Often, when writing an essay, it is confused with an essay. However, there are some differences between these two literary genres, which should be understood.
An essay is a short prose sketch, written in free form and expressing the author’s subjective attitude to the topic of writing. In an essay, the author may not fully disclose the topic or provide comprehensive information, but only express his impressions about a topic. The article will help you figure out how to correctly write a short essay about your merits.
Essay style about your best qualities
Compared to an essay, an essay is characterized by a free form of writing with a large number of aphorisms and statements, presented in the manner of a discussion.
To correctly compose an essay, you should adhere to certain rules when writing:
- Maintain the writing format - the volume of text should be small .
- Avoid paraphrasing; the topic should present an individual view on the topic being described. You are allowed to express your own opinion in free form, using figurative reflection.
- It is necessary to maintain the integrity of the writing, as well as the accessibility of the semantic content. In an essay about your best qualities, you should include only the necessary information that affects the topic of the story.
- The structure of the essay should be clear and consistent; in one paragraph, no more than one main idea should be revealed.
- The story should reflect the author's awareness of what he is talking about: ideas and worldviews, terms, concepts of theory and generalizations.
- The author needs to be convincing in his statements, skillfully present supporting, reliable facts on the topic of the essay, in order to defend his position of views.
Signs
What not to do?
Since each candidate will build his story based on his own experience, it makes sense not only to give advice on what to say, but also on what words will make a negative impression on the recruiter. So what can hurt?
- Exaggerating your merits
Elena Belova warns: “As an example of how not to answer, we can give an example from recent practice.
A candidate applying for the position of project manager said: “There is simply no better production worker in Russia and the CIS than me!” A logical question arises: if the applicant is so good, then why is he actively searching and changing employers every six months or a year? The conclusion is simple: a person cannot adequately assess his own abilities, which means he can hardly be trusted with leadership.” As you know, excessive modesty in an interview does not bring benefits, but unsubstantiated statements will do a disservice. If a person claims that he is the best, then he must have strong evidence.
- "Exposing" an old employer
Whatever your relationship with your previous employer, you should not try to explain to the new one how you were misunderstood, misappreciated, and treated poorly.
Here are two stories about the same situation. First: “This is just some kind of disgrace! A new boss came, brought in his people, gave them the most promising projects, and we have to endure this? Almost all the employees immediately put the application on the table!”
Second: “In April of this year, our leadership changed, and the new boss brought his team. This is understandable: he doesn’t know us, so he hired trusted specialists. They have good working methods, but they happen to duplicate most of our functions. Therefore, many of my colleagues, including myself, chose to start looking for a new job.”
Obviously, the second candidate will be preferable for the employer, since he is capable of a calm, unemotional assessment of events.
When thinking through a story about yourself, you should structure each sentence with a plus sign, excluding the negative connotation of any information (non-core education, insufficient work experience, a conflict situation with leaving a previous employer) - all this can play into your hands.
- Criticism of the new employer
The situation looks even more strange when an applicant, having barely become familiar with the activities of the organization, begins to share “creative” plans, while leaving no stone unturned from the work of his predecessors. If a person promises at an interview: “When I come, I’ll put things in order here!”, the chances are very high that he will not be invited to work.
- Too detailed story about family, hobbies and personal life
This topic is not taboo, but you shouldn’t give it pride of place either - you came to talk about work.
- Prolonged time
Aliya Belyaeva explains: “It is recommended that the story about yourself be within 1-2 minutes. If the applicant begins to describe in detail the story of his entire life, then the recruiter can interrupt him to ask clarifying questions and orient him on the rules of the meeting.”
- Irony, jokes
Undoubtedly, the team loves people who have a sense of humor, who are able to defuse the situation with a witty remark and make people laugh. But you still need to remain serious during the interview, because the recruiter is primarily looking for a person who can perform certain functions.
Tips for writing an essay about your best qualities
Sometimes, to receive a scholarship in educational institutions or when applying for a job, you need to write a short essay about your merits.
