to make timely decisions, and I’m quite active in communication.
- Sociable - has experience working as a sales manager, as well as an interviewer.
Analyze your qualities, choose the most worthy of those that may be required for a future position. Once you have decided, describe it interestingly and in detail. This will interest the employer faster than a list of banal, meaningless words.
What shortcomings can be included in a resume?
The list of negative qualities should be thought through in advance. In everyday life they may be disadvantages, but for the desired position they will be advantages.
For example, a person’s ability to see flaws in everything is considered a flaw, but at the same time it is necessary for those who work as auditors or test programs.
Examples of resume weaknesses that may turn out to be strengths:
- Excessive need for communication;
- Workaholism and inability not to think about work;
- Pickiness and corrosiveness;
- Formalism;
- Slowness;
- Reliability;
- Meticulousness to detail;
- Lack of flexibility, unable to make compromises in work;
- I do not hold back in expressing my own opinion, straightforwardness;
- Over-energy, restlessness;
- Excessive display of emotions, hot temper.
Let's highlight neutral disadvantages suitable for all professions:
- Numerous phobias (confined spaces, insects, fear of heights or flying, etc.);
- Dependence is weakness on something (sweets, animals, etc.);
- Susceptibility to excessive analysis of one’s steps and miscalculations.
What disadvantages scare employers away?
You should not indulge in frankness when listing your shortcomings. Some of your weaknesses can create an unpleasant impression and intimidate employers.
These qualities include:
- Periodic delays and tardiness;
- Laziness;
- Lack of independence, inability to make decisions;
- Inattention, frequent breaks, spending time on social networks;
- Purely monetary interest;
- Commitment to office romances;
- Complete lack of responsibility.
Each of us has shortcomings. You just need to understand and accept them, constantly work on yourself and improve yourself. In this case, small shortcomings can be compensated by large advantages.
What to write
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.
Good to know: What to write in your resume about the reasons for dismissal
Ingratitude
Also Gabriel García Márquez Fr. Of course, we often encounter ungrateful people, but what do we know about this quality?
Ingratitude can be of two types:
- White (the person did not appreciate your good deed, forgot to simply say “thank you”), which is a matter of education.
- Black (after your good deed, a person seeks to harm you, to make you worse), which is akin to envy and involves the inevitable infliction of harm on the benefactor.
Of course, black ingratitude is a characteristic of a demoralized personality with a distorted picture of values. You simply need to avoid such people.
What else can push us away from a person?
Lack of sense of humor
Certainly! Inability to joke or understand jokes and take everything seriously. Nobody likes pessimists, bores, people want to smile, have fun and enjoy life, but is it possible to do this without laughter and encouragement?
If you have problems with a sense of humor, we advise you to watch this video:
Also, do not forget that a good sense of humor is only possible if a person is sufficiently erudite. Therefore, the next repulsive quality I would like to mention is stupidity.
Overconfidence
Despite the absurdity of all the paths that our brain takes without warning, it does not feel discomfort due to a lack of self-confidence. Usually people have more than is necessary. For example, when many people express their absolute confidence in something, the probability of them being right fluctuates somewhere around 80%. Approximately 90% of drivers are confident that they are the best at driving a car.
People think they are above average in all areas. The less knowledge you have in a particular area, the more confidence you have in your own abilities.
Even the greatest specialists can have inflated self-confidence. Look, at least, not at the same drivers mentioned above. After all, they are not saints, and they can just as easily get into trouble as inexperienced drivers. And surgeons also have a human factor; they also tend to make mistakes. After all, there were and are cases when they stitched up patients with instruments forgotten inside, or began operations without the necessary equipment. This is a very serious problem, behind which stands more than one ruined human life.
Hard work
A person's strengths and weaknesses are usually paired. If a person has a positive quality, then the negative is alien to him. An example from the daily life of an administrator will serve as proof of this statement. An energetic girl who loves her job will serve clients with pleasure and a wide smile. At home, the lady will find the strength to cook dinner, read a fairy tale to the child, put him to bed, and also pay attention to her husband. The life of such persons is in full swing. Hardworking people are energetic and enthusiastic. A person with a similar type of character cannot even have the thought of being lazy in his head. Even on vacation, people work no less than at home. A hardworking person will be happy to go on excursions and take part in mass entertainment.
Negative character traits
A person's shortcomings can be expressed by his character. There are probably no people who do not have negative character traits. It is known that character is the stable mental properties of a person. What are his negative traits?
- Since ancient times, it has been common for a person to consider pride as the confidence that he is the cause of everything that happens, both positive and negative.
- With overconfidence, people exaggerate the level of their capabilities.
- By their lust for power, people show their desire for supremacy; it is difficult to communicate with them and arrange their personal life.
- Spendthrift people are equated with vain people. To attract increased attention and gain respect, they are dispersed in all directions. It’s especially bad when this happens at the expense of other people’s resources, for example, parents’ money.
- Thrifty, stingy and greedy personalities can be expressed to varying degrees. Greedy people are considered the most stingy, who obsess over money and the possession of material goods.
- Feelings of guilt occur due to low self-esteem.
- Abusive individuals do not know how to adequately assess the situation. To relieve their own tension, they try to harm someone.
- Vengeful people have an obsessive desire to strike back in a tit-for-tat manner.
Weaknesses related to profession (examples)
Any human weakness can become a strength in the workplace if you look at it from a different angle. But for each profession you need to highlight those aspects that will be advantageous.
For example , restlessness will be a positive trait for a sales manager.
Let's look at a few examples of indicating weaknesses in a resume or application form for certain positions.
Seller, manager
Salesperson is the most popular profession, for which a large number of vacancies usually open. The profession of a manager is associated with constant communications, negotiations with clients, and the conclusion of contracts. In the resume paragraph about weak character traits, you can indicate:
Can | It is forbidden |
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Head
Leadership in a team is associated with such personal qualities as:
Can | It is forbidden |
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Specialist
Knowledge of the specifics of work, the ability to quickly and smoothly complete assigned tasks, and avoid technical errors - all these traits distinguish a specialist in any field of activity. Therefore, an example of a weakness in a resume could be:
Can | It is forbidden |
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Accountant
The work of an accountant is related to numbers, calculations, and reports. There is no need to be sociable here, so focus on this when indicating your weaknesses:
Can | It is forbidden |
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What weaknesses are not worth mentioning?
The basic rule for filling out this item in a resume is the number of specified traits (no more than three) and their combination with professional responsibilities. But there are aspects of human character that under no circumstances should be included in a resume.
A potential employer will probably not want to consider a resume where the applicant has indicated the following among his weaknesses:
- passivity, laziness and carelessness;
- I constantly fly in the clouds;
- not ready to make decisions;
- you cannot concentrate on completing the task at hand, you are often distracted;
- lack of punctuality;
- conflict;
- absent-mindedness;
- selfishness;
- amorousness;
- habit of lying.
We recommend that you familiarize yourself with examples of character strengths and weaknesses in a resume.
Sources used:
- https://woplan.net/dostoinstva-i-nedostatki-cheloveka-spisok-v-rezyume-iv-zhizni/
- https://dlya-sebya.com/garmoniya/nedostatki-cheloveka
- https://rezume2016.ru/razdely/kakie-slabye-storony-ukazat-v-rezyume/
- https://rezumy.ru/slabye-storony-haraktera-v-rezjume-primery/