A SWOT Analysis of Yourself: Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses to Make You a Better Person

SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) is a common tool used in professional fields to assess the past, present and future state of companies. It provides organizational leaders with a fresh perspective on where the organization is doing well, the challenges it faces, and the way forward. A personal SWOT analysis can do the same for a person pursuing their career goals. It provides information based on the strengths and weaknesses of your personality, the challenges you envision, and the opportunities around you now and in the future.

What is a SWOT analysis and why would I want to do one?

Strengths: Identify the direction you want to go in your career and the level of achievement you wish to attain. Make a list of the five strengths you have identified in your career journey. How do these strengths apply to your career aspirations? Weaknesses: What is preventing you from attaining your career goals? List the weaknesses in your work experience, skills and knowledge. How are these weaknesses affecting your career today? Opportunities: Write down all the possible career paths you could choose if you want to pursue your career goals, in order to discover all the possible opportunities around you. Threats: Write down the possible risks that could prevent you from achieving your career goals. How can you work around these threats?

Define your strengths and weaknesses

Looking back at your strengths and weaknesses shows your personal values and helps you see how you can reach your goals. Your strengths and weaknesses should not be a false sense of accomplishment. They're objective data you should use to measure how you're progressing and where you need to improve. If you have never defined your strengths and weaknesses, it's a good idea to do so before taking the time to look into your future career options. There are a few simple questions that can help you get started: What do you do well in your career? What can you do better? Do you follow the same or very similar career path? Are you comfortable in the position you are in? Do you have enough time to pursue your passion? Are there any areas where you need to improve?

Identify opportunities and threats in the future

SWOT analysis can take you on a deep dive into the future and identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Take the time to put all the information together to see the big picture and be able to create a more compelling vision for your career in the next few years. Once you identify the strengths, opportunities, and threats, make a list of your strengths. What makes you unique? Explore your strengths to see how you can use them to impact your life and career. Understand your weaknesses so you can create a plan to work on them and improve them. Identify your opportunities by asking yourself questions like: What do I need to do to improve my strengths? What do I want to achieve or learn next? What do I want to achieve next?

Create an action plan for yourself based on your SWOT analysis

Taking stock of your strengths and weaknesses gives you a set of roadmaps to follow so you can develop a plan that will enable you to achieve your career goals. For example, an entrepreneur with excellent business acumen may be looking to pursue a career in financial services, but knows it won’t be an easy road. To guide her on the journey, she can plan to Research and develop a thorough understanding of financial services and investment strategies. Build a network of people in the field, the industry, and the finance sector. Strengthen her self-awareness by understanding her weaknesses and goals to achieve her career goals. Use her strengths to develop a marketing plan, funding sources, business goals, and more.

Conclusion

Strengths and weaknesses are in many ways the most essential tools a person can have in his or her toolbox to succeed in life. Take the time to build out the parts of yourself that you like and those that you wish to improve. That way, when you enter a job interview, the manager interviewing you can immediately see what you have to offer and how to leverage it. A few years ago, a friend of mine was undergoing a personal SWOT analysis. As he was working through it, I walked over to his desk and noticed that he was engrossed in the assignment. In fact, he was so absorbed that he was doing a perfectly good job at it. That observation brought home the point that knowing yourself can sometimes be more useful than you might expect.