How to Do SWOT Analysis of Self Example

 

SELF SWOT ANALYSIS

(How to do SWOT Analysis of Yourself)

If you strive to know yourself beyond your name, what you do, and what your likes and dislikes are, you will be able to build Better Relationship with the people around you where ever in this world you go.

After reading the blog on Self SWOT Analysis you will be able to :

 

1. UNDERSTAND the 4 components of the SWOT Analysis. This will provide an opportunity not only for Self Reflection but also to transform yourself.

 

2. Secondly, you will be able to DEVELOP a focused Action Plan based on your understanding of SWOT and achieve your professional goals.

 

What is a Personal Swot Analysis?

Self or Personal SWOT Analysis is in essence an Inward look at :

 

* What makes an individual of value in the marketplace and in society.

 

* It helps the individual to identify what areas he needs to work on to develop himself and lead a successful life.

 

* What are the possibilities that an individual comes across or is presented with that he can take advantage of.

 

* Finally, there is always a threat that can stop an individual from achieving his goal. What are those threats that can stop an individual to take advantage of the opportunities presented to him?

 

WHAT IS THE FULL FORM OF SWOT ANALYSIS?

SWOT stands for:

 

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES & THREATS
 

If an individual sincerely works on preparing his SWOT Analysis he can bring out an optimal balance between his internal Strengths and Weaknesses and use it to his advantage to maximize the opportunities and minimize the threats that he has to face in the marketplace or in his personal life.

 

PERSONAL SWOT ANALYSIS

 

INTERNAL

Strengths

Weaknesses

EXTERNAL

Opportunities

Threats

 

To deeply understand SWOT Analysis let us look at each aspect individually and in detail.

 

STRENGTHS in SWOT ANALYSIS:

An individual can either already possess certain strengths or can develop the desired strength.

 

If he already possesses a strength then he should work on enhancing and intensifying that strength.

 

If he needs to develop a strength then he should focus on building that strength in him.

 

As we have seen above strengths are internal. It is something that we live with 24 by 7. But unknowingly some people say that their parents or their brother or any other individual is their strength. What we need to understand is that they can only support you in your endeavor. It is your inner strength that will make you take action and fight your battles.

 

For example, your parents can get you admitted to the best college but it is your strength that will sail you through your college and make you graduate with flying colors and excel in other departments.

 

Examples of STRENGTH

I have a PASSION for training.

I have good INTERPERSONAL skills.

I have good CRITICAL / ANALYTICAL skills.

I have excellent COMMUNICATION skills.

I have 21 years of WORK EXPERIENCE.

I am good with PUBLIC SPEAKING.

I have good mastery over ENGLISH.

 

HOW TO DO A SWOT ANALYSIS

The best way to identify and create your SWOT is by Asking Powerful Questions to yourself and then taking out time to answer those questions.

 

Remember, creating your SWOT is not something that you do casually, and try to finish it in minutes or half an hour or so.

 

It requires commitment from your side. It will require you to think deeply about yourself. If this is the first time you are preparing your SWOT it might take you weeks to come out with something that you can be satisfied with.

 

Never hurry with your SWOT. Don’t do it because someone has told you to do it. Do it because you want to know yourself better and take advantage of it.

 

QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK YOURSELF TO IDENTIFY YOUR STRENGTHS

Q1. What abilities and professional qualities have I developed over the years?

 

When you sit to write the answer to the above question think about a time in your previous years when you were involved in some projects or group assignments. Did you use any of the abilities that helped you excel in that project? Don’t be vague, focus on being specific.

 

For example, you can say that you were a good team player or you led a team in completing the project. This can be your professional qualities and can be written under strengths.

 

Q2. What am I really good at doing that comes naturally to me?

 

Write down as many things as you can. The only condition is that you should be really good at that activity. Doing that activity should come naturally to you.

 

If you say that you are good at something ask yourself - ‘How can I say that I am really good at this activity? Have I done something in the past that will prove that I can do this activity well?’

 

For example, you can say that you are really good at MS Excel or designing a website, or writing codes.

 

Q3. What personal unique qualities can I dominate in?

 

These are the behavioral qualities that you display as you interact with people around you.

 

For example, your unique qualities can be that you are punctual, or you have leadership qualities, or you are passionate about your domain or you are optimistic in life.

 

There are endless qualities an individual can possess. You need to find the kind of person you actually are. Don’t write something that you think you are but in reality, you are not that kind of person.

