Read the following article: How To Conduct A Personal SWOTAnalysis:

An effective process companies use to assess themselves andtheir competitors and formulate their strategies is an analysiscalled “SWOT.” But this exercise isn’t just for businesses. It canbe helpful for job seekers and those who are looking to climb thecareer ladder, too. Here’s how the process works…

After you’ve defined your career aspirations and goals (see myprevious blog on how to do this), the next step is to understandmore about yourself and your external environment. This is wherethe SWOT analysis is helpful. It stands for:

S = Strengths (internal)

W = Weaknesses (internal)

O = Opportunities (external)

T = Threats (external)

This process captures information about your internal strengthsand weaknesses as well as external opportunities and threats. Keyto completing your SWOT analysis is to treat your career as abusiness and yourself as a competitive product.

Strengths

To help you understand your strengths, picture yourself as acompetitive product in the marketplace. A personal strength is anasset to you as a product and can be used as a way to differentiateyourself from others when interviewing or trying to obtain yournext promotion. Examples of strengths: Strong project managementskills, ability to improve or reengineer processes, experience andtraining in presenting to large audiences, proven successful salesabilities.

Weaknesses

A personal weakness is a liability or an area of opportunity forgrowth. These are characteristics you could improve upon toincrease future job opportunities. Examples: Disorganized,uncomfortable speaking in front of groups, tendency toprocrastinate, poor listener.

Opportunities & Threats

When thinking about your opportunities and threats, I alwaysfind it easier to begin with the “threats.” Try comparing yourselfto people you’ll likely compete against for that next job orpromotion. Then, as objectively as possible, judge your threats anddetermine possible ways to overcome them. Here are someexamples:

Threat: Other candidates have collegedegrees

Opportunity: Go to night school and finish mybachelor’s degree

Threat: Colleague X is much better atpresenting in front of groups

Opportunity: Take a speech class or join aprogram (such as Toastmasters); seek out opportunities to presentin front of audiences

The purpose of the personal SWOT analysis is to identify actionsyou can take to best meet the requirements of the job or promotionyou are seeking. Comparing your strengths and weaknesses to the jobrequirements will identify gaps and help you prepare to be the bestcandidate for the position to which you aspire.

Throughout my career, I’ve used this SWOT analysis every timeI’m applying and interviewing for a new job. Going through thisexercise helps me ensure I’m prepared for the interview and gets meready to answer tough questions from interviewers (such as,“Describe your biggest weakness”). Following this process alsoallows me to anticipate areas that could be potential issues duringthe interview.

So if you need a little boost in your job search or to obtainthat coveted promotion, try using the personal SWOT analysisexercise to sharpen your strengths, improve your weaknesses,identify opportunities for development and neutralize or overcomeyour threats.

Answer the following question:

What did you learn from the SWOT and Personal Mission Statementarticles, particularly as it relates to your own careerdevelopment? Did the activity results support your career goals(are they a good match) or does it seem like adjustments need to bemade to your long term career plans? You may want to take a look atyour employer's Mission Statement. How does it align with yourpersonal mission statement?