Finnish for busy people

Top 100 adjectives for CV – Työnhaku adjektiivit

This article contains what can be seen as the top 100 adjectives for a CV. However, this topic causes mixed feelings for me. Nearly every applicant will claim in their CV that they’re hard-working (ahkera), flexible (joustava) and positive (positiivinen). As such, these are maybe not the most vital thing to add to your Finnish CV.

The reason I decided to make this article is that – if you’re studying in a Finnish course in Finland – these adjectives are very likely to be addressed there. While they are perhaps not vital to put in your CV, you should in a job interview be able to answer, for example, the question “Mitkä ovat sinun vahvuutesi?“. Note that in that situation as well, you should be able to expand on your answer and provide examples of how your positive attributes set you apart from other applicants.

Without further ado, these are the top 100 most useful adjectives for your CV (ansioluettelo) and job search (työnhaku) in general.

Finnish English
ahkera hard-working
aktiivinen active
aloitekykyinen enterprising, showing initiative
ammattitaitoinen competent, skilled
analyyttinen analytical
asiakaspalveluhenkinen customer service oriented
auttamishaluinen wanting to help
avarakatseinen broad-minded, tolerant
avoin (uusille haasteille) open (to new challenges)
avulias helpful
empaattinen empathic, empathetic
energinen energetic
ennakkoluuloton open-minded
hienotunteinen tactful, discreet
huolellinen meticulous, thorough
iloinen happy
innokas enthusiastic, devoted
innostunut enthusiastic, eager
intohimoinen passionate
itsenäinen independent
itsevarma confident, self-assured
johdonmukainen consistent
joustava flexible
järjestelmällinen methodical, organized
kannustava supportive, encouraging
kekseliäs inventive
(kielellisesti) lahjakas (linguistically) talented
(aidosti) kiinnostunut (genuinely) interested
kilpailuhenkinen competitive (minded)
kilpailukykyinen competitive (skilled at)
kohtelias polite
kunnianhimoinen ambitious
kärsivällinen patient
käytännöllinen practical
luotettava reliable, trustworthy
luova creative
motivoitunut motivated
myyntihenkinen interested in sales
myötätuntoinen compassionate
määrätietoinen determined
neuvokas resourceful, astute
neuvottelutaitoinen good at negotiating
nokkela clever, quick
nopea (oppimaan) fast (learner)
oivaltava insightful
oma-aloitteinen spontaneous, taking initiative
omatoiminen independent
omistautunut dedicated, devoted
oppimishaluinen willing to learn, wanting to learn
oppimiskykyinen receptive to learning, able to learn
optimistinen optimistic, upbeat
organisointikykyinen owning organizational skills
pitkäjänteinen persevering
positiivinen positive
pätevä qualified, competent
päättäväinen determined, decisive
rauhallinen calm
realistinen realistic
rehellinen honest
reipas lively, active
rento laid-back, relaxed
rohkea brave
ryhmätyötaitoinen skilled at teamwork
seurallinen sociable
sinnikäs tenacious
sisukas tenacious, determined
sitkeä tenacious, resilient
sitoutunut commited
sopeutuva adaptable
sopiva suitable
sosiaalinen social
spontaani spontaneous
stressinsietokykyinen able to withstand stress
suvaitsevainen tolerant
taitava skilled, skilful, able
tarkka exact, precise
tarkkaavainen attentive, observant
tarmokas energetic, vigorous
tavoitteellinen goal-oriented
tehokas efficient, effective
tiedonhaluinen inquisitive, curious
tuloshakuinen results-oriented, eager to see results
tunnollinen conscientious, diligent
täsmällinen punctual
ulospäin suuntautunut extroverted
utelias curious, inquisitive
vahva strong
vahvatahtoinen strong-willed
vakava serious
vakuuttava persuasive
valmis (uusiin haasteisiin) ready (for new challenges)
valpas aware, vigilant
vastuuntuntoinen responsible (feels responsible)
vastuullinen responsible (acts responsibly)
yhteistyökykyinen cooperative (skilled at working together)
yhteistyöhaluinen cooperative (ready to work together)
yritteliäs enterprising
ystävällinen friendly
väsymätön tireless
älykäs intelligent

Instead of writing “Olen sosiaalinen, ahkera ja joustava” (I’m social, hard-working and flexible) in your job application, why not try something along the lines of: “Minua on kehuttu joustavaksi työntekijäksi entisessä työpaikassani” (I’ve been praised as a flexible employee at my previous job). You can expand on that in the interview with some examples of situations where this was apparent.

I strongly recommend you also get acquainted with these useful phrases for job interviews I’ve compiled in a previous article! You can find a lot of information about do’s and dont’s in the search for a new job, so Google can be your best friend here. I did like this article quite a lot, so you could start there!

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