By Ikenna M. Okafor, (OgaHR)
SWOT is one of the business tools for analyzing situations. It is impossible to successfully write a Business Plan or conduct a feasibility study without the application of the SWOT tools. Individuals, especially professionals, may not see it as necessary since they are not a business entity. What do business entities therefore conduct a SWOT analysis? It helps with goal setting, and strategic planning, helps in identifying areas needed for improvement, risks control, and much more. On this premise, therefore, either as a professional or an employee, then you are also a business entity and therefore, it is important you do a SWOT Analysis of yourself. A SWOT Analysis properly and objectively done would help you position yourself better either in relating with people or as an employee.
SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The first two Strengths and Weaknesses are internal dynamics of a professional or a person, while the last two Opportunities and Threats are external dynamics. For instance, as a Human Resources Professional, my strength lies in being naturally vocal, self-motivated, diligent, and goal-oriented. However, I recognize that my weakness is sometimes being pessimistic and having high expectations for others to think and act quickly without needing guidance.
The Opportunity I have is that with the growing need for manpower, my skills and professionalism are one of the most highly sourced in Nigeria as of today. With the recent popularity being gained by the human resources profession, it keeps people like me at an advantage to almost be indispensable and be highly sourced for. There is a looming concern that the rapidly advancing technology may lead to a reduced demand for human resources professionals.
We should not get distracted; this article is not about me but about doing a SWOT analysis for yourself. Performing a SWOT analysis for oneself is imperative regardless of industry, profession, personality, or geographical location. This self-assessment tool is crucial for positioning oneself effectively in one’s chosen field. You need to understand the dynamics that are advantageous to you so you can capitalize on and improve on them and the dynamics that are at your disadvantage to help you mitigate them. The prevailing trend of disparaging remarks toward individuals underscores the importance of introspection and self-assessment. An individual’s self-awareness, as revealed through a thorough SWOT analysis, obviates the need for external validation of their abilities and areas necessitating improvement.
When conducting your SWOT analysis, examine things like your qualifications, skills, character, knowledge, network, and experiences. These are things that make up the Strengths and Weaknesses. Then also examine your colleagues (competitors), government or regulatory bodies’ rules and regulations, corporate bodies’ preferences, changing work environment (to see if your skill set fits into them), and even the influence of natural occurrences like pandemic, epidemic, natural disaster, etc.
If you are an applicant, conducting a SWOT analysis would help you position yourself in the labor market to attract recruiters and employers to you. With a SWOT analysis of your personality and career, you will understand which of your skills sells you more and how to land your dream job. If you are a professional or an employee, a SWOT analysis would help you grow even more quickly in your chosen career path as it would give your insight into how to marry your skills, knowledge, and attitude on the job. This does not matter if you are in the Private or Public Sector, with understanding SWOT Analysis as it concerns your personality, you would focus on aspects of your life that beam your lights and work on risk factors that deem your light.
While on your job, look out for those task that gives you recognition and attracts appreciation to either you or your team members. Part of what happens is that SWOT Analysis enables a group/individual to handle everyday problems and look at traditional strategies from a new perspective. The SWOT framework can be utilized to effectively organize and leverage data and information derived from the assessment of both internal and external business environments.”
The importance of SWOT analysis for business owners cannot be overstated, despite being relatively overlooked in contemporary literature. Emphasizing internal dynamics, business owners should scrutinize aspects such as their comprehensive understanding of their business and industry, personal attributes, accessibility to financial resources, as well as their skills, character, and personal brand, among other pertinent factors. They should also look out for external dynamics like the general market and industry, favorable or unfavorable policies, and changing customer tastes to mention but a few.
For one to professionally and strategically position oneself, one must conduct a SWOT Analysis of oneself objectively and must be true to tell oneself of places that one needs to improve on. In summary, conducting a SWOT analysis helps to gain a comprehensive understanding of internal capabilities and the external environment, enabling them to develop strategies that leverage strengths, mitigate weaknesses, capitalize on opportunities, and protect against threats.
KEY WORDS
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