At job interviews, candidates are assessed on their suitability for the job they are applying for. In addition to their qualifications and experience, interviewers have to look at the other qualities that make a candidate suitable for a job or not. The same qualities are also considered when staff receive appraisals and assessments.
Use the nouns and adjectives in the box to complete the sentences. One word can be used twice. The first one has been done for you.
abrasive * ambition * conceited * confidence * confrontational * critical * decisive * impulsive * industrious * udgement * motivation * obstinate * popular * practical * professional * punctual * rapport * relationship * reliable * reserved * sensible * sensitive * selfish * sociable * willing
1. She’s very popular : everybody likes her, and enjoys working with her.
2. She isn’t very good at making decisions. She’s not very ________.
3. He works well with everyone: he has excellent ________ with his colleagues.
4. He always arrives on time. He’s very ________.
5. He’s always ________ to cover for others when they need to take time off.
6. If you ask her to do something, you know she will do it because she’s so ________.
7. She’s always pointing out people’s faults. She’s so ________.
8. He quite ________, and gets upset when people point out his faults.
9. She’s very ________ to the needs of others, and will always help people if they have problems.
10. She deals with problems well and makes good decisions, and in that respect she’s very ________.
11. He shows excellent ________ when making difficult decisions.
12. She seems to be rather ________ and doesn’t mix well with other members of staff.
13. His main problem is that he is extremely ________, and rarely thinks carefully before making important decisions.
14. He’s extremely ________, and almost never takes others’ advice.
15. He never shares information, and never helps others. I think he’s basically ________.
16. She’s a very ________ worker, and really enjoys spending time with her colleagues both inside and outside the office.
17. He’s very ________ , and always works steadily and hard.
18. He has a very ________ approach; he’s clearly well-trained and good at his work, and always does a good job.
19. She’s rather ________: she thinks she’s much better than everybody else.
20. He clearly has ________, and is keen to move up the company ladder.
21. I think he lacks sufficient ________; he doesn’t seem very keen, and always has to be told what to do.
22. She’s always arguing with everyone. She has a very poor ________ with her colleagues.
23. One of his main problems is that he lacks ________: he always seems worried and nervous, and always has to check that he’s doing the right thing.
24. He has a very ________ manner when you speak to him, and as a result people don’t go to him with their problems.
25. People complain that he’s very ________, and is always starting arguments or making people angry.
Correct Answers:
- popular
- decisive (verb = to decide)
- rapport
- punctual
- willing
- reliable (verb = to rely on)
- critical (verb = to criticise)
- sensitive
- sensitive (note the differences in meaning of sensitive in these two sentences. The opposite of sensitive in sentence 9 is insensitive)
- practical
- judgement (spelt judgment in American English)
- reserved (this is similar in meaning to shy)
- impulsive
- obstinate (we can also say stubborn)
- selfish
- sociable
- industrious (this is not the same as industrial)
- professional
- conceited
- ambition (adjective = ambitious)
- motivation (verb = to motivate. A good worker is self-motivated)
- relationship
- confidence (adjective = confident)
- abrasive
- confrontational (verb = to confront)
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