Personal Swot Analysis

INTRODUCTION: To run a any kind of business different types of personal, managerial and leadership skills are required for the smooth functioning of business and to make it successful. Every person has its own characteristics and behaviour pattern. A person should have following different skills to become a successful employer, leader or manager. For this purpose, a person should be task oriented, power to command peoples and identify their skills, hard work and intelligence, ability to work with in a team and identify unique characteristics of its team members, strong self-esteem, desire for achievement and goal oriented and ability to grasp opportunities that are beneficial for him as well as for organization. Last but not the least characteristic of good leader is courage to take challenges and to go where no one has gone before. To identify these characteristics, one should use the SWOT matrix test. It is also known as TOWS matrix. This matrix helps us to identify our major strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats. From this we are able to know that whether we are compatible for the specific job or not.

SWOT ANALYSIS: SWOT analysis is a 2x2 matrix which represents the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is a powerful tool for identifying strengths and weaknesses and examining the threats and opportunities that you are facing.

STRENGTHS: These are internal strengths to take the advantage of the external opportunities. All managers would like to be in a position in which internal strengths can be used to take the advantage of the external trends and events.

WEAKNESSES: These are internal weaknesses and these can be improved by taking advantage of the external opportunities. Sometimes external opportunities exists but internal weaknesses prevent it from exploiting those opportunities.

OPPORTUNITIES: These are the external opportunities that are available to a person to become a successful leader.

THREATS: These are the external threats that will become hurdle and may prevent in exploring the opportunities.

PROFESSIONAL SWOT ANALYSIS: Professional swot analysis is done to check whether the desired job corresponds with your skills and abilities. In order to assess the job characteristics, whether they are in accordance with our skills, so we perform this analysis. In this analysis we take the factors such as leadership competencies, management competencies, time management, problem solving skills, courage and so on.

STRENGTHS: Consider it from own point of view and from others point of view. Write down the list of all characteristics, some of them will be strengths. For example if you are great at accounting and the peoples around are also great at accounting then this is not your strength, it is your necessity. My strengths are: 1. Leadership skills 2. Command in accounting 3. Teamwork 4. Power to command 5. Ability to take work from others 6. Innovative 7. resourcefulness WEAKNESSES: Again consider it from own perspective and from others point of view. These can be improved by taking advantage of external opportunities.

For example if you are weak in education diversity, you can improve it and make it you strength by taking education in different sectors like supply chain management, marketing, human resource management etc

Weaknesses are: 1. No diversity in education 2. Presentation skills OPPORTUNITIES: With the help of opportunities we can reduce our weaknesses. A useful approach to looking at your opportunities is also looking at your strengths and then ask yourself whether these can open any new opportunity for yourself. Another way to identify your opportunities is to look at your weaknesses, whether you could open any new opportunity by eliminating them. For example in my case i am weak at education diversity but this thing can be improved and can become my opportunity by taking education in different sectors. Opportunities are: 1. change in education diversity 2. change in policies related to accounting 3. change in my lifestyle 4. adopt a change in technology 5. I.T skills THREATS: Threats are the obstacles that you are facing in achieving your goals and objectives. These are the hurdles in the advancement of carrier. For example if i am good at accounting and the other peoples around me are also good accounting , then it will be a threat for me and it does not create competitive advantage upon others.

Threats are 1. others peoples good at accountancy 2. changing in job demands PROFESSIONAL SWOT MATRIX: STRENGTHS:

OPPORTUNITIES:

1. Leadership skills

1. change in education diversity

2. Command in accounting

2. change in policies related to accounting

3. Teamwork 4. Power to command 5. Ability to take work from others 6. Innovative

3. change in my lifestyle 4. adopt a change in technology 5. I.T skills

7. resourcefulness

WEAKNESSES:

THREATS:

1. No diversity in education

1. others peoples good at accountancy

2. Presentation skills

2. change in job demands

ANALYSES: The professional swot analysis shows that there are some weaknesses and threats but these can be minimized by using strengths and opportunities. For

example diversity in education can be minimized by getting education of different sectors.

PERSONAL SWOT MATRIX ANALYSIS: Personal swot analysis is used to determine one’s own strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. In the personal swot matrix the assessment will be based on one’s interpersonal skills, linguistic skills, communication skills and so on. The analysis will tell us that how can we tap new opportunities and reduce our weaknesses and threats by using our strengths. It is a framework to analyzes our strengths and weaknesses and threats and opportunities. STRENGTHS: Strengths are one’s internal abilities to handle the situation and to respond to a situation in a particular manner. These are the things that creates competitive edge over other peoples. It includes what particularly do you have and others don’t and what u good at? For example if you are good at communication skills and the other around you are not good at these skills then you have a competitive edge over these peoples and this will be your strength. My strengths are: 1. solve problems by clarifying issues and reasons 2. build group commitment 3. implement plans 4. complete objectives timely 5. good at communication 6. good negotiation skills 7. listening skills 8. ambitious WEAKNESSES:

These are the one’s internal weaknesses and these can be reduced by taping the external opportunities. For example if you are weak at communication skills than you can improve it by taking the lessons and by attending the seminars, so by this you can reduce your weakness. My weaknesses are: 1. weak presentation skills 2. weak in marketing skills 3. weak in managing emotions at workplace OPPORTUNITIES: These are the external opportunities that are available to a person and through which he can reduce his weaknesses and threats and increase its strengths. For example to communicate with diplomacy and tact i can solve problems by clarifying issues and reasons. Opportunities are: 1. can improve presentation skills by different courses 2. effective technical writing 3. communicate with diplomacy and tact 4. marketing skills THREATS: Threats are external factors which are hurdles or may resist in achieving goals. These can be reduced by using strengths and opportunities. For example despite being great at problem solving, i am often very busy which does not give me time to do what i am good at. Threats are: 1. does not work closely with marketing department. 2. Time pressure, which delays my plans for self improvement.

PERSONAL SWOT MATRIX: STRENGTHS:

OPPORTUNITIES:

1. solve problems by clarifying issues and reasons

1. can improve presentation skills by different courses

2. build group commitment

2. effective technical writing

3. implement plans

3. communicate with diplomacy and tact

4. complete objectives timely 5. good at communication

4. marketing skills

6. good negotiation skills 7. listening skills 8. ambitious

WEAKNESSES: 1. weak presentation skills 2. weak in marketing skills 3. weak in managing emotions at workplace

THREATS: 1. does not work closely with marketing department. 2. Time pressure, which delays my plans for self improvement.

ANALYSES: The personal swot analyses shows that there are more strengths and opportunities so these can be used to reduce the threats and weaknesses.

SKILL MAPING: Skill mapping is a process of assessment of one’s strengths and weaknesses as an individual worker. It generally examines two areas : 1. Emotional intelligence 2. Strength of individual in areas like team structure, leadership and decision making process Skill mapping can also be done for contract employees and for those who seeking employment to emphasize the specific skills which would make them valuable for potential employer. It can ultimately serve the individual who decides to seek employment in an environment where he or she perhaps can learn new things and be more intellectually challenged. Form the above two analyses i.e. professional swot analysis and personal swot analyses, results shows that only one job namely BARCLAYS best suits to job profile. Although there are some weaknesses and threats but these can be reduced by strengths and opportunities. In Barclays, the required skills are team player, resourcefulness, communication skills, ambