Did you know that talking about your qualities can make the difference in getting a job interview? Well, yes. With equal skills, recruiters are interested in the candidate's personality. For some companies, personal and human qualities are even favored over technical skills... That's what I mean! What qualities exist? How to choose qualities for your resume? How to include them in your resume? Here are some tips on how to stand out from the crowd thanks to your qualities!
Qualities VS soft skills
Recruiters are very interested in soft skills, so what is the difference between soft skills and qualities?
Globally, skills are the know-how that each person can develop through different professional or non-professional experiences. Team spirit, rigor, adaptability, stress management and self-learning are soft skills, for example.
Qualities, on the other hand, are personal characteristics that you have always had. They are your character traits. You are funny, kind, open-minded, enthusiastic, optimistic, wise, persevering, clever, creative... These are your qualities;
20 examples of qualities
Rigorous
Autonomous
Dynamics
Listening
Patient.e
Loyal.e
Sociable
Curious.se
Organized
Proactive
Caring
Sensitive
Generous.se
Courageous.se
Cultivated
Tenacious
Eloquent.e
Ambitious
Authentic
Diplomat
Why talk about your qualities in your resume?
There are many reasons to put your human qualities forward in your resume;
Here are 5 of them:
You have little or no work experience
For a first job or a student job, you can rely on other elements to sell your profile via your resume: your academic background and your school projects, your interests, your personal qualities.
The recruiter favors soft skills
If you are applying for a job offer in which soft skills are predominant, it is in your best interest to talk about your personal qualities. This is the case with more and more recruiters;
The competition is tough
Your job search is for an industry, an organization or a position that attracts a lot of people. Your personality and your originality could well make you stand out!
You apply as a spontaneous application
To apply as an unsolicited application, you don't have a job offer in front of you giving you indications on how to write a resume in line with the organization's missions. On the other hand, you can try to understand their values via their website and include in your resume personal qualities that are in line with their values;
You want to be hired for your qualities
If your personal qualities are your strong points, if you wish to join an organization where you can fully express your personality, a culture that values each individual for his or her personal qualities, then you can talk about your qualities to attract the attention of recruiters who will prioritize their selection on these criteria.
How to present your qualities in your resume?
To write your resume, you can build a layout with several headings
Catchphrase
Academic background
Professional experience
Areas of interest
Skills
Where can you talk about your qualities?
In the catchphrase
The introduction of your resume, the catchphrase allows you to highlight your assets for the position, the organization or the sector of activity in 2 or 3 lines maximum. You can talk about your achievements and include your qualities.
One example: "My diplomatic side, combined with my tenacity, helps me overcome obstacles in my business negotiations."
A second one: "My proactivity and perseverance have allowed me to raise more than XX€ to finance (Name of the association).
💡 On your LinkedIn profile, you may have already written a catchphrase, which you can use for your resume, if it is relevant to your application.
In the centers of interest
Here, the recruiter will be able to deduce your qualities through the interests you have;
For example, if you have been practicing theater for 9 years, what qualities can be deduced from this information?
- Your perseverance, to maintain this activity for 9 years.
- Your taste for oral expression.
- Your elocution.
- Your ability to adapt to different roles, to different productions.
And if you photograph the animals in your area :
- Your observation skills.
- Your patience.
- Your creativity.
- Your sensitivity.
In the skills
Of course, your human qualities can be placed in the "skills" section! You can for example present this section in 2 sub-sections like this:
Skills
Techniques / Know-how
Soft Skills / Savoir-êttre
And place your personal qualities in the Soft Skills/Savoir-être section.
Some reminders to write your resume!
To create a professional resume and get the job of your dreams, here are some recommendations
The recovery of keywords
If some of your personal qualities appear word for word on the job offer or the organization's website, you can use the same keywords in your resume!
Mistakes
We can't say it enough, spelling mistakes can be prohibitive in a resume. Remember to proofread your resume or have it proofread by your friends and family.
The chronology
Writing a resume in chronological order will help your reader to follow each step of your professional and academic career;
The copy/paste
On the internet, there are many templates, resume models to download, free resumes to fill in. They are there to inspire you and our advice is to avoid copying and pasting the data that is written on them. Communicating your personal information in your own way will make a difference!
To go further
👉What soft skills for your resume ?
👉How to write a student cover letter ?