Great Personal Skills and Qualities for Any CV

In recruitment, your personal skills and qualities are the soft skills that affect how you work. These personality traits make you efficient, reliable, and easy to work with.

Just as having the right technical skills on your CV confirm you have enough industry knowledge for the job, the right personal skills show you’re a good fit for the company culture. Here are some of the most sought-after traits to highlight on your CV, along with tips for convincing employers that you actually have them.

10 examples of personal skills and qualities for your CV

Personal skills and qualities largely fall into two groups: interpersonal skills and self-management skills. Both skill types belong on your CV.

Interpersonal skills affect how you work with team members, while self-management skills help you work independently. Because almost every job involves teamwork and independent work, you should mention both when writing your CV.

The following list includes interpersonal and self-management skills, along with examples you can use on your CV to show them.

1. Communication

Strong communication skills are important for expressing yourself clearly and in as few words as possible. But they aren’t just important for writers and creative types.

Back in 2012, a study by McKinsey found that effective communication improves productivity by 25%. Since then, digital communication tools and AI have made communication skills even more important in the workplace.

Here are a few experiences you could describe on your CV to convey strong communication skills:

• Public speaking
• Collaborative projects
• Conflict mediation
• Writing for diverse audiences
• Proficiency in specific communication tools

2. Leadership

Hiring someone with strong leadership skills is important for better team performance, morale, and employee retention.

Employers generally want to know about your experience in the following areas:

• Mentorship
• Task delegation
• Empathy
• Project management

Here’s what an example of leadership might look like in your work experience section:

Led a team of 15 personnel to implement a new lean manufacturing process, resulting in a 15% reduction in production lead time

3. Empathy

Empathetic team members are better at understanding their colleagues’ opinions, needs, and challenges.

This personal skill helps effective communication and supports overall employee engagement. It’s also essential in public-facing jobs, such as retail, hospitality, and healthcare.

Incorporate these details into your CV to present your empathy as a valuable personal skill:

• Positive customer feedback
• Conflict resolution experience
• Testimonials

You can demonstrate empathy on your CV in your personal statement or work experience section:

Praised for my ability to build friendly rapport with customers, maintaining a caller satisfaction rate of over 95%

4. Creativity

Creativity brings new ideas and different viewpoints to an organisation. This makes it a desirable personal quality in any industry. Being creative also involves curiosity, intuition, and the confidence to try new ideas — so it’s also a valuable trait for leadership roles.

Here are some experiences that emphasise creativity on a CV:

• Creating original content (written, video, audio)
• Coming up with original ideas for products or services
• Introducing improvements to company operations
• Running your own business or freelance service

And here’s how you might present one of those achievements on your CV:

Led a strategic overhaul of our agency’s blog, shifting from product-focused posts to industry thought leadership. We saw a 40% increase in organic traffic within three months.

5. Curiosity

When seeking curiosity, employers look for candidates who are inquisitive, ask ‘why?’, and dig deeper into problems rather than accepting surface-level answers. Curiosity is the basis of innovation and is essential for any organisation to grow and develop.

There are a few ways you can convey curiosity to employers:

• Include different certifications, courses, and classes in your education section
• Include a varied skills section highlighting different tools, strengths, and professional interests
• End your CV with a hobbies and interests section that shows your proactivity

Here’s an example of curiosity on a CV hobbies and interests section:

Programming languages: Self-teaching Python using Udemy, practising my coding skills by developing a text-based number guessing game

6. Growth mindset

Having a growth mindset means that you strive to improve yourself through self-reflection, practise, perseverance. Employees who cultivate growth mindsets are more likely to align with company goals and deliver the results that employers want to see.

Here are some ways to emphasise this personal quality on your CV:

• Emphasise independent work, hobbies, and learning goals that align with your career goals
• Include a CV section for certifications and continuing professional development
• Use metrics in your work experience section to show you keep track of your performance

This applicant emphasises their growth mindset by including precise career goals in their education section:

Voice and accent coach dedicated to nurturing vocal excellence in film and theatre. Leveraging experience at two local drama schools and the Royal Shakespeare Company, I continuously enhance my pedagogical and practical skills through ongoing CPD, academic research, and active participation in conferences.

