A Job Seeker’s Guide to SWOT Analysis
In today's world, many companies complete a SWOT analysis to help guide the organization's strategy. If you're left wondering what that even is, it stands for: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Job seekers can also benefit from taking a similar inner journey of analysis to better understand marketable skillsets and determine the best strategy to move forward. The SWOT analysis helps you identify areas where you excel, areas that could benefit from improvement, and things that might trip you up along your professional journey.
STRENGTHS:
There are several ways you can assess your strengths. One way might be to keep a journal for a week or two, where you track what you are doing during times of flow and times of drain. During times of flow, you become so positively in-tune with what you're doing that you lose track of time and time flies by. During times of drain, you feel exhausted and empty from whatever task you're doing. Tracking these areas is also essential because it can help you understand what you want to avoid in a future position. If you're not currently working, keeping a journal can still be beneficial. Think back to your last job or two or three and see if you can remember what things made you feel both ways. Next, focus on the flow areas. Has anyone ever complimented you on these areas in the past? Have they ever helped you advance in your career? Those are strengths!
Other great ways to determine your strengths are through StrengthsFinder 2.0, the flower exercise in What Color is Your Parachute and learning about your internal compass in Designing Your Life. Think about your skills, knowledge, competencies, and experiences. Make a list!
WEAKNESSES:
No one likes to think about weaknesses. But doing so can put you at an advantage moving forward. If you completed the journal exercise discussed above, your areas of drain might be areas of weakness, but not necessarily. Give it some thought and be honest with yourself. Are you awful at math? Do you lack creative bones? What about public speaking? If you're not good with math and find it leaves you feeling depleted, you probably won't want to take a job as a high school calculus teacher even if the opportunity were presented to you in a gift box with a bow. Why? Because you'll feel miserable going to work every day.
Similarly, you probably wouldn't want to be a teacher if you don't like public speaking. But what if you LOVE math and teaching, are good at both but are a horrible public speaker? Then go for it! But while you're at it, work to improve your public speaking skills by joining, say, a Toastmasters group. And while we're on the topic, if you feel insecure with being on video or the technology around it, practice, practice, practice. Get comfortable with it. Coronavirus has changed our global landscape in the way we work, play, communicate, and learn.
Think about how your weaknesses relate to where you want to be in the next one, two, and three years. Do you need to learn a foreign language or get a certification or licensure? Do some research and take notes about the cost, timeframe, and process.
BUT WAIT, WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?
Once you've established your strengths and weaknesses, it's SUPER important to evaluate where you want to go. If you don't have a direction, you risk looking too broadly or not finding a sense of fulfillment in your work. Be as specific as possible. You might consider an alternate path as well. Mind mapping can be helpful or setting a timer and doing a mental brain dump of all the possibilities. If you need assistance evaluating options, Beverly Ryle's Prioritizing Grid is excellent!
Consider volunteering or having Zoom chats with professionals who do what you may want to do to experiment and get a better feel for if it's the right fit. It matters that you go after something you at least mostly enjoy. We typically spend more time working than we do with our loved ones, so it's crucial you do something in tune with your values and feel a sense of fulfillment. Think in terms of ideally, where you want to be in three years. What steps do you need to take to get there? Break it down into yearly steps. Then look at the more immediate future. What do you need to do in the next three months, six months, nine months––how about the next week?
OPPORTUNITIES:
Now it's time to brainstorm what opportunities are within reaching distance. For example, if you aren't working, can you find some extra time you wouldn't otherwise have to invest in some online training to get a helpful certification? Maybe you are working but doing so at home due to the pandemic. Can you use the time you would have spent driving to work to learn a new language through Rosetta Stone or Duolingo? Perhaps you know someone whose cousin works at a company you'd love to work for––that's a great networking opportunity! Give it some real thought and see how the universe may be trying to help you reach your goals!
THREATS:
Threats are things that can hold you back from reaching your professional goals. Perhaps you have debt that prevents you from moving to a new city or going after a master's degree. Maybe your spouse works in a field not conducive to relocation, and your professional goals require a move. Analyze existing threats. There may be no clear solution to them, but it's still important to be aware of them. Perhaps your threats require a time extension to reaching your goals. Maybe they need some creative thinking. Whatever the case, rather than saying, "I can't do XYZ…" instead ask, "How can I do XYZ?" That will put you in a more proper mind-frame for possible solutions or adaptations.
In conclusion, conducting a personal SWOT analysis can go a long way in laying out your career goals and direction. Understanding your strengths can help you better determine what kind of work you might want to target. Knowing your weaknesses can help you find areas where you can improve and what professional areas you may want to avoid. Both can help you establish where you want to be in the next three years. Opportunities are like the universe offering you a helping hand along your journey––you'll want to recognize opportunities when you see them, and that can take practice, a positive mindset, and a keen eye. Finally, knowing what threats are holding you back helps determine where you might need to pivot, adjust course, or reevaluate to set yourself up for the best chances of success!
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