To correctly write an essay about your best
qualities , you should consider the following tips:
- Make a plan for the text in advance and write it down in a draft. This will help later, not to stray from the chronology of writing points in the story.
- You need to separately write down the verbiage that you plan to use in the text.
- It is important to remember that the text of the essay should have a uniform structure of presentation, for example, when describing plots and characteristics of personal life, you should not reveal the topic of career and success in business or study.
- Pay attention to punctuation and grammar of words. If necessary, write out complex terms and names on a separate sheet. It is necessary to understand that when telling about your best qualities, you cannot show ignorance.
- For the clarity and completeness of the story, it is important from the beginning to the end of the essay to maintain the direction of its main semantic line, choose one topic and reveal it in detail. For example, an essay about personal views and worldview, a story about hobbies or interests, an essay about relationships with friends, an essay about positive character traits.
- It is better to write an essay in the style of a literary narrative, avoiding excessive restraint and dryness. It is allowed to use comparative descriptions and metaphorical phrases. This style will favorably emphasize the essence of the story - make it more interesting and brighter.
- A story about yourself should not turn into an ode of praise. But don't neglect humorous stories or fascinating incidents from the author's life. If there are such episodes, be sure to briefly describe them. This will give the text a more vibrant, realistic coloring. Light self-irony indicates the author's honesty and openness.
- Describe not only your strengths, but also your weaknesses. Reveal them from a position of readiness for self-development and improvement of your personality. You can tell us what methods you use to combat your shortcomings and what successes you have already achieved.
- In your essay, try to intrigue the reader. Tell us about yourself in stages: first, reveal only part of the information, indicate your interests and future plans. Then, gradually involve the reader in your reasoning, give examples, characterize the formation of your personality, and argue for your goals. And at the end of the story, satisfy the reader’s interest - reveal the main essence of your intentions. This way the essay will not lose significance and will be an interesting story.
- Remember that a good essay about your best qualities requires premature preparation. Don’t be lazy to think through the points of the text in advance and use the rules for writing an essay. This will reduce the time it takes to compose a story and make it more attractive in the eyes of the reader.
Avoid mistakes
Example 2
Now consider the second example of an essay about yourself, without highlighting the points of the plan.
Hello! My name is Yura, I'm 15 years old. My family consists of mom, dad and little brother Zhenya, who is still in kindergarten.
I am the tallest in the class - 180 centimeters. I do taekwondo and have an athletic build. I'm green-eyed, brown-haired. I’m a realist by nature: I don’t like to whine, but I also don’t accept rose-colored glasses as an accessory in life.
I like to study, I understand perfectly well that in the age of high technology it is important to be an informed person. My favorite subject at school is mathematics. I am attracted by its clarity, logic, and orderliness. I absolutely agree with the statement: “Mathematics is the queen of sciences.” I love computer science and am good with computers. I also like history, because I realized a long time ago that knowledge of the past helps to understand the present and even predict the future. I admire Suvorov, because in his entire career he did not lose a single battle! The example of this brilliant commander is inspiring.
It’s difficult for me to say anything intelligible about my character. I am at that age when basic principles, beliefs, and outlook on life change. I try to be kind and help people. I can't stand falsehood. I can instantly break off a relationship with a person if I catch him in hypocrisy. A kind of truth teller. I don't know if this is good or bad. Probably, we should still be gentler, give people a second chance, because no one is perfect. I'm working on it.
I have many friends, but there is only one real friend, and his name is Igor. We go to the chess section together. I constantly lose to him, but I am not offended, since Igor is superior to me intellectually, and I am superior to him physically. The law of balance has been observed. In addition, my pride is a little gratified by the fact that I beat my younger brother Zhenya. So what if he’s six years old?
What else am I interested in? Dad teaches me to play the guitar. He says that in the future this will help him win the attention of pretty girls. But that's not why I study. I just like string music.
