Adding your Qualities to your CV
Employers who receive your CV are interested in your qualities, so what is a quality?
A quality is a characteristic; it is a fortress. Someone’s good strengths are her qualities and abilities.
You must be able to provide an example of each quality you list on your CV.
Here are some examples:
PERSONAL QUALITIES: “I am a good team player.”
EXAMPLE: “I am part of the football/cricket/rugby/whatever team that has won xxx number of games this season.”
Giving an example of being a team player, he uses the word “we” instead of “I” all the time and never uses the word “they” when talking about his previous employers.
PERSONAL QUALITIES: “I’m good with children.”
EXAMPLE: “I babysit my sister/aunt every weekend” or “I babysit 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 brake for us.”
It is important not to underestimate yourself when describing yourself. Your personal qualities are unique to you, they are your gifts.
When talking about previous 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 “them”,
Leave out information that may not be relevant to the job, but certain skills that may not be important to the job you’re applying for may, in fact, indicate a quality an employer is looking for.
For example, you may be computer literate, which is not relevant to the job, but if you are teaching others how to do things online, 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’s 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’re applying for.
You should be aware that if a potential employer has reason to believe that you may be spending a lot of time on your devices during work time, then it may be overlooked by someone else.
Your job is to convince prospective employers of the benefits of hiring you. What’s in it for them?