Career Development - Employee's Role

Career Development – Employee's role

Personal SWOT Analysis

Making the Most of Your Talents and Opportunities!

What are YOUR strengths and weaknesses?

You are most likely to succeed in life if you use your talents to their fullest extent. Similarly, you'll suffer fewer problems if you know what your weaknesses are, and if you manage these weaknesses so that they don't matter in the work you do.

If you look at yourself using the SWOT framework, you can start to separate yourself from your peers, and further develop the specialized talents and abilities you need to advance your career.

How to Use the Tool

To perform a personal SWOT analysis, print out our free worksheet, and write down answers to the questions in each area below.

Strengths

• What advantages do you have that others don't have (for example, skills, certifications, education, or connections?

• What do you do better than anyone else?

• What personal resources can you access?

• What do other people (and your boss, in particular) see as your strengths?

• Which of your achievements are you most proud of?

• What values do you believe in that others fail to exhibit?

• Are you part of a network that no one else is involved in? If so, what connections do you have with influential people?

Consider this from your own perspective, and from the point of view of the people around you. And don't be modest or shy – be as objective as you can.

And if you have any difficulty with this, write down a list of your personal characteristics. Some of these will hopefully be strengths!

Weaknesses

• What tasks do you usually avoid because you don't feel confident doing them?

• What will the people around you see as your weaknesses?

• Are you completely confident in your education and skills training? If not, where are you weakest?

• What are your negative work habits (for example, are you often late, are you disorganized, do you have a short temper, or are you poor at handling stress)?

• Do you have personality traits that hold you back in your field? For instance, if you have to conduct meetings on a regular basis, a fear of public speaking would be a major weakness.

Again, consider this from a personal/internal perspective and an external