I have not yet decided on my future profession. To be honest, sometimes you want to become a stuntman. I know, it’s risky, but it’s so breathtaking! However, this is not yet certain. I know one thing: boring office work is not for me.
These are just dreams for now, I understand that everything can still change a hundred times. It seems to me that the main thing is to live with interest, learn new things, communicate with people, spend more time with your family. And the rest will follow. Time will show.
Now you know how to write a coherent story about yourself. Save your writings. When you re-read them a few years later, you will be surprised at how much they have changed during this time.
Article source: https://xn--24-mlc1ca4e.xn--p1ai/faq/o-sebe/
How to Write an Essay on Your Best Qualities: Steps to Take
If you need to write a short essay about your best qualities, you should fulfill a number of the following requirements:
- When writing the text, keep a draft in front of you with a plan drawn up in advance and follow its points. It is necessary to focus on the main issues of the topic.
- Make test sketches from the described nuances and scenes from life, as well as phrases, for later inclusion in the main story.
- Maintain a consistent essay structure. According to the plan, the story should consist of an introductory, main and final part. At the same time, the body of the essay should occupy the majority of the narrative and contain key characteristics that describe your best qualities.
- Arrange all the entries from the draft in the required sequence to evaluate the full content of the text.
- After writing an essay, you need to read it and make sure that the text is understandable and fully reflects the author’s idea. Then check the grammar and punctuation of the text
What to answer?
Of course, there is no universal scheme.
Even the same person can place emphasis differently at different interviews; The main thing is to present reliable events. In addition to life priorities, a story about yourself can reveal how a person’s way of thinking relates to his profession. Answers that somehow correlate with the job description always stand out favorably against the general background.
One candidate will limit himself to stating the facts (attended advanced training courses); another will add numbers to this information (number of hours listened), documentary evidence (provide a certificate), portfolio; the third will try to evaluate the events in relation to themselves (“These courses helped me a lot: I not only gained new knowledge, but also acquired very useful connections”); the fourth will express his opinion on a global scale (“In general, I believe that employees should attend such seminars from time to time; it helps to expand their understanding of what new products and trends exist, and make new acquaintances”), etc.
Employers also perceive information differently. If a performer is needed, the choice will be made in favor of the first two candidates; if the company is engaged in the education of its employees, and the vacancy involves career growth, then the third and fourth are more suitable.
This is why experts always emphasize that there are no right answers. That is, if an offer is not made, this does not mean that you said something wrong. Most likely, this job is simply not suitable for you.
Aliya Belyaeva , career consultant and job search mentor at Job Search Coach, editor-in-chief of the electronic magazine “Career for the Soul,” recommends something like this:
- Briefly describe your overall work experience;
- talk about the main results and achievements of recent years;
- give examples of knowledge and skills that will be in demand in the new position;
- smoothly move on to the reason for looking for a job and report on why you are interested in the vacancy.
Here is one of the indicative diagrams: “My total experience in sales is more than 6 years.
I started as a sales manager, now I am the head of the sales department. My last place of work is a distribution company, where I have more than 30 people under my supervision. The main result over the past year is a 30% increase in sales. I managed to do this thanks to the accumulated experience, knowledge and skills in building a sales system and raising team spirit in the team. Currently, I realized that I have reached the limit of my professional growth in this company, and I want to move on. That’s why I was so interested in the vacancy in your company, and I would like to learn about it in more detail.” Add more specifics, spice up the story with examples, and you'll get a good answer.
The candidate will be favored by the absence of repetitions, fairly short but succinct phrases, the presence of examples, figures, facts, results, as well as positive wording. Accordingly, general phrases, a lengthy narrative and a lot of negativity (for example, bad reviews about previous employers or colleagues) can work against him.
At the same time, we should not forget that such dry schemes are not suitable for all vacancies: if you have creative work to do or are trying to get a job in a youth group, then a more creative approach is needed. However, it is also important not to overdo it.