7. Accountability

Showing that you possess a strong sense of ownership over your actions and their outcomes shows employers that you’re someone they can rely on.

Accountability is shown through action, and you’ll only build trustworthiness over time. However, mentioning the following information can give employers an early indicator that you have this valuable quality:

• Positive feedback from previous employers
• Consistent positiveperformance metrics (e.g., customer satisfaction rates)
• Strong academic performance throughout your education section

Here’s how you could show accountability in your personal profile:

Proven reliability having received consistently high feedback in performance reviews during my 5 years at Emmerson Technology.

8. Time management

A highly effective way to impress a hiring manager is to provide proof that you organise your work, prioritise tasks, and consistently meet deadlines.

Your best opportunities to show time management will come when you write your cover letter and answer the employer’s job interview questions. But the following details are also signs that you can organise your time efficiently:

• A strong academic record
• Leadership or management experience
• Experience working in high-pressure environments (e.g., busy restaurants, offices)

This work experience bullet point reflects strong time management skills:

Led a front-of-house team of 12 staff members through consistently high-volume periods, providing clear direction and maintaining positive team morale, even during the most demanding shifts

9. Critical thinking

When employers say they’re looking for critical thinking skills, they’re looking for evidence of your ability to gather, review, and evaluate information independently. You could present that experience by showing project management experience in a corporate setting or shop floor management experience in a retail environment.

Here are a few achievements and experiences that highlight your critical thinking skills:

• Research experience
• Independent projects
• Problem-solving experience in previous roles

Features editor for Fantastic Flora, passionate about delivering impactful nature narratives. Success in streamlining editorial processes, resulting in a 10% increase in on-time publication while maintaining high content quality and boosting reader engagement with critically curated articles. Possess sharp analytical skills to identify compelling stories and ensure their accurate and engaging presentation.

10. Stress management

The ability to remain effective and productive in demanding or stressful situations is a professional strength with wide utility in the workplace — what job doesn’t have deadlines?

Equipping your work experience section with evidence of your ability to manage your time and address problems and challenges under pressure is an effective way to highlight your stress management skills.

If you’re writing a CV for your first job and don’t have work experience yet, highlight your stress management skills in your personal statement:

Cardiff Metropolitan University undergraduate seeks part-time Barista role at Costa Coffee. Strong communication and teamwork skills demonstrated through successful Project Leader role at Cardiff Enactus Mett. Commended by team members for maintaining team effectiveness in the face of unexpected project challenges. Eager to contribute enthusiasm and adaptability to your team.

Tips for demonstrating personal skills and qualities on your CV

Knowing which personal skills and qualities to highlight, and how to present them clearly, is what makes the best CV examples stand out.

These tips will help you make sure you present the right information clearly and effectively.

Identify which personal skills and qualities the employer is looking for

Analyse the job description to find the personal skills and qualities the employer wants. Employers value cultural fit, and they often specify desired traits under headings like ‘About You’ or ‘Job Requirements.’

We are seeking a detail-oriented and enthusiastic individual to join our team as a Junior Assistant.

Highlight key personal qualities in your personal profile

Putting desirable personal qualities in your personal profile is a great way to align your CV with the position and make it appear thoughtful and personalised.

Treat any personality traits that were mentioned in the job description like keywords, mirroring the recruiter’s language where accurate and truthful.

BSc Business Administration graduate eager to pursue a career in e-commerce. Proven ability to apply strong analytical and organisational skills to achieve impactful results in various academic projects. Eager to contribute to your team’s success in the role of Junior Assistant.

Give evidence of personal skills in your work experience section

You need to go beyond finding the right keywords for your CV. Support your claims with evidence, and be prepared to discuss personal skills in the job interview.

Skills like leadership and teamwork can be easily demonstrated in your work experience section. Use bullet points to describe relevant achievements, and use metrics to show your effectiveness.

Worked closely with the content and social media teams to track and test campaign performance, providing recommendations on effective marketing approaches

Illustrate personal qualities in your cover letter

Emphasise more abstract traits, like curiosity, when you make your cover letter. A cover letter allows you to put personality into your job application and give context to your achievements.

Even a short cover letter explaining who you are and why you’re applying can help align your profile with the employer’s needs.

Build My Cover Letter