SWOT Analysis for Professional Growth
- Mridula Menon
As a professional, how do you deal with contingencies in personal life, professional life or both the fronts especially if they seem to affect your performance at work. Or, your performance is excellent, yet you feel you are stuck in the same role for years. The answer lies in conducting a SWOT analysis for yourself.
Now you may think, isn’t SWOT meant only for analyzing business performance? The answer is a crisp NO. SWOT helps you get rid of your imposter syndrome, your insecurities, and helps you set new goals or work efficiently towards the existing goals. Let us see how —
S — Strengths
- Identify all your accomplishments both personal and professional.
- Identify a scenario where the going got tough but you were able to break the barriers. List everything that helped you overcome the obstacles as your strengths.
W — Weaknesses
- Did you feel discouraged or demotivated by anyone at work or at home? List all the reasons that made you feel so. Now plan out what actions you will take to dissipate those emotions.
- Did you fail at a deliverable? List all the reasons and plan how to avoid them in future.
- Do you lack confidence to complete a specific task at work or personal life? Take a pen and write why you feel the lack of confidence. Discuss it with a mentor and take a corrective action.
- This is the most important section of all four sections, as this can cause loss of job, loss of a relationship, and so on. If you have successfully identified all your weaknesses, you have achieved a 50% task of overcoming them. Find a mentor or counsellor to seek professional guidance.
O— Opportunities
- Opportunities are closely aligned with growth. Always be aware of areas where you can grow as an individual or as a professional.
- Be aware of the latest trends and technologies in your area of expertise.
- Keep the communication channel open with your superiors at work and your near and dear at home.
- Discuss your growth plans with your boss and seek the necessary approvals to enhance your skillset. At times you may aspire to grow in a non-relevant domain and may not get the required approvals for your course. In such cases look for free courses, courses with free trial periods, or invest in a course as your personal expense if you are confident that it will help you change or progress your career.
T— Threats
- Harassment by a colleague making it difficult for you to focus on your work. Report to your company’s harassment cell immediately.
- You need to travel long distances to get to work and it is affecting your personal life. If possible, move closer to work or, talk to your boss and avail WFH for a day or two every week.
- A death or, a divorce or, an accident or any other form of personal contingency may adversely affect your performance at work. Be candid about your situation with your Boss if you share a congenial relationship with them, else, talk to the HR.
- Company is acquired and there is a possible threat of redundancy of workforce. Talk to your boss to understand the situation. In case you are not convinced start looking for a change in workplace.
The SWOT analysis is an efficient way to analyze your capabilities and to guide you consistently to become a better version of yourself. Always fix a time of the year, every year, when you can list out all the four sections and analyze your SWOT.
About the Author
Mridula Menon, Sr. Tech Writer, Salesforce Industries. A certified Reiki healer, Hypnotherapist and an Art Therapist, Mridula’s mantra to stay peaceful and focused in life is “Live in the present moment”.