Elena Belova, recruitment consultant at CONSORT Group International Executive Search Federation (IESF), adds: “Since the likelihood of being asked to talk about yourself is very high, it is better to prepare for it in advance. I’m not a supporter of socially desirable answers, so I don’t think it’s right to prepare template monologues for HR specialists, but you shouldn’t rely on complete improvisation either. Every applicant should understand that it is necessary to prepare for an interview in any case. But this preparation should not consist of memorizing the “correct” answers, but of carefully studying the vacancy, the set of job responsibilities, trying to find out something about the company you are going to, analyzing your work experience and thinking about how best to learn about it tell. This will allow you to demonstrate interest and awareness of the organization’s activities, its place in the market, etc. during the interview, as well as more convincingly emphasize your suitability for the vacancy.
Whatever your relationship with your previous employer, you should not try to explain to the new one how you were misunderstood, misappreciated, and treated poorly.
In addition to life priorities, a story about yourself can reveal how a person’s way of thinking relates to his profession. For example, it is good if a sales manager operates with data on sales volume, percentage of plan completion, reporting territory, etc. The speech of the head of a department or department will benefit from facts, figures and specific situations, as well as analytical statements. As a rule, this indicates a focus on results.
Answers that somehow correlate with the job description (job responsibilities, requirements) always stand out favorably against the general background. It’s very nice when a candidate talks about his professional achievements in relation to the position, identifies similarities and differences, and similar tasks. In such cases, it becomes clear that he is at least really interested in the job offer and is motivated by functionality.”
The selection specialist understands that for some time the new employee will join the team and delve into the work processes. Accordingly, of the two applicants, preference will be given to the one whose adaptation will be faster, that is, the person who was not too lazy to learn something about the company.
Recruitment manager at Emerging Markets Group (EMG) Ksenia Rodina agrees that “as such, a narrative scheme does not exist unless it is offered by an HR specialist to guide the applicant in the right direction, clarify certain points, and reveal what he may have been hiding . But you can try to emphasize the facts that reflect the result of the activity, but value judgments can be harmful if they do not coincide with the opinion of the recruiter. Negative reviews about your previous work are especially harmful.
In order not to get lost, the story about yourself can be structured in advance, but if you are asked provocative, situational questions or questions to identify competencies, then the flow of the story may be disrupted and the vector of communication is directed in the other direction. You need to be prepared for such a development of events; The main thing is not to be nervous, not to react aggressively.”
Essay about your best qualities: example phrases
These examples from different topics can be used as a template when writing an essay about your best qualities. These phrases give an understanding of the style in which a story about one’s own merits should be written.
Creative skills
- Creativity is an integral part of my life.
- Since childhood, I chaotically attended many art, song, dance and handicraft clubs, in which I acquired my first versatile skills.
- Over time, my desire for self-development took on a more holistic direction, I decided on a choice and it was fine art.
- Now my early hobby has grown into a professional activity, I am a sought-after contemporary artist, I annually organize exhibitions of my paintings, my drawings are used for illustration in popular printing publications.
Benefit and responsibility
- I love to benefit people and animals, and I take responsibility for any task entrusted to me.
- I regularly participate in charity events in our city and am a member of the volunteer organization “Helping Homeless Animals.”
- On a voluntary basis, I work on weekends in a nursery - I feed and care for homeless pets.
- I am also looking for new owners for them.
- Thanks to me, the nursery managed to place more than 120 cats and dogs in new families.
Choose your best qualities
Leadership skills
- I have all the necessary skills for a management and leadership position.
- For more than five years I have been the Deputy Head of the Human Resources Department.
- According to my recommendations, in the last six months alone, 75 highly qualified employees were hired, who brought a double increase in profits to our organization.
- The team of our department, under my leadership, received a commendable award for the responsible performance of their work.
Sports achivments
- In terms of sporting achievements, I have several certificates and medals in athletics competitions.
- I also have the city championship cup for long-distance running among my awards.
- Every day at least three hours to sports
- I am trying to learn a new sport - swimming.
- I go to the pool twice a week.
Study and career
- I devote all my free time to studying and self-development.
