Looking for some positive words to describe someone great, namely yourself? Here's a long list for you.

many open books lying flat
Photo by Patrick Tomasso

A classic move for a job interviewer is to ask if you could describe yourself in one word.

To help you prepare for that surprisingly challenging personality-testing job interview question, here's some positive adjective help that will also make you happy.

The good, better and best adjectives to “describe me”

Dilbert blog

Dilbert creator Scott Adams once asked his readers to pick one word to describe themselves.

Looking at the results, he made an interesting discovery. Scott is also a trained hypnotist, and according to him, quickly reading this powerful, positive personality adjectives list will make you happier.

And you know what?

It works!

Give it a try…

These are also good adjectives for a person you're writing about, such as when you need to describe someone in a LinkedIn recommendation.

Has a job interviewer ever asked you to describe yourself in one word?


Free bonus: The One Job Interview Resource You’ll Ever Need is a handy reference to help you prepare for any kind of job interview. Download it free now

  1. adept
  2. agreeable
  3. alert
  4. alluring
  5. amazing
  6. ambitious
  7. amusing
  8. attentive
  9. awesome
  10. boundless
  11. brave
  12. bright
  13. calm
  14. capable
  15. charming
  16. cheerful
  17. clever
  18. coherent
  19. comfortable
  20. confident
  21. conscientious
  22. considerate
  23. consistent
  24. cooperative
  25. courageous
  26. creative
  27. credible
  28. cultured
  29. dashing
  30. dazzling
  31. debonair
  32. decisive
  33. decorous
  34. delightful
  35. detailed
  36. determined
  37. diligent
  38. discerning
  39. discreet
  40. dynamic
  41. eager
  42. eclectic
  43. efficient
  44. elated
  45. eminent
  46. enchanting
  47. encouraging
  48. endurable
  49. energetic
  50. enterprising
  51. entertaining
  52. enthusiastic
  53. excellent
  54. excited
  55. exclusive
  56. exuberant
  57. fabulous
  58. fair
  59. faithful
  60. fantastic
  61. fearless
  62. fine
  63. frank
  64. friendly
  65. funny
  66. generous
  67. gentle
  68. glorious
  69. good
  70. groundbreaking
  71. happy
  72. hard-working
  73. harmonious
  74. helpful
  75. hilarious
  76. honorable
  77. impartial
  78. ingenious
  79. insightful
  80. inventive
  81. industrious
  82. inscrutable
  83. instinctive
  84. jolly
  85. joyous
  86. kind
  87. kind-hearted
  88. knowledgeable
  89. level
  90. likeable
  91. lively
  92. logical
  93. lovely
  94. loving
  95. loyal
  96. lucky
  97. mature
  98. meticulous
  99. modern
  100. multi-talented
  101. nice
  102. obedient
  103. optimistic
  104. organized
  105. painstaking
  106. peaceful
  107. perceptive
  108. perfect
  109. persistent
  110. placid
  111. plausible
  112. pleasant
  113. plucky
  114. productive
  115. professional
  116. protective
  117. proud
  118. punctual
  119. quiet
  120. receptive
  121. reflective
  122. reliable
  123. relieved
  124. resolute
  125. responsible
  126. rhetorical
  127. righteous
  128. robust
  129. romantic
  130. sedate
  131. seemly
  132. selective
  133. self-assured
  134. sensitive
  135. sharp
  136. shrewd
  137. silly
  138. sincere
  139. skillful
  140. smart
  141. smiling
  142. sophisticated
  143. splendid
  144. steadfast
  145. stimulating
  146. strategic
  147. studious
  148. successful
  149. succinct
  150. talented
  151. thoughtful
  152. thrifty
  153. tough
  154. trustworthy
  155. unbiased
  156. unprecedented
  157. unusual
  158. upbeat
  159. vigorous
  160. vivacious
  161. warm
  162. willing
  163. wise
  164. witty
  165. wonderful

Feel better?

Good 👍

However, if you're now tempted to go off with this list and rewrite your resume, adding in as many positive, empowering adjectives as you can, please don't. Adjectives come across as fluff in a resume.

Instead, use action verbs instead to give your resume more punch.

Question of the article

What's your choice for “best word to describe myself” and why? Think how you would justify your response in an interview, and tell us in the comments.

Free Bonus

If you want a handy job interview resource that you can keep on your smartphone or print out for easy reference, I’ve got a special bonus for you.

This free download contains:
  • 165 positive personality adjectives to describe yourself
  • 444 of the most popular job interviewer questions to prepare yourself with
  • 175 questions that you can ask in job interviews to make a good impression and learn about your future employer
Click the image below to get access to The One Job Interview Resource You’ll Ever Need: The One Job Interview Resource You'll Ever Need download button

JobMob Insiders can get this free bonus and other exclusive content in the JobMob Insider Bonuses area. Join now, it's free!

Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more happiness-increasing job search advice.

Jacob Share

Job Search Expert, Professional Blogger, Creative Thinker, Community Builder with a sense of humor. I like to help people.

This Post Has 55 Comments

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  2. Elena

    hi Jacob,
    I think your site can be a great resource for most of my students…you know there’s always a lesson focused on jobs. I’ll definitely use it in my classes.
    Thanks!

    e.

  3. Jacob Share

    Glad to hear it Elena. If there’s any specific topic you’d like me to cover more in depth, please tell me.

    1. Sherry

      Jacob,
      Are you able to give your expertise on resumes?

  4. happy mom

    thank u so much my 9th granders needed a vocab check so this site really helped them out wit word choices!!!

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  9. John Berg

    Interesting to see that just adjectives can give you so many ideas to describe yourself. Nice one! I like this!
    .-= John Berg´s last blog ..Common and Uncommon Interview Question and Answers =-.

  10. yuli andrea matamoros

    make a lits about the adjetives for desenbiengl people and things

  11. mad

    this site is strange and weird did not help me in my job interview they thought i was to always trying to be perfect

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  14. Ariana Grande

    hi! this is really helpful! yeah, its me. Ariana. not a poser:]

    1. yo mama

      ha yea “OOOOKKAAAY”

  15. Glenn

    Yea. This is good. But what the hell has hypnotism got to do with this?! This isn’t hypnotism, this is simply positive/good/happy things – of course it’d make you feel a bit beter reading the list — good things make you feel better and this list would also probably make you think of a few positive things which will also make you feel better. All good and valid, just don’t tarnish it by calling hypnotism. please.

  16. Jacob Share

    Glenn- Talk to Scott Adams, he’s the hypnotist.

  17. Glenn

    Fair enough!

  18. martina

    you should also do negative words!!!!

  19. Antonio

    Nice article, Although, I wish you posted these adjective with their meaning. Thanks 🙂

  20. hina

    i want adjectives with their meanings and use in sentences

  21. Kate

    I agree with Hina because then English teachers can use the post as a teaching text.

  22. Frank

    This did not help me with my interview. They called the cops on me and said i was weird. I then yelled the positive words at the boss, but that did not help either. This site is a sham! Don’t yell the words does not work.

  23. Kaylee

    I really like these adjetives

  24. Chris Hogg

    Jacob — about a week or so ago I published this on a veteran LI group; I guess great minds think alike 🙂

    ADJECTIVE: a word or phrase naming an attribute, or modifying a noun, such as a bright blue flower (as opposed to a blue flower), or, a highly-skilled extremely-successful well-respected leader (as opposed to a manager). Adjectives are our enemies. Adjectives need to be eliminated from our LinkedIn profiles and resumes. Adjectives such as the following MUST DIE:
    A challenging and rewarding
    A proven history of working in the ____ industry
    Dynamic leader
    Highly-effective communicator
    Dedicated leader / leadership
    Servant leader
    Seasoned / Seasoned professional
    Highly-accomplished / -motivated / -successful / -experienced
    Organized and creative professional
    Motivated self-starter
    Fast-paced
    Determined, Hard-working, Diligent, Trustworthy, Team player, Motivated, Reliable

    And so, so many more….

    1. Jacob Share

      Highly-effective communication, Chris. I like it 👍

  25. Jacob Share

    Just posted a massive update to this list, adding in another 35 adjectives and a new bonus tip 🚀💯

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