Adding your Qualities to your CV
Written by Robert A. Stewart
Employers who receive your CV are interested in your qualities so what is a quality?
A quality is a characteristic; it is a strength. Someone’s good strengths are their qualities and abilities.
You must be able to provide an example of every quality you list on your CV.
Here are some examples:
PERSONAL QUALITIES: “I am a good team player.”
EXAMPLE: “I am part of the soccer/cricket/rugby/whatever team that has won xxx number of games this season.”
When giving an example of being a team player, you use the word “we,” rather than “I” all of the time and never use the word, “they” when talking about your previous employers.
PERSONAL QUALITIES: “I am good with children.”
EXAMPLE: “I babysit for my sister/auntie every weekend,” or “I look after the kids at church on Sundays.”
PERSONAL QUALITIES: “I am willing to learn.”
EXAMPLE: “At my last job we did such and such which was a huge learning curb for us.”
It is important not to sell yourself short in describing yourself. Your personal qualities are unique to you, they are your gifts.
When you are talking about past employers in an interview use the word “we” as this gives others the impression that you are a team player. Never refer to them as “they,”
Leave out information which may not be relevant to the job but certain skills which may not be important for the job you are applying for may in fact point to a quality which an employer is after.
For example you may be computer literate which is not relevant to the job but if you are teaching others how to do stuff online then this can be pointed out in the interview or on your CV.
Knowing what to leave out of your CV is just as important as what to include. It is a good idea to have different CVs tailored to different types of jobs, that way your CV will be relevant to the type of job you are applying for.
You need to keep in mind that if a potential employer has reason to believe that you may spend a lot of time on your devices during work time then he may overlook you for someone else.
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