According to the rules, writing a characteristic for an employee or student should be carried out by authorized persons of organizations, an educational institution. However, often a person is offered to write a characterization for himself. How to do this according to all the rules, our article will tell.

Characterization rules

A document is drawn up on the letterhead of an organization, educational institution, company, or simply on a blank white sheet of A4 format, if we are talking, for example, about a characteristic from the residents of the entrance. By the way, you will find the rules for compiling it in the article.

The document must be neat, without blots and corrections, spelling and punctuation errors. The characteristic is endorsed by authorized officials of the institution or company with the help of signatures and seals.

You need to try to write a description of yourself as briefly as possible, but at the same time meaningfully and, of course, objectively - otherwise you simply will not be signed. Try to fit the text on half an A4 sheet.

Feature Structure

Like any other document, the characteristic requires competent compilation. There are no strict rules in its design, but there are still basic principles:

• Title. It includes the name of the document - the word "characteristic" is written in the middle of the sheet in capital letters.
• Questionnaire part. The first paragraph of the characteristic, which contains the full name of the person for whom the characteristic is being drawn up, the year of his birth, education and social status or position (for example, a university student, a lyceum student, a lawyer, a marketing director, etc.).
• Description of labor/educational activity. Here it is necessary to indicate in what year and for what position the employee was hired (if a labor characteristic is being drawn up) or in what year the student entered the school / university (if a characteristic is needed for a student / student). If the employee was transferred from position to position, then also note this, indicating the reasons. Dedicate a couple of sentences to labor or educational merits, or, on the contrary, to the shortcomings of an employee / student. If diplomas/awards were received in the process of work/study, some significant projects were implemented, this is also worth noting here.
• Evaluation of business and human qualities. In this part of the characteristic, it should be noted how hardworking and professional a person is, how resistant to stress, how well he gets along with the team, whether he is punctual, whether he has bright character traits that greatly help or hinder him in work / study.
• Conclusion. This part may contain specific recommendations from the institution. For example: "Ivanov I.I. has all the necessary professional and personal qualities, experience to hold the position of head of the legal department." Or: “Student Petrov P.P. requires the development of an individual training program for him, which would take into account the state of health of the student and the peculiarities of his perception of information. For the implementation of the training course, it is recommended to choose the form of learning at home. At the very end, the phrase is written: "The characteristic is issued for presentation at the place of demand." Then they indicate the date the document was compiled and leave space for the signature of the head of the organization that issued the characteristic.

Types of characteristics

There are several types of features:

• educational;
• household;
• for the military registration and enlistment office;
• for traffic police;
• from work, etc.

In addition, there are internal and external characteristics. In both cases, you may be asked to write a testimonial for yourself. However, if we are talking about some important matter (for example, if a document is required for a court), then it would be better to enlist the support of professionals.

• An internal characteristic is compiled to solve some internal work, educational, domestic issues in an organization, educational institution, housing or garage cooperative, etc. For example, it may be required if an employee decides to promote or demote, assign him a new qualification, entrust which - a complex project, etc.
• An external characteristic is compiled at the request of third parties - banks (when issuing a large loan), military registration and enlistment offices, administration from a new place of work - guardianship and guardianship authorities (for example, when considering a case on deprivation of parental rights), etc.

You can explore these feature templates as samples. But when compiling a document for yourself, it is still better to make it unique, in some way different from others. You don't want your profile to be exactly the same as that of half of the firm's new hires, do you?

In whatever field of activity you work, at any time you may need the ability to write a testimonial. To do this, it is not necessary to be a professional psychologist, but observation and impartiality are necessary. A good characterization is always based on facts, has a logical structure, and is drawn up taking into account the objectives of the request. Consider how to write a characteristic correctly.

The characteristic, like any official document, has a clear structure. Although there are no uniform requirements dictated by law for registration, there is a mandatory list of items that must be indicated in the document. So, any official report contains a header, body, date and signature. The heading of the characteristic contains the name, outgoing number, date of compilation. Information about the compiler is indicated here: the name of the enterprise or other institution issuing the characteristics of the body, legal address, contact details.

Further, in the middle, the name of the document “Characteristics” is written and information about the person is described. The content of this paragraph varies significantly in different situations and depends on the goals of the document. So, the characteristics of the applicant, when hiring, should anticipate his potential as a future employee and make it clear to the management how the candidate corresponds to the tasks assigned to him. But, for example, the guardianship and guardianship service will be more interested in the actual qualities of the parent and his attitude towards the child, the stability of the psyche, the absence or presence of precedents of violence in the past, etc. The following data, called personal information, is required when writing a description: full name, date of birth, marital status, education, position, etc.

In conclusion, as always, the author of the document indicates his last name, first name and patronymic, signs and seals. In some cases, not only the compiler, but also the director signs here.

There is an internal and external characteristic for an employee. Internal is compiled for management and remains within the firm. Such a characteristic may be required when hiring a candidate for a job, when appointing an existing employee to another position, when deciding on penalties or incentives, etc. An external characteristic is written upon request, which can be submitted by the court, guardianship and guardianship authorities, banking and educational institutions, others. The characteristic may be asked to be compiled by the person himself for his own purposes, for example, for admission to a university. Before writing a characterization, try to look at the person you characterize without prejudice, leaving a personal assessment. Describe his qualities, life path, achievements and negative actions, depending on the purpose of the requested characteristic. Sometimes a person can be asked to write a characterization of himself. Of course, you should not hand it over to the head or the organizations that submitted the request. This brief essay will help you to appreciate the person being characterized more deeply, to better understand his values ​​and how he perceives himself. This will help you make a prediction of what to expect from him in the future.

You can download on our website.

Irina Sherbul

# Business documentation

An important lack of characteristics from the place of work

Some employers consider the document a formality and use general, vague wording when filling out. Therefore, it is important to draw up the form so that the answers describe the qualities of the employee in as much detail as possible.

Article navigation

• Sample job description
• Characteristics for an employee: how to compose
• An example of a characteristic for an employee
• Production characteristic
• Positive reference from the place of work
• Characteristics from the previous place of work
• Service characteristic from the place of work
• Negative reference from the place of work
• Characteristic at the place of requirement: when needed, requirements
• Typical characteristic
• Who signs and draws up a characteristic from the place of work

Today, the characteristic from the place of work differs in requirements, content and design from its Soviet predecessor. This document, having survived the chaotic years of the 1990s, has regained demand. Therefore, employees of human resources departments, heads of departments and heads of companies should know how to write a characteristic correctly.

Sample job description

The finished characteristic from the place of work should be as a sample in the personnel department of each enterprise. If necessary, looking at a sample (example of writing), it will not be difficult to quickly and accurately create such a document. Let's take a look at the 2019 model.

An example of writing a job description:

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Some enterprises use a ready-made characteristic template. This form is easy to print and fill out quickly. Job Description Form looks like this:

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Characteristics for an employee: how to compose

A characteristic for an employee (employee) is a brief in form and capacious in content, an objective and reliable review of a person who works or worked at an enterprise. It should be informative and devoid of emotion.

The author of the characteristic clearly describes the professional qualities of the employee, his level of qualification in the specialty and the position he occupies (or occupied). The personal qualities of an employee are indicated solely from the standpoint of corporate interests.

You should not write a chronicle of the life of an employee. It is only required to note his labor activity at this enterprise, achievements, skills, knowledge, personal qualities obtained and shown only in this work.

Other stages of the biography outside this institution are indicated by the employee himself in his resume or autobiography.

The standard characteristic consists of three parts:

1. General: surname, name, patronymic; Date of Birth; full details of the company; the period of work at this enterprise (from the date of employment to the present date or to the date of dismissal).
2. Length of service (at this enterprise): transfers to another position; promotion or demotion; advanced training (courses, trainings, etc. - indicating the name, place, period of study).
3. Personal assessment: professional qualities; relationships with colleagues, subordinates and management.

Political and religious views, hobbies, details of personal life, living conditions, health status of the employee are not indicated in the job description.

An example of a characteristic for an employee

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How to write a characteristic

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation and other regulatory legal acts do not regulate the preparation of this document. To date, there are no clearly defined requirements for it. There are only generally accepted recommendations for the design and content of the so-called letter of recommendation.

