Business qualities are a person’s ability to perform functions if he has a certain level of knowledge, education, work experience and personality characteristics. Without identifying and assessing them, it is difficult to entrust him with the performance of duties and count on their high-quality performance.
There are different approaches to defining business and professional qualities. Some people tend to believe that an employee’s professional qualities are the least important. The most popular position is that professionals reveal in more detail the characteristics of a specialist’s properties. Business skills are universal qualities for different types of work.
List of professional and personal qualities of an employee
What might an employee’s business qualities be, a list that should be followed? The list of them is of course large and varied. Currently, it is up to the employer to evaluate the actions of any employee, his level of professionalism, strengths and business qualities. This becomes a perfect task, helping to form an efficient team and significantly increase labor efficiency. But from the side of the employee himself, their list helps not only to create a competent resume sent when looking for a job, but also increases the chances of other potential applicants in the employment process.
The personal qualities of employees can be divided into 2 large categories: personal, which are initially innate and develop during the development stages of the person himself, and professional, which are acquired in the process of work and come with experience. A skillful combination of both, and constant work on oneself, provide a unique opportunity for career growth and good management. Let's look at these categories in more detail.
Professional qualities of the employee
Of course, in its standard understanding, this list can be huge, and the criteria that a manager uses when assessing a particular employee can differ significantly depending on the positions held, the functionality assigned to the employees, and the tasks assigned to them.
But let’s try to collect their frequently occurring positions into a single list.
- Self confidence. This is an acquired quality that gives a clear awareness of the impeccable performance of one’s functions and a kind of basis for further decision-making.
- Excellent knowledge of the features and technology of work, ways to improve it. It is developed with incoming experience and thanks to one’s own interest in the relevance of production changes.
- The ability to choose the right means and real methods for achieving the best results.
- Creativity. Defining an updated approach to an established production process and the opportunity to look at it from a different, non-standard perspective.
- Stress resistance. This is the ability to show restraint in one’s own reaction in relation to the situation or actions of employees.
- Planning your own work process in relation to efficiency and combining it with the work of the entire team.
- Emotional balance. Lack of a strong reaction to what is happening and regular maintenance of calm in conflict issues. It is developed over time in the stability of emerging situations.
- The desire to win. Regular desire to achieve the best performance in relation to other employees occupying the same positions in the organization.
- Distribution of powers and responsibilities. The ability to determine the priority of assigned tasks and delegate some powers to the team with their subsequent control.
- Clear and tough solutions to operational issues. In the process of well-established work, non-standard situations arise that require timely identification and resolution, and here only actual actions are necessary.
- Strictness and fairness towards one’s own actions and those of others. Abilities that enable you to evaluate work results.
- Organization of personnel work. The ability to professionally organize the process of activity so that each employee clearly understands their tasks and strives for their effective implementation.
Description of business qualities
Business qualities for hiring can be classified on various grounds, including motivation, range of job responsibilities, focus on colleagues, management or contractors, time of acquisition of qualities.
One of the common and broad classifications is the division into positive and negative. They will be considered separately, since in different situations the same property can be good, but in another case turn out to be bad. Also, some job characteristics are important for the boss, while others are important for the average specialist.
Personal qualities of employees
Personal qualities play no less important role than business qualities when applying for a job. Personal properties reveal the characteristics of a specialist as a person and show how he interacts with other people.
Some of them are laid down from childhood, formed in the family, the other part develops in society, in school and student groups.
Some personal characteristics can only be discovered during work; positive qualities can and should be developed to achieve professional goals. Professional and personal qualities are important for work. They are reflected in the resume of a candidate for a position, often business ones follow from personal ones.
Given the same professional characteristics, the employer studies a list of personal characteristics. The applicant should strive to show the strengths of his character and personality in his resume so that the manager makes an objective choice.
- Skill to work in team. Of course, this is very important when the team, as a whole, is determined to achieve results, to organize its work without conflicts and in a pleasant positive way with the rest of the employees.
- Justice and honesty. This is the key to the right attitude and the opportunity to demand the same attitude towards yourself.
- The ability to listen to other people’s opinions, accept advice and recommendations. You need to understand that the decision made may not always be the only true and correct one, and an outside perspective is sometimes able to most effectively assess the situation. It is important to simply accept such help.
- Adequate perception of criticism from outside. Do not think that the criticizing person is completely negative towards you. Perhaps this is simply a method to show real performance results and improve their level. Such criticism mostly brings positive results.