- In order to improve my qualifications, I attend accounting courses.
- In the near future I plan to attend lectures on the topic of taxation of small and medium-sized businesses.
- Training produces results. For example, this month I was tasked with creating a quarterly report myself.
- I’m trying not to stop there and in the near future I plan to get the position of deputy chief accountant.
Essay on the topic “A story about yourself”
The first school essay on the topic “About myself” is a great opportunity to think about eternal questions: Who am I? What am I? What am I interested in? Why do I feel good? Why do I feel bad? What do I want? What am I striving for? What do I value? Who do I love? etc. There are many questions and everyone has their own answer. Asking questions and looking for answers to them, learning to think and know yourself first of all, formulating and writing down your thoughts is useful from childhood. Writing, in general, is a therapeutic activity. With its help, you can strengthen your positive emotions, while negative emotions and unpleasant feelings can be controlled in a similar way.
Essay about your best qualities: reviews
Essay about your best qualities - reviews:
- Julia, 36 years old. Writing an essay about your best qualities is becoming popular these days. Especially when applying for a job in a large company. It is very important to know what exactly this text should display. The article helped to understand and understand what is the difference between an essay and a resume. I hope that now the employer will like my essay.
- Victor, 20 years old. Information about essays helped me write an essay correctly for an educational institution. Indeed, the essay is very different from the characterization we are used to. But it allows you to more clearly reveal all sides of your character and focus all your attention on its positive qualities. This greatly helps to present yourself.
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- Unusual, rare and popular phraseological units in the Russian language
- Vaseline oil for newborns - easy baby care
- Scary game for teenagers "Blue Whale"
Formulation is everything
The same thought can be conveyed in different words, and depending on how we speak, the listener’s attitude towards what is said can change to the diametrically opposite.
When thinking through a story about yourself, you should structure each sentence with a plus sign, excluding the negative connotation of any information (non-core education, insufficient work experience, a conflict situation with leaving a previous employer) - all this can play into your hands. There is no need to make excuses; present what you have from the best side. Show that non-core education makes you versatile and expands your capabilities; a little work experience contributes to better learning ability, because we all know that it is easier to teach from scratch than to retrain; conflict in your previous job gave you experience in how to remain calm in similar situations and how to resolve them to the benefit of everyone. Anastasia Pankratova, a specialist in personnel search and selection at the Imperia Kadrov holding, states: “Yes, there are examples when a candidate was not hired because of poorly spoken words. This is why it is necessary to think about the wording. For example, a person is auditioning for the position of sales manager at a bank, and he is asked the question: “What is your strength, your advantage over other candidates?” He replies: “I brought a client base with me from my previous job.”
For the recruiter, impropriety and disloyalty become obvious here, and the applicant, of course, is rejected. But the answer could have been formulated differently, for example: “Attracted clients remain mine forever.” Well, how can you refuse such a candidate if he knows how to communicate and people only want to work with him?”
When asked to tell you about yourself, you summarize everything that has been said before and touch on those important points that were not touched upon during the interview. Try not to repeat yourself; emphasize all the most important things, show maximum compliance with the parameters described in the vacancy, and recruiters will definitely notice you and offer you a new job.
Practical advice
- Place a sheet of recommendations in front of you and try not to be distracted by extraneous activities.
- Outline the main points of the future essay: examples from life, memories, goals and interests.
- The plan should include several parts: introduction, main part and conclusion. The main part should be the most extensive. It is in it that you will fully reveal yourself as a person.
- After you've sketched out your outline, re-read it again to make sure that all the details of your future essay are in a logical order.
- After writing the story itself, be sure to reread it several times. Focus on the general mood first, then check the punctuation, and on the final read, check the style and spelling.
And remember, the main thing is to describe the most ordinary, from your point of view, events in an unusual form, so that the reader becomes interested not just in reading about you, but in getting to know you personally. Develop your creativity, and you will always be able to appear before others as an extraordinary person, but never forget about the spelling rules.