Job descriptions must be written in a formal or neutral third-person narrative style in the present or past tense.

Expressions of colloquial jargon are unacceptable, artistic elements and lyrical digressions are inappropriate. No need to use abbreviations (especially highly specialized terms). Pronouns should be avoided. The text should be small in volume, capacious in content and accessible and understandable in the form of presentation.

Production characteristic

A production characteristic is a document that is compiled and issued by an enterprise where an employee works (or worked) only at his request. Such an official assessment of the management of the enterprise may be required to pass a medical commission or social examination.

This characteristic allows you to determine the professional suitability of an employee in terms of his state of health, as well as the degree of disability and disability group. Such a document is created for the ITU (medical and social examination) or VTEK (medical and labor expert commission). Therefore, if there is a nurse (paramedic, doctor) in the staff of the enterprise, this type of characteristic, in addition to the head (manager), is signed by a medical employee.

The document is written, as a rule, on the forms of the established sample. It is allowed to fill out a standard form of characteristics, but in this case a record of the degree of disability (disability) of the employee is required.

This document is printed in two copies: one is issued to the employee, and the second is stored in the archive of the enterprise.

In addition to standard marks, the structure of the production characteristic must have special data. The medical commission that requests a performance characteristic is interested in the following information:

• the nature of the work - manual or mechanized (machine);
• working conditions: schedule, mode, duration of the work shift and break, duration of annual leave;
• paragraph on business trips: if the employment contract provides for sending the employee on business trips, then their frequency and average duration are indicated;
• in the presence of difficult working conditions at work with a clear risk to the health and life of the employee, this important aspect should be mentioned;
• evaluation of the employee's labor efficiency.

Based on the production characteristics with the content of these nuances, they conclude whether the employee can perform the labor duties assigned to him due to his health.

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Positive reference from the place of work

If an employee quit under the article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation “At his own request” and this desire really came from him, and not from his management, who showed physical or psychological pressure, threats, then, as a rule, the characteristic is excellent.

An employee who performed his duties impeccably and promptly, observed the norms of discipline, corporate ethics and completely satisfied the previous employer, but quit for health reasons, family reasons, due to a change of residence, will receive a good reference from his former place of work.

In this case, the main role is played by the human factor: did the employee manage to maintain good relations with the team and management after the dismissal. This is an important indicator for a new employer, which will be an additional plus in the fight for a vacancy.

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Characteristics from the previous place of work

The characteristic from the previous (former) place of work is written according to the standard scheme for filling out the form established at the enterprise. The only caveat is that the text must be written in the past tense. This document is compiled by the head of the previous place of work and issued to the employee for employment at a new place of work.

An example of a characteristic from the last place of work:

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Service characteristic from the place of work

Service characteristic - an official document that is an objective assessment of the official, scientific, creative activity of an employee, indicating his business, personal, moral and psychological qualities.

In addition to personal data, such a review of a manager about his subordinate contains an assessment of the level of his professional training:

• competence in accordance with the position held: work experience in this position, knowledge of one's rights and obligations, professional knowledge and skills, self-education;
• efficiency: the quality of the result of the work, the timeliness and accuracy of completing tasks, the ability to organize working time, adapt to changes and navigate difficult situations related to work;
• business qualities (in the case of a description for a manager): the ability to plan, organize, distribute the work of subordinates, convey to each of his tasks and responsibilities, monitor their work, resolve corporate conflicts and analyze the overall performance of their department (branch);
• psychological qualities: level of culture, possession of corporate ethics, relationships with colleagues and communication with clients, self-criticism.

Such specific information about an employee may be of interest to the company's senior management when deciding whether to transfer an employee, promote or demote a position, award an award or impose a penalty.

Negative reference from the place of work

Objectivity is the main requirement for a document. The boss must indicate not only the merits of the employee, but also his shortcomings, including conflicts that actually occurred at the workplace, reprimands, penalties for damages, and fines.

It is important that these “minuses” are true, and not an act of revenge.

A bad reference from a previous job will not give a positive result, especially in finding the desired job with better working conditions. This document of negative content can only confirm the accusation against the employee in court.