- Ability to defend your decisions and interests. In industrial disputes, based on evidence and facts, it is important to correctly convey performance indicators
- Integrity. This is a quality that helps you defend your own point of view.
- The ability to keep your word. This position convinces of responsibility and the opportunity to rely on your candidacy, confirming once again that you are a good employee.
- Showing tact. This is the ability with which it is possible to build better relationships in a team.
- Determination and perseverance. Such innate qualities allow you to defend your own position and convince management of the correctness of your decisions.
The assessment of the business qualities of employees for the first time occurs when hiring. It is here, during the interview process, that the head of the organization considers your candidacy positionally, mentally applying these qualities in relation to the future functionality of the job. And a little later, by conducting regular certifications, it helps to assess the suitability of abilities for the position held. During the assessment process, a number of other main tasks are solved:
- the most relevant place in the organizational structure is determined for more effective use of the strengths of the future employee;
- if necessary, develops an individual development program for employees;
- ways of possible motivation are determined;
- The satisfaction of personnel from their duties is considered.
On the one hand, such a process helps to actively collect all the necessary information to study the employee’s level of professionalism and the possible organization of his training, and on the other hand, it increases his motivation and develops the basis for future material incentives.
This list shows positive properties; there are also negative aspects of personality that are easy to identify through the opposites of positive properties. It is difficult to find an ideal employee; everyone has these and other characteristics in different proportions.
Business qualities: what to look for when selecting
An employee’s business qualities are the ability to perform job duties as specified in the job description. When choosing an employee, focus on the benefit he will bring to the organization. Take into account personal qualities - they characterize your attitude towards work.
Business and personal qualities of an employee: list
| Business qualities |
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| Personal qualities |
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| Important! The table lists a person's business qualities that can be used for a resume or job description. Only part of them will be enough for work. Keep in mind that a person cannot be endowed with all of them at the same time. |
A person’s business qualities directly depend on his personal ones—they are closely interrelated. When selecting a candidate for a vacant position, make a list of required and non-essential abilities and traits.
If an applicant has entered more than 5 characteristics into his resume, this means that he is not able to make a choice. The standard “punctuality”, “efficiency”, “responsibility” have become banal, so ask what the employee means by them.
Pay attention to such business qualities of the employee as “motivation to work”, “self-control”, “professionalism”. Job seekers often embellish skills and abilities.
To ensure the integrity of the information, ask for an illustration of the specified characteristics. Weed out people who voice contradictory qualities immediately.
If they are unable to decide on the characteristics, do not expect high performance from them.
| Business and personal qualities in a resume: example A specialist got a job in an organization, who wrote in his resume that he is distinguished by high efficiency and activity. The manager expected the employee to be willing to work overtime, but it turned out that by this he meant the ability to perform several tasks at the same time. |
Negative personal and business qualities of a manager
Ask applicants to include negative business qualities on their resumes, but don't expect honesty. Be lenient if the candidate does decide to fill out the column. Some of the negative characteristics help in work.
Negative business qualities of a person: list
- hyperactivity, restlessness;
- excessive emotionality, touchiness;
- greed, impudence;
- addiction to gossip;
- vindictiveness;
- inability to lie, straightforwardness;
- inability to work in a team;
- lack of work experience or education;
- lack of sense of humor;
- bad habits;
- self-confidence;
- modesty, shyness;
- poor communication skills, conflict.
An applicant who has entered negative business qualities of a person is honest and rash at the same time. If you want to know possible problems with it, ask to list them and give examples of when they appeared. Give the person the opportunity to present negative traits in a favorable light, listen to him. They often help with work and career advancement.
Projective questions for assessing an applicant for the position of head of the event organization department
Professional and business qualities of workers in various fields
Be careful when assessing an employee’s professional and business qualities. Don’t hire the first person you come across to fill the vacancy faster. You should believe the information in your resume, but it should be verified.
Required qualities:
- For employees in the field of promotion: communication skills, sociability, ability to work in a team, charm, energy, self-confidence.
- In the field of trade: skills of interaction with clients, flexibility of thinking, ability to negotiate, quick response, politeness, activity.
- Personal and business qualities of a leader: organizational skills, ability to find a common language and work in a team, lack of conflict, resourcefulness. Charm, quick decision-making, attentiveness, and balance are valued.
- Strengths of a specialist working with large volumes of data: attention to detail, quick learner, accuracy, organization.