 Believing something that you are not can hurt you in the long run.

 

Let’s say you want to write that you are Self - Disciplined. Can you give an example from your life in the near past where you have shown through your actions that you were Self - Disciplined? If yes then Self - Discipline can be your strength or else it is not your strength. Be truthful to yourself. Don’t try to convince yourself with weak examples.

 

Hope you can understand how to identify your strengths.

 

 

WEAKNESSES in SWOT ANALYSIS

Just like strengths, weaknesses too are internal and stays with us 24 by 7. The way we respond to situations tells us whether we are strong in something or it is our weakness.

 

Our Weakness is one or many behaviors that are shown by us that we should either attempt to decrease or resolve so that it doesn’t become a hindrance in our journey towards success.

 

Examples of WEAKNESSES

I am LAZY and suffer from PROCRASTINATION.

I am not able to CONCENTRATION on my work for long.

I am not good at dealing with CONFLICT.

I am very emotional.

I sometimes lack CONFIDENCE.

 

If you need to identify your WEAKNESSESS in SWOT analysis then you need to ask the following Questions to yourself.

Q1. What are the things that I don’t do well that I can improve?

Now, if there is a certain weakness that you want to convert into strength then you need to ask this first question to yourself. Then below it, you write down all the actionable you will do to build that inner strength.

 

Let us take an example and understand.

 

Say, you are not punctual. You have this weakness of arriving almost always late. Now you want to resolve this and want to develop punctuality.

 

Firstly, you need to write down in your SWOT under the weakness that you are not punctual and need to become punctual.

 

 Then write down in your journal something like - ‘I will respect my time and other people’s time by becoming punctual. This strength I will develop inside me by 15^th July 2021.’

 

Then below that, you can write all the actionable that will make you punctual.

 

For example, you can write the following actionable:

 

1. I will complete all my tasks on time and will not procrastinate.

 

2. If I commit someone to meet at a particular time I will make sure that I reach the meeting place 10-15 minutes before time.

 

3. I will never allow external forces like traffic to stop me from reaching a place before time. I will plan my travel accordingly.

 

I hope you got the idea. After you have written the actionable, read it daily and start working on it. Be conscious about being punctual. Don’t take it lightly because after all it is your life and you are going to reap the benefits of developing your inner strengths.

 

Q2. Why did I fail in certain things? What were the main causes of my failure?

 

Once in a while, we all have failed at something or the other that we started. It is not that we deliberately failed at that thing. It was just that we had a weakness that we didn’t recognize which led us to our failure.

 

By answering this second question we are trying to go into flashback and try to look at our failure objectively. This way we can easily identify the reason for our failure that can be our weakness.

 

It is important to note that the weakness that made us fail in one thing can also make us fail in other things that we may plan to do in the future. The situation may change but our weakness remains inside us and if we don’t take care of it, it will once again lead us to failure.

 

For example, when I started my own business I failed miserably because I didn’t have the knowledge and the skills to start a business. I depended on one client for business and trusted everybody in my team to work honestly. But things didn’t go well leading to my failure.

 

So, out of other weaknesses, having a single client and trusting people blindly were two of my weaknesses and the root cause of my failure.

 

Ask yourself this second question and work out the reasons why you were unsuccessful.

 

Q3. What are the tasks or activities that I don’t like doing?

 

There are certain tasks that we don’t enjoy doing. We tend to avoid them. These tasks are our weaknesses.

 

So, ask yourself --

 

Are there any tasks that I don’t enjoy doing?

What are those?

Do I need to do something about it or in the future I will avoid taking up such activities or tasks?

 

If I take my example, even though I have proved myself in sales, when it comes to talking to people in general, I am very shy. This is my weakness that I need to resolve.

 

OPPORTUNITIES in SWOT ANALYSIS:

Opportunities are external. It lies in the outside world.

 

The interesting thing is that most often Opportunities come in the form of problems. They appear like trouble.

 

Depending on what our Strengths and Weaknesses are we will see the problems as an opportunity to create something new or we will consider it as a difficulty from which we want to run miles away.

 

Opportunity is something that we must learn to exploit and expand.

 

Look at social media or the world of the internet. These are the platforms that we can learn to exploit for our professional advantage.

 

If you already have a skill then the question to ask is - ‘What additional complementary skills I can learn to expand my prospect of becoming successful?’