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Characteristic at the place of requirement: when needed, requirements

The information indicated in the characteristic from the last place of work is of interest, first of all, to the new employer - when looking for a main job, part-time, when transferring to a new place of work (and under other guidance). In such cases, "service reviews" are divided into external and internal.

An internal reference from the place of work is necessary for transferring an employee, promotion, conferring a title, for rewarding or imposing a disciplinary sanction. An internal characteristic for an employee is used only within the boundaries of his place of work and is stored in a personal file.

An external characteristic from the place of work is compiled either at the request of the employee himself upon dismissal (for further employment), or sent upon request - to law enforcement agencies, to the prosecutor's office, to the court (when hearing civil, administrative and criminal cases) or to a new employer.

This document is filed with the case of deprivation of parental rights, and it is also necessarily contained in the full package of certificates for registration of guardianship, guardianship, adoption. It is mandatory to provide a characteristic for an employee upon request to the military registration and enlistment office - in the event that an employee is called up for urgent military service.

Only a positive reference from the place of work will allow you to obtain a visa at the consulate of the country where the employee wants to go on a business trip or for a personal purpose.

Often, a reference from the place of work upon dismissal is needed by the employee himself for potential employers who pay attention not only to the diploma of education and work experience, but also to the opinion of his former leader about the candidate. It is important for the boss to know what exactly the employee can do, how he fulfills the instructions of the management, solves problems, communicates with the team, clients, etc.

Only such an official review gives an expanded idea of ​​the candidate in combination with a resume and inspires greater confidence in the employer.

Typical characteristic

The typical characteristic is similar in structure and requirements to the standard samples of this document. The main difference lies in the more detailed assessment of one or more items.

For example, some employers indicate in the column "physiological characteristics" the presence of contraindications for health reasons to the performance of certain work duties or the assignment of a disability group. Often, in accordance with the place of requirement of a typical characteristic, such a review about an employee also contains an assessment of his living conditions, family relationships - for example, the presence of a disabled child or bedridden parents requiring care.

Sometimes in a request for a characteristic, it is required to indicate the presence (absence) of an employee's criminal record, bad habits.

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Who signs and draws up a characteristic from the place of work

The correct and competent writing of the characteristics from the place of work is the responsibility of the personnel department. But the Russian reality is such that often due to the employment of the head of the personnel department and his subordinates, the writing of this document is assigned to the employee himself. If there is time and desire, the immediate supervisor of the employee can draw up a description.

The personnel department can only issue a form to fill out. At the same time, each organization may have its own formats and letterhead for reference from the place of work. But in any case, this document in the design should correspond to the following structure:

• A4 sheet format;
• details of the organization: full official name, legal address, telephone number, main state registration number (OGRN or OGRNIP - an individual entrepreneur);
• date of issue, signature of the person who drew up the document (the head of the department where the employee worked, the head of the organization or the inspector of the personnel department) and the seal of the company - without these details, the paper will not be a document, will not have legal force.

A characteristic-recommendation is an extremely positive review about a person who represents the employee in front of a potential employer in the best possible light from a professional point of view. Therefore, the main emphasis should be placed in the content on the professional achievements and personal merits of the employee.

The main requirements for such an assessment are objectivity and persuasiveness. It should be concise, informative and reasoned to present a professional as an ideal and best candidate for a vacancy.

It is desirable that the document be drawn up and signed by a leader with authority in this field of activity. Only then can we talk about trust in the content of the letter of recommendation and a high probability of the employee getting a position, award, grant, etc.

It is imperative that at the end of the characteristic-recommendation it is necessary to indicate the full details of the author, his contact numbers, e-mail address, address of the place of work, so that the new employer can easily check the information contained in the document in person.

If a person at a previous place of work left only positive memories of himself and managed to maintain good relations with management and former colleagues, you should take this chance and ask for a letter of recommendation. A positive characteristic will increase the chances of quick employment in a prestigious place and in a promising position.

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This type of production characteristic refers to documents of internal use. Evaluation of professional activity, business and personal qualities of an employee is described only on the positive side.