- Professional, personal and business qualities of secretaries: business communication skills and interaction with clients, literacy, negotiation skills, business correspondence, the ability to perform several tasks at the same time. External data, tact, and balance are important.
Responsibility, stress resistance and attentiveness are useful in any field of activity. But the candidate, when writing these qualities into his resume, does not always take them seriously. Some people don't understand what they mean. They notice who is wearing what, but they lose sight of important nuances in work, do not respond to criticism, and confuse responsibility with performance.
Assessment of employee business qualities for HR
Assess an employee's business qualities before hiring so you don't waste time and money testing unsuitable candidates. If the organization does not have a specialist who can identify the personal and professional qualities of personnel, contact specialized personnel assessment and certification centers.
Decide on evaluation criteria - rely on business qualities. To be effective, focus on the characteristics needed for the position. To be confident in an employee, consider personal qualities. Conduct an assessment by ranking candidates. Place + and - according to certain criteria.
Which assessment methods to choose
Method 1. Letters of recommendation. Before studying the recommendations, clarify the reasons for leaving the previous organization. Then look at what the employer writes about the person, what moral and business qualities he indicates.
Ask a few probing questions to determine whether the information is reliable. For example, check whether the applicant asked for a good reference.
Of course, few people will answer honestly, but if you observe the reaction to the question, you will be able to draw the right conclusions.
See also: Correctly filling out the “About me” section in a resume: examples for different professions
Information in letters of recommendation may be incorrect in three cases:
- Before the dismissal, a conflict arose between the employee and the employer.
- The manager did not want to let the employee go, so he wrote badly about him.
- The employee was friends with the manager, and therefore received an ideal description, which he did not meet.
An employee’s business qualities may be clearly embellished or understated for characterization purposes. Take the information into account, but double-check it in other ways. You will spend time on this, but the risk of accepting an employee who you will have to part with due to a discrepancy between his business qualities and the position will be minimized.
Method 2. Tests. Testing will help you evaluate business qualities. But you need to understand that the results may be false. Use proven psychological questionnaires or order the development of individual test versions. Do not evaluate candidates using online methods - they often contain serious errors.
- Keirsey Leadership Questionnaire
- Other tests to assess business qualities
Method 3. Interviews. If you decide to evaluate business qualities at an interview, prepare questions in advance, for example the following:
- List your business qualities.
- What task or skill did you recently learn? What did you do for this?
- Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond what was required at work.
- If your best friend was sitting next to you right now, what quality would he say was your best?
- If you could change one thing about how you approach challenges, what would it be?
- How would your manager describe you in 3-5 words?
- What motivates you professionally?
Compose questions so that the answer to them demonstrates those business qualities that you consider mandatory in your work. If a person talks a lot, but at the same time speaks not to the point, be wary. This is a bad quality for absolutely all workers - they talk a lot and do little.
Method 4. Non-standard methods. Evaluate your personal and business qualities in a new way. Get creative. Ask the applicant to name his favorite style of music. Be prepared for the fact that some candidates do not understand styles and compositions, so they will only name songs.
Correct them correctly, but take note. As a rule, their overall development leaves much to be desired. During the interview, ask the applicant to describe any picture or write a story based on it.
It is important that animals or other symbols appear, because on the basis of them you will interpret the results and evaluate personal and business characteristics.
Method 5. Exams. In exams, business abilities can only be assessed hypothetically. It is important that the person demonstrates them, so use additional diagnostic methods.
Method 6. Role-playing games and cases involve completing tasks. Offer to complete “off-the-beaten path” tasks. Otherwise, the person will answer quickly and correctly, but will not demonstrate true business ability.
| Conclusion Avoid estimation mistakes. Give preference to candidates who are suitable for the position, rather than those with whom you personally like. A large list of business qualities should alert you. If an employee does not hesitate to praise himself, check him especially carefully. |
Business qualities for a resume. Examples of personal business qualities
Career and business qualities are inseparable concepts. Personal characteristics are an integral part of any resume, because on its basis the employer makes his final decision on hiring an employee. Therefore, it is important to select and indicate in your resume a list of basic personal business qualities that most accurately reflect your strengths.
Positive
Among them are those that characterize the attitude towards work responsibilities:
- discipline;
- perseverance;
- independence in making individual decisions;
- self-learning;
- accuracy in working with documents;
- ability to plan and distribute your time;
- foresight;
- creativity;
- the ability to clearly formulate your thoughts;
- ability to make quick decisions.