 

For example, if you are in the field of accounts and you know Tally. You can now master MS Excel sheets and expand your skillset.

 

 

Examples of OPPORTUNITIES

 

Many MNCs are opening their offices in my city.

 

Doing my Masters will help me get the desired promotion.

 

There is an opening for an internship in the company that I want to work for after my education.

 

More and more people are facing this problem and I believe I have the RIGHT SOLUTION for it. I have an opportunity to create a business out of it.

 

QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK YOURSELF TO IDENTIFY YOUR OPPORTUNITIES

Q1. How can I develop my present skills or what new skills can I learn that will give me a competitive advantage in my line of work?

 

The attitude of most of the people is that once they have left college they think that now they need not pick up any book or pay money to join a training program to develop additional skills. Whatever they had to study they have already done in their college.

 

This behavior makes our brain stagnate.

 

The world is changing at a rapid pace. Whatever field of work we choose or the job we do is getting impacted by this rapid change. It may not be visible right now but when it hits us we may not be prepared.

 

The best way to not get caught on the wrong side of this change is to continuously upgrade ourselves with new, new skills.

 

That’s why this question is very important -

 

How can I develop my present skills or what new skills can I learn that will give me a competitive advantage in my line of work?

For example, long back when I decided to do sales in the organization that I was working for nobody trusted me to even sell a product worth hundred rupees.

 

But the sales book that I used to buy and read, the expensive CDs on sales that I purchased with my own money and listened to became my opportunity to develop myself as a sales professional.

 

After nine months or so in the organization, I started performing in the field of sales and that took everyone in the organization by surprise. I trained myself to become a successful salesperson.

 

Q2. How can I showcase my work? Or What can I do to get my skills and talents noticed by my prospective employers?

 

In today’s scenario, no graduating student can complain that he is a fresher or he doesn’t have any experience. If he complains then he doesn’t have a vision for his career or lacks clarity.

 

According to my thinking, Experience is what you do every day in the 24 hours that you get daily.

 

If you are sincere about your career then you will go out of the way to work on the project or assignments that were given by your college.

 You can even create your own projects under the guidance of an expert.

 

Once you have done that then you can use the social media platform to showcase your skills. 

Rather than peeping into other people’s lives on social media or getting caught up in fake news, we should learn to use this powerful platform to tell the world about our skills.

 

This is a BIG OPPORTUNITY and the best part of this is that it is totally FREE!

 

To start with you can create your LinkedIn account and update your profile on it. Then start posting your original content that brings out your expertise in your domain.

LinkedIn is a professional platform that can connect you to other professionals and experts from your field.

 

You can also create a Facebook fan page where you exclusively showcase your skillset in your domain.

 

The people for whom this topic matters will connect with you and it may open up a window of opportunity for you.

 

Internet and social media in today’s world are an opportunity that we need to learn to exploit to build our successful career.

 

Other actions that you can take are:

 

1. Start Networking with like-minded people. In Corona times if offline networking is not possible connect with them online. Attend webinars, join online groups, contribute to discussions, read related blogs and leave relevant comments.

 

2. Work on your Resume. If this is going to be your first ever job then your Resume or CV is the first legal document that you will send out into the market.

 

What impression will your Resume create in the minds of your prospective employers?

 

Does your resume stand out from the crowd?

 

Remember, your resume is a mini-biography that you have written.

 

3. Work on your online presence. Just Google your name and see what turns up. That is your online profile.

 

Whenever someone wants to learn more about you they may not bother asking you. They will just Google your name and find out.

 

Your positive and professional online presence is an opportunity that you can exploit to achieve your goals.

 

Q3. What new trends are emerging in my professional domain?

 

It is advised that ‘Make Trend Your Friend’.

A trend is basically a movement or an inclination towards something.

 

So anybody who wants to be in the forefront of their profession then they need to think about --

 

* What are the recent trends in their field?

* What kind of people are getting preference for the job in this industry?

* Do they have any special skills or higher degrees?

* Is this a growing industry?

 

Once you understand the trend in your professional domain it can become a huge opportunity for you.

 

You can develop the necessary skills and education required to excel in this particular field of profession.

 

THREATS in SWOT ANALYSIS:

Just like opportunities, Threats are also external. They are outside in the world. But oftentimes threats can also come from within us. The impact of inner threat increases if we don’t take care of our weaknesses. We need to be aware that sometimes our weaknesses can become our threats.