In this document, it is important to note the employee's labor merits, professional achievements and qualities, thanks to which he was able to become a successful and effective employee.

A characteristic for rewarding is not only a way to encourage an employee by management, but also a means of motivating other employees to achieve the level of this employee.

An example of a characteristic for an employee for awarding a certificate of honor

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A request for characterization of an employee from the place of work is submitted either by authorized bodies (according to the established model) or by a potential employer.

The second case is complicated by the fact that the new manager, in accordance with the law, can submit a request for a characterization of an employee from his previous place of work only with his written consent. Otherwise, without the official consent of the employee, the actions of the potential employer will be unlawful, and be regarded as a prohibited invasion of privacy and violation of the protection of personal data.

In order to double-check the accuracy of the information provided in the resume or questionnaire of the applicant, the employer must take written permission from the candidate to verify the information. At the same time, it is advisable for the new employer to first explain to the employee the purpose of this request, the specific information of interest, and the method of obtaining a response.

Sample request for characteristics from the previous place of work:

Hello! In this article we will talk about the characteristics of the employee.

Today you will learn:

1. When is a characteristic needed?
2. What are the characteristics;
3. What design rules apply to characteristics.

What is an employee characteristic

A characteristic is a document that contains an assessment of the qualities of an employee (both personal and professional), and may also contain information about a person’s social activities.

Compilation of characteristics is carried out either at the request of the employee, or at the request of any external organizations.

The requirements for this document are not regulated at the legislative level, there are only general drafting rules specified in GOST R 6.30-2003.

What is the characteristic for?

In many respects, where the characteristic is intended, its content also depends. If it is provided at the request of a banking organization or the police, an assessment of the moral qualities of the employee will be quite enough.

If it is drawn up in order to provide it at a new place of work, then such qualities of a person should also be disclosed that indicate that he is an excellent highly qualified specialist.

What are the characteristics

All characteristics are generally divided into 2 large groups: external and internal. Internal ones are usually used only in the company in which they were issued. They are made up if you are transferred from one department to another, promoted, and so on.

Characteristics of the external type are more common. They are provided to third-party organizations, banking institutions, law enforcement agencies, and so on.

Regardless of what type the characteristic belongs to, it must be certified by the signature of the head and the seal of the organization that issued it.

Who is involved in the preparation and signing of specifications

The preparation of the characteristics is carried out by the immediate supervisor of the employee. If the organization is small and the leader is in a single person, then he is also involved in resolving issues with a characteristic.

The person who created the characteristic will sign the document, if the organization has an employee of the personnel department, he also signs the document.

How to write a characterization

First of all, let's figure out what components should be contained in a typical characteristic.

So this is:

1. Name. In our case, this is a “characteristic”.
2. Surname and initials of the employee. Must be written in full.
3. The position held by the employee. Also no abbreviations.
4. The age of the worker. In principle, an optional item for specifying.
5. When the employee started and when he/she ended work in the specified position.
6. Achievements in the profession, awards (if any).
7. Information about whether the employee passed, whether he received additional education.
8. Information about charges (if any).
9. Information about the service skills of the employee, his skills.
10. Information about personal qualities (most often about mobility and stress resistance, the level of conflict).

The characteristic from the place of work is either written by hand or typed on a computer. Usually printed on A4 paper.

The points that we talked about earlier should be fully reflected in the document, and the writing of the employee’s characteristics should be completed by indicating where and for what purpose it will be provided.

Also, do not forget to indicate the date and year when the characteristic was drawn up, and then do not forget to stamp the organization.

The characteristic does not have an expiration date, it can be provided at the place of demand at any time. But if suddenly it is lost, you can re-compile at any time.

In the process of consideration in the judicial authorities of a case in which an employee of your organization takes part, his characteristic from the place of work may be required.

Note that this type of characteristic is one of the most complex types. There are situations when the characteristics will determine what decision the court will make in relation to a person. In this regard, often such a characteristic is not an employee of the personnel service, but the manager himself.

The characteristic for the court is drawn up on the letterhead of the organization. Be sure to indicate the marital status of the person, indicate the number of children and the age of each. Also include information about education, military service.

