Personal SWOT Analysis

Tap to Read ➤ Sujata Iyer

One of the best ways to overcome personal and professional hurdles is to conduct a SWOT analysis on yourself. Find out how you can go about it, in this post.

A SWOT analysis is a fairly regular practice in the business world. Major corporations use it to estimate and foretell their profits, to use as a base for a new product to be launched and also to understand why a particular product failed.

On the same lines, assessing the S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities and T hreats that you face on a personal level can help you with assessing many facets of your personality. In addition to helping you assess your personality, it will also help you realize your goals and lead the path to a drastic self-improvement routine.

Given here is a rough template that you can use in order to take a deeper look at yourself from a personal perspective and also from another's.

Strength

Something that I am good at. Something that sets me apart from the others I know. Something that helps me to be a better professional and a better person.

What are things that I am good at? What are the things that people always appreciate about me? What are my professional achievements? How do my educational qualifications give me an edge over others?

What are the positive traits in me that are always highlighted through my behavior and my work? What are the three best physical attributes that people say I have? How do I use my positive traits (physical and psychological) to achieve what I set out to achieve?

Weaknesses

Something that I feel I am not good enough for. Something that acts as a hurdle between me and my goal

What is the one thing that I am most afraid of, personally and professionally? What are the top three things that people say I need to improve on.

What are the things that I avoid doing because I have a sense of fear or apprehension about doing it? What are the attributes in me that prevent me from acting up against something that I know is wrong?

Do I let people take me for granted? If yes, why do I do it? Is it because I prefer to avoid conflict over standing up for myself? Why is it that some people shy away from asking me for help?

Do I really believe in the things people say about me and do I let it affect my overall demeanor and personality? Do I get easily influenced by what people say to me under the pretext of giving me 'advice'?

Opportunities

The opportunities that are available for me to improve myself and the different avenues I can explore to help gain more confidence in myself and my abilities.

How can I find out about ways to work on my drawbacks? What are the things that I can do to make sure that my strengths are highlighted and my weaknesses are not? Who are the people I can approach for help regarding the drawbacks that I and other people see in me?

What are the professional chances that I can grab in order to prove my mettle to my co-workers and superiors? How and who can I help with their workload to show that I can be proactive and useful at the same time? What can I do to feel good about myself and the things I do?

Threats

The things that are stopping me from excelling in what I do. What can be done about it?

What are the things that I feel are preventing me from giving my best to everything I do? Who do I see as possible dangers in my professional life? Who do I perceive to be a threat in my personal relationships?

What kind of obstacles are present in my work environment that are in my way of a possible promotion? Who are my immediate competitors for a position or for a job that I know I'm the best choice for?

Once you conduct an exhaustive analysis using the examples given above, you will know what are the things or the people that you need to eliminate (threats) from your life, so that you get rid of negativity (weaknesses), feel renewed (strengths), and are ready to pursue new avenues (opportunities).

This is the first step towards personal development, and will definitely help you understand yourself better.