 

When it comes to threats firstly we need to see if we can avoid them.

 

Once again I would like to take an example from the sales field to explain it in detail.

 

Most people think that selling is telling. So, if they believe that they are good talkers in and around friends and family they automatically assume that they can sell.

 

The worst-case scenario is that some people think that if they don’t get any job they will join sales.

 

With this attitude, they take up sales and then fail miserably.

 

Getting into sales without getting trained in selling skills becomes a threat to their career.

 

Therefore it is recommended that don’t get into a profession that doesn’t suit your temperament.

 

Avoid getting into these kinds of professions even though the profession pays a high salary. 

But if you are like me who is desperate to succeed in a field then go full throttle and train yourself, do whatever it takes to succeed in that field.

 

Secondly, we should stop something from happening so that it doesn’t become a threat to us shortly.

 

A simple example can be, say a student in college has the habit of coming to class late very often and is always ready with excuses.

 

Coming late has become his habit. If he is doing his Master then he has in total five long years of experience of coming late to college.

 

DO you think when he joins a company he will come on time for work?

 

Before late coming becomes a threat for his career he needs to stop it. 

He needs to break that habit. 

He needs to change his time schedule so that he starts arriving at college on time. He needs to practice being punctual today so that it doesn’t become a threat in the future.

 

 

Examples of THREATS

I have a heavy workload that stresses me out.

 

The new technology is threatening to make my job redundant.

 

Reduced salary due to corona lockdown makes this place very expensive to live in.

 

My promotion may be stopped because I don’t have higher academic qualifications.

QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK YOURSELF TO IDENTIFY YOUR THREATS & TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS

Q1. Is technology affecting the industry I work in?

 

If your answer to the above question is yes then the new technology is a threat to your job and career.

 

To overcome this threat you need to ask the second part of this question --

 

If yes then what skills do I need to stay relevant?

 

If you can’t answer this question yourself ask your seniors, do research, reach out to someone and get clarity. Then invest money in getting trained in that technology and be proactive in taking up new job responsibilities that involve the use of that application.

 

It’s your duty to stay relevant in your job. Take charge and do what needs to be done.

 

Q2. Are my skills good enough to get me a job of my liking?

 

A maximum number of students depend on just their educational qualifications to get a job.

We need to have both, EDUCATION as well as SKILLS.

 

The educational qualification gives us knowledge of the subject but skills give us the ability to use that knowledge to get things done in our job.

 

So, in addition to our educational qualifications, we also must be proactive to gauge the skills that are required to be successful in a particular field.

 

Then we should go ahead and get trained in that skill. This will allow us to become job-ready and will boost our confidence in the job profile we are looking for.

 

Q3. What can get in my way of success? Can anyone or any of my weaknesses become my threat?

 

As discussed above, even though threats are usually external sometimes we create our own threats that arise from within. This happens because we don’t overcome our weaknesses. We never accept that this is a weakness. 

Once on the job, we are not able to perform our duties because our same weakness stops us from accomplishing the goals. This creates a negative impression about our qualifications and skills and threatens our very survival in the job.

The management may even be thinking of firing us from our job.

 

In addition to this, if you are applying for a job and another candidate applying for the same job is more equipped than you with the required job skills then he can become your competitor for that job. This again becomes a threat for you.

 

That is why it's imperative to create and work on your SWOT. It’s not easy to create a personal SWOT. It requires patience and introspection. Long hours and hard work are involved.

 

Creating SELF SWOT is an investment in ourselves that will be a mirror to our inner personality. When we look at it and read it, it will help us understand ourselves much better so that we can march ahead in life with full confidence in the right direction.

 

In Conclusion

Instead of creating a New Year Resolution every year what I suggest is that we should create our SWOT Analysis every 31^st December.

 

This way we will understand where we stand at the end of the year and what we need to do in the new year.

 

Once we have created our SWOT we can develop actionable to:

 

MAXIMIZE our STRENGTHS

REDUCE or OVERCOME our WEAKNESSES

CAPTURE our OPPORTUNITIES

MINIMIZE our THREATS

 

Let us remember, SWOT Analysis is not just a piece of paper; it's a BLUEPRINT on which we can build a life worth living.

Before I wrap up I would like to hear from you. What are your views on creating Self SWOT analysis?

Do let me know in the comment section.

 

All the Best

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