The characteristic should also include data that characterize the personal qualities of a person. And it is necessary to reflect both positive and negative. This is an important section, according to which the participants in the process judge your employee.

In addition, the characteristic must contain a note that it is drawn up for presentation to the judicial authorities. The signature on it is put by the head and employee of the personnel department.

Ultimately, the characteristic is recorded in the log of outgoing documentation and assigned a number to it.

Production characteristic

It characterizes the skills, abilities and abilities of a person. Often, on its basis, they decide whether to accept an applicant for a job or not.

This characteristic is usually given by the head of the company in which the person worked. At the same time, if the employee has reprimands or penalties, they should also be reflected.

There are a number of requirements for writing this characteristic:

• When compiling, be sure to indicate the date and serial number of the characteristic;
• In chronological order, reflect the stages of the professional development of an employee;
• Reflect the presence of penalties and rewards for the employee;
• Complete the document with your signature or the signature of the manager and affix the seal of the company.

You should also not ignore the negative characteristics of the employee. Unfortunately, in some cases it is necessary to draw up such documents.

In any case, even a negative characterization should be objective. Whatever the employee may be, you do not need to express your emotions in relation to him in the description.

As for the structure of writing, it will be the same as that of the usual characteristic. Only each item is considered from the negative side.

In practice, such a characterization is rarely given to an employee, even if he has committed a misconduct. It is clear that if you write such a description of a former employee, it is unlikely that anyone will hire him.

Therefore, for the most part, employers are trying to simply part with a problematic employee, but not to have a negative impact on his future life.

Example. Inventory Specialist I. has been with our company for two years. Despite a number of positive qualities, he is generally characterized as an employee with low professional potential. Periodically violates the deadlines for the execution of instructions, the deadlines for reporting. Repeatedly I. was subjected to disciplinary sanctions, received several reprimands. Conflicts with colleagues, refuses to help new employees. He categorically refuses to participate in the public life of the company.

Characteristics for awarding an honorary diploma

This document can be compiled both for internal use and for external use. In the second case, such characteristics must be provided by those employees who plan to receive the title of “Veteran of Labour” in the future, and so on.

Such a characteristic reflects information that shows a person in the best light, reflects the best qualities of an honorary employee. Be sure to emphasize the fact that the person is fully consistent with the position.

Also, if the characteristic is not used within the company, then you can consult with the employee himself on how best to compose it. There is no violation in this.

Qualification characteristic

This is a kind of standard for the qualification of a specialist. This document formulates all the basic requirements that apply to the qualifications of employees. This document is mainly used for state institutions and organizations.

This feature contains:

• Description of the meaning of the profession;
• Working conditions;
• Psychological and physiological nuances of the profession;
• Specialist training requirements.

These characteristics are currently used in professional selection, as well as when applying for a job in state structures, in particular in the field of education, culture and healthcare.

What is better not to do when preparing a characteristic

Although the scope for creativity when writing a description is wide, you still need to adhere to some simple writing rules:

1. Do not use too emotionally colored expressions, and even more so offensive expressions. Whether you are satisfied with the employee or not - observe business etiquette.
2. Information in the description must be true and reliable. It is unacceptable to reflect data on the political and religious beliefs of a person, as well as nationality.
3. Control your literacy. If you find an error, rewrite the text again. It is important to remember that if the rules listed above are ignored, the employee will be able to appeal the document at any time.

Conclusion

Today we talked about how to write an employee profile. The text of the characteristic can be both positive and negative. But in any case, the document should be as objective and unbiased as possible.

Any leader, like any employee of the personnel department, sooner or later faces the need to write a characterization of an employee of the institution. And of course, questions immediately arise - are there any regulatory requirements for the preparation of this document, what should be the volume and structure, etc. Today we will tell you what types of characteristics can be created at the enterprise, what are the features of these types, how to draw up a characteristic and what to look for attention in the preparation of this document.