Those that show the nature of relationships with others:
- ability to find a common language with clients;
- knowledge of business etiquette;
- ability to speak in public;
- ability to organize events;
- skill to work in team;
- ability to persuade;
- professional integrity;
- balance, striving for the golden mean.
The list is not exhaustive, but contains a basic set, which, if desired, can be supplemented with some personal qualities of the employee.
Volitional characteristics
Let's touch on the main ones:
Purposefulness is a person’s focus on the chosen result of an activity. This property is divided into a strategic variety and a tactical one. The first is, in general, a person’s actions based on his moral positions, values and ideals. The second is the movement of the individual “step by step”, from one micro-goal to another until the result is achieved.
Initiative is a person’s focus on taking action. Usually precedes the beginning of a volitional act. Independent individuals have this property. Initiative is associated with independence.
Independence is a person’s voluntary and active attitude to make decisions in accordance with his principles and beliefs.
Will is not considered an innate quality , but is considered by psychology as a quality, the formation of which occurs on the basis of a person’s personal choice.
How to present yourself correctly
When compiling a list of qualities of an employee of an organization, it is necessary to list and explain:
- Personal qualities of a person. These are the characteristics that appeared during his socialization.
- Business qualities of the employee. These are the characteristics that describe a person as a potential specialist.
- Key skills. You need to point out the skills acquired at school, university or while working in another company that will help you cope with tasks in a new place.
When compiling this list, there is no need to deviate from the main goal of the resume - further employment in a prestigious organization. You should not list those personal qualities that you do not possess. The deception will be revealed quickly, but the feeling of shame will remain for a long time.
The importance of morality in society
Morality is a set of voluntarily accepted rules for a person, which are of decisive importance in a person’s behavior and his attitude towards himself and others.
It is formed by the influence of many components:
- family values;
- individual experience;
- school influence;
- society.
Within the definition, there is differentiation into such subspecies as:
- racial;
- religious;
- humanistic.
The role of moral positions is important for any social group. There is an opinion that racists, bigots and others lack moral principles and moral qualities. This judgment is erroneous and unscientific. Also, according to research, such social groups have genetic roots and cannot always be controlled by humans.
What to write in the personal qualities section of a resume
To make the list of qualities for your resume look presentable, you need to learn how to present yourself beautifully. There is simply no standard selection of parameters. We are all different and choose different areas of activity accordingly.
Psychologists advise writing only about those personal qualities of a person that are inherent specifically to you. You shouldn’t be disingenuous, because once you’re at an interview, the employer will certainly ask you to demonstrate them using some specific example. Think about what character traits can be considered winning.
The number of your strengths should be limited to five points - this will increase your chances of getting a vacant position.
What qualities of an employee are important when hiring?
When submitting a resume, the applicant needs to scrupulously evaluate his professional abilities, analyze and sort out all aspects of his character.
A template set of personal qualities in a resume, an example might look like this:
- Balance, self-control, perseverance, hard work, discipline;
- ability to persuade, ambition, good diction, determination;
- self-confidence, ability to adapt to change, ability to work in a team;
- accuracy, quick learner, good diction, perseverance;
- oratory skills, decency, presentable appearance;
- desire for development, result orientation, punctuality;
- honesty, fairness, sense of humor, energy, organization.
Many people ask the question: is it necessary to list? In cases where the employer does not ask you to dwell on your negative qualities, it is better to omit this point and limit yourself only to strong character traits. But what if the recruiter still insists on indicating your disadvantages?
What negative qualities should you include in your resume?
This is one of those points where frankness will not benefit you. Describe only the neutral aspects of your character, which cannot in any way be reflected in the desired position or in this field of activity will be interpreted as advantages.
The description of personal qualities in a resume for a sales manager may sound, for example, like this: excessive sociability, workaholism, restlessness, distrust.
Here are some versions of qualities that you can safely present to an employer as negative:
- simplicity, straightforwardness, intolerance of rudeness, inability to lie;
- pedantry, selfishness, self-demandingness, excessive scrupulousness;
- excessive emotionality, increased sense of responsibility.
# Inappropriate negative character traits
Do not indicate disadvantages if they go against direct responsibilities. For example, shyness that is suitable for a programmer is not at all suitable for a fitness trainer. Therefore, the column must be drawn up based on the specifics of the desired position.
Below are examples of a bad combination of qualities and future profession. Please note that for excellent positions, shortcomings are quite acceptable.
