When it comes to describing yourself in a professional setting, the words you choose can have a significant impact on your reputation. Whether you’re answering this question during an interview with a hiring manager, writing your personal statement for a college application or creating a resume, choosing the right adjectives can help you leave a positive impression on others and set you apart from other candidates.
Choosing the right adjectives for yourself starts with understanding your strengths, beliefs and personality traits. You can use a career assessment to identify your top motivations and understand what defines you as an individual. Then, you can select the adjectives that best describe these qualities and how they’re reflected in your professional experiences and life achievements.
Overused adjectives, like “hard-working,” “team player” and “problem-solver,” can make you sound generic and unremarkable. Instead, opt for more specific adjectives that emphasize your skills and values, such as innovative, determined, collaborative, decisive, visionary and proactive.
In addition to being unique and descriptive, the adjectives you choose should fit with your job or role. For example, if you’re applying for a role in customer service, it would be inappropriate to describe yourself as creative or imaginative, since these skills don’t align with the customer-facing aspects of this position.
Hiring managers and recruiters ask this question because they want to know if your attributes match the needs of their organization and what you bring to the table. They’re looking to evaluate how you’ll perform in the role, whether your personality will fit with the company culture and how well you can communicate.
There are also times when this question isn’t asked, but you may need to describe yourself in other situations, such as a personal statement for a college application or a cover letter. In these cases, you should think about the attributes, experiences and skills that set you apart from other candidates. For instance, if you’ve worked as an army logistician, a supply chain management coordinator and a data analyst, your diverse background gives you a unique perspective that can be reflected in the adjectives you choose.
In all these scenarios, it’s important to be honest and authentic when describing yourself. If you’re not genuinely enthusiastic about an aspect of yourself, it will come across in your conversation or in the context of your document. Also, avoid using phrases that are inappropriate in a professional setting, such as “What makes you tick” and “What turns you on,” which have sexual connotations.