Printer-FriendlyEffective Relationships > Personal Qualities
Personal qualities include a set of behaviors and skills that enable employees to establish effective relationships and function appropriately in the workplace. They include:
- Demonstrates responsibility and self-discipline
- Adapts and shows flexibility
- Works independently
- Demonstrates a willingness to learn
- Demonstrates integrity
- Demonstrates professionalism
- Takes initiative
- Displays positive attitude and sense of self-worth
- Takes responsibility for professional growth
The following initiatives identified personal qualities as an important component of employability.
Rollover the matrix content to see descriptions of the skills from primary sources.
View Complete Matrix.
| Resource | Personal Qualities | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demonstrates responsibility & self-discipline | Adapts & shows flexibility | Works independently | Demonstrates a willingness to learn | Demonstrates integrity | Demonstrates professionalism | Takes initiative | Displays positive attitude & sense of self-worth | Takes responsibility for professional growth | |
| 21st Century Skills for Workplace Success, NOCTI | X Exhibits responsibility |
X Exhibits flexibility and adaptability |
X Displays independence and takes initiative |
X Attends work regularly, and presents self appropriately |
X Displays independence and initiative |
X Displays a positive attitude |
|||
| Arizona's New Workplace Skills, Arizona Department of Education | X Understands legal and ethical practices |
X Conducts oneself in a professional manner appropriate to organizational expectations |
X Exercises initiative and self-direction in the workplace |
||||||
| Assessing 21st Century Skills, Board on Testing and Assessment, the National Research Council | X Exhibits self-regulation |
X Adapts |
X Exhibits self-development |
||||||
| Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills, Cisco, Intel, and Microsoft | X Understands citizenship, and displays personal and social responsibility |
X Adapts to change |
X Learns |
X Displays self-direction |
|||||
| Career Clusters Framework, National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium | X Demonstrates flexibility and willingness to learn new knowledge and skills |
X Demonstrates flexibility and willingness to learn new knowledge and skills |
X Demonstrates self-discipline, a sense of self-worth, positive attitude, and integrity. Knows and understands the importance of professional ethics and legal responsibilities |
X Manages work roles and responsibilities to balance them with other life roles and responsibilities |
X Demonstrate self-discipline, a sense of self-worth, positive attitude, and integrity |
X Develops employability and career development goals |
|||
| Comparative Analysis of Soft Skills: What is Important for New Graduates? U.S. Department of Agriculture | X Is self-starting |
X Engages in lifelong learning |
X Demonstrates well-developed ethics, integrity, and a sense of loyalty |
X Maintains appropriate decor and demeanor, and is punctual and meets deadlines |
X Demonstrates a positive and encouraging attitude |
X Demonstrates commitment to continued professional development. Selects an appropriate mentor, and accepts and applies critique and direction in the workplace |
|||
| Employability Assessment Rubric, Chicago Public Schools | X Displays self-control, and follows rules and procedures |
X Needs minimal supervision to complete work |
X Demonstrates accountability/integrity |
X Maintains appropriate appearance/hygiene, and displays timeliness |
X Demonstrates ambition/initiative |
X Displays a positive attitude |
X Responds to feedback |
||
| Employability Skills 2000+, Conference Board of Canada | X Demonstrates responsibility |
X Adapts |
X Learns continuously |
X Deals with people, problems, and situations with honesty, integrity, and personal ethics |
X Takes care of personal health |
X Shows interest, initiative, and effort |
X Demonstrates positive attitude and behaviors |
X Accepts and provides feedback in a constructive and considerate manner |
|
| Employability Skills Blueprint, SkillsUSA | X Understands legal and ethical responsibilities and exhibits personal accountability, integrity, and responsibility |
X Understands legal and ethical responsibilities and exhibits personal accountability, integrity, and responsibility |
X Demonstrates essential workplace or life skills |
X Displays career research and career development skills |
|||||
| Equipped for the Future, Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee | X Takes responsibility for learning |
||||||||
| Industry Competency Models, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor | X Takes responsibility and demonstrates dependability and reliability |
X Adapts and is flexible |
X Works independently |
X Demonstrates a willingness to learn |
X Behaves ethically, acts fairly, and takes responsibility |
X Demonstrates self-control, maintains a professional appearance, and maintains a positive attitude |
X Takes initiative |
||
| Maryland Skills for Success, Maryland State Department of Education | X Establishes and pursues clear and challenging goals and plans for learning |
||||||||
| National Career Readiness Certificate, ACT | X Exhibits work discipline |
||||||||
| National Work Readiness Credential | X Exhibits responsibility |
X Knows how to learn |
X Demonstrates integrity |
X Exhibits self-management |
|||||
| O*NET, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor | X Actively learns |
X Monitors and assesses the performance of one's self, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action |
|||||||
| Partnership for 21st Century Skills | X Acts responsibly to others |
X Adapts to change and is flexible |
X Works independently |
X Shows initiative and self-direction |
|||||
| Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), U.S. Department of Labor | X Demonstrates responsibility, and exhibits self-management |
X Knows how to learn |
X Demonstrates integrity/honesty |
X Exhibits self-esteem |
|||||
| Workforce Skills Certification System, CASAS and Learning Resources, Inc. | X Exhibits responsibility and self-management |
X Demonstrates integrity |
X Displays self-esteem |
||||||
NOTE: These examples represent a sample of employability standards and assessments compiled during an inventory of employability skills conducted in 2012. They do not represent an exhaustive list of employability skills but rather include sources that are widely cited. The content of these sources may change over time to address skills that are not reflected in the above matrix.