The concept of characteristics. Kinds

Definitions of employee characteristics are in various dictionaries. Based on these definitions, we can say that a characteristic is a document containing a review of the activities (labor, social or other) of a particular person. Most often, a characteristic is required when a decision needs to be made regarding an employee (to punish, encourage, reward, etc.), as well as at the request of various authorities - the traffic police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, courts, military enlistment offices, etc. In this regard, the characteristics are divided into internal and external. In addition, the characteristic can be:

- production (may be needed when passing a medical and social examination, medical and labor commission or a professional examination);

- official (compiled at the request of higher authorities when resolving issues of transfer, application of incentives or penalties);

- attestation (compiled during the activities for the certification of employees and submitted to the certification commission).

It happens that a former employee who needs this document for employment in a new place applies for a characteristic. For example, on the basis of Art. 5 of the Law of the Russian Federation of 26.06.1992 N 3132-1 "On the Status of Judges in the Russian Federation", an applicant for the position of a judge must provide references from the places of work (service) for the last five years of labor (service) experience, and in the case of work (service) in during the specified period (in whole or in part) not in the legal specialty, also from the places of work (service) in the legal specialty.

As you can see, the characteristics are varied. Their content depends on the type. For example, in the production description, the main attention should be paid to the position of the employee, working conditions, indicate the amount of work per shift and determine the efficiency of labor, and in the service description, reflect the entire track record of the employee, length of service, qualifications and give other information about the employee as a specialist. For the authorities in the characteristic, more emphasis is placed on the personal qualities of the employee, and for the future employer - on business and professional.

Who is responsible for compiling the characteristics? We believe that the direct manager knows the employee best of all, and it is he who will be able to draw up the most accurate professional and personal portrait of the employee. But this is ideal, but in practice, often the characteristics are drawn up by personnel officers.

Quite often, those who draw up the characteristics take a formal approach, but sometimes this document can play a serious role. So, in connection with the presence of a positive characteristic, the judge can mitigate the punishment, and if it is negative, on the contrary, appoint more severe measures.

The text of the characteristic can be conditionally divided into several blocks.

1. Header. The name of the document and the surname, name, patronymic of the employee for whom it is drawn up are indicated here. In practice, this part often indicates the year of birth and the title of the employee's position: "Characteristics for the chief specialist of the desk audit department Margarita Vladimirovna Zolotova, born in 1978."

2. General biographical information. This part of the characteristic is also called personal data. Information for her is taken from a personal card. This section indicates the place of birth, military service, education. Moreover, it is customary to write the names of educational institutions in full and indicating the terms of study. If there are several educational institutions, then all are listed with an indication of the specialty received (in addition, you can indicate merits in studies: a diploma with honors, an academic degree). In the same block, you can include information about marital status - the state of marriage, the presence of children, etc.

3. Information about labor activity. This section can be divided into two subsections, in the first of which to talk about labor activity before going to work, and in the second - about activities at the enterprise: from what year does the person characterized work and in what position did he start working in this organization, for what positions and in which units were transferred.

It is necessary to list the labor duties of an employee in a detailed description only if the employee himself, a lawyer or another person requesting a characteristic asks for it.

When presenting information about labor activity at the present time, it is necessary to assess the business qualities of the employee, for example, using the assessments received by the employee during the next certification. Or you can simply list the business qualities of an employee, indicating in which area they manifest themselves best.

The indicators by which the assessment is carried out may be different. Particular attention should be paid to professional competence. When evaluating it, take into account the employee’s work experience, his knowledge of the profession, as well as knowledge of legislative and other regulatory legal acts relating to his work. Indicate if the employee is interested in foreign experience and applies it in his/her work.

Personal qualities are best manifested when communicating with colleagues. Usually in the description of these qualities such words as "benevolent", "responsible", "hardworking" are used.

Here are a few turns that can be used when describing professional competencies.

Competence:

He has extensive and deep knowledge in his specialty, broad general erudition in official matters. Skillfully uses his knowledge in everyday work, can give valuable advice.

He has sufficient knowledge in his specialty, but he is less versed in other service issues.

Many issues related to his work, he cannot solve on his own, he needs some help, tips and instructions.

He successfully combines work with self-education in his specialty.

He often expresses his own opinion even on issues in which he is not very well versed.

Health:

In his work he constantly achieves good results, makes an important contribution to the work of the team.

He treats his work conscientiously (indifferently). In the work shows a high (sufficient, insufficient) intensity. He does not like his work, but he does it conscientiously.

Organization:

Shows clarity, diligence, initiative in the performance of tasks, knows how to independently organize his work.

When performing tasks, he shows diligence, but needs outside help to organize more efficient work.

Perseverance and perseverance are not always enough to achieve your goal or understand the issue that has arisen.

He uses his working day very tightly, knows how to properly allocate time and effort to perform the assigned work.

The following phrases can be used to assess personal qualities:

Knows how to win over and find a common language with people.

He does not always know how to avoid conflicts, but his behavior does not give rise to quarrels in the team.

In personal behavior, he shows modesty, does not allow the use of his position for personal purposes.

In everyday life, he behaves modestly, is distinguished by moral stability.

By nature, a calm person, rarely shows irritability and restraint.

He perceives criticism in his address correctly, immediately takes measures to eliminate shortcomings.

Note. If the employee has any shortcomings, they should be reflected in the characteristic. A completely positive review may raise doubts about the objectivity of this document. The optimal ratio of disadvantages and positive qualities is 1:5.

In the same section, you need to indicate data on awards, incentives, disciplinary sanctions, for example: "There were gross violations of discipline, but under educational influence the correct conclusions were drawn and steps were taken to correct behavior", "Understood the requirements of official discipline correctly and fully complies."

4. Other information. The characteristic sometimes provides other information about the employee, for example, about his social activities. When describing this aspect, it is necessary to indicate in which public associations the employee is a member, in which projects he took part (for example, "Does a lot and effectively in public work and his public activities bring great benefit to the team"). Moreover, activities are taken into account not only within the organization, but also outside it.

At the end of the characteristic, they usually write for what purposes it is issued, for example: "This characteristic has been issued for presentation to the Avtozavodsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod." If the document will be sent to several places, it can be noted that the characteristic is issued for presentation at the place of demand.

We draw up and issue a description

Some unified form for the characteristic is not legally established, therefore it is drawn up arbitrarily on A4 sheets. The text is written in the third person, using present or past tense verbs (graduated, worked, performs, has, etc.).

Particular attention should be paid to the design of the characteristics sent to various authorities and authorities - it must be drawn up on the official letterhead of the institution and signed by the head, and then certified with a seal. If the characteristic is being prepared for promotion, transfer, appointment, and for other "internal" purposes of the institution, it is signed by the head of the personnel service or the direct compiler, and there is no need to stamp the seal.

note! Since the characteristic is a document containing the employee's personal data, when compiling it, it is necessary to take into account the requirements of Ch. 14 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

If the initiator of drawing up a characteristic intended to be provided outside the institution is an employee, the characteristic is issued to him against receipt. It is also necessary to take a receipt for obtaining the characteristics from the lawyer who receives this document in his hands. To record the fact of obtaining characteristics, it is best to start a journal in which to make notes about who, when and in how many copies the document was issued.

If it is necessary to send a characteristic by mail, this is also recorded in the journal, a copy is made of the document and placed in the employee's personal file.

Summarize

To summarize all of the above - we will give a brief briefing on compiling a characteristic.

The first step is to request all the necessary information about the employee in the personnel department. Break the text of the characteristic into several blocks, logically related to each other. Briefly indicate the personal data, year and place of birth, name the educational institutions that the employee graduated from, and the specialties received by him in the learning process. Then describe the work activity before the employee joined you.

The main text of the characteristic should contain a description of the business and personal qualities of the person being characterized: reflect the stages of the career, the range of issues addressed by the employee, the projects in which he took part.

Be mindful of the purpose of the testimonial and evaluate business and personal qualities briefly and accurately.

The fate of a person may depend on how the characteristic is drawn up. Thus, S. was found guilty of a crime by the Perovsky District Court of Moscow and she was sentenced to the maximum possible sentence. Disagreeing with such a harsh sentence, S. filed an appeal, which resulted in a reduction in the sentence. The appellate instance substantiated its position by the presence of mitigating circumstances - a confession, positive characteristics of S. from the place of residence and work (Determination of the Moscow City Court of 05/20/2013 in case N 10-3077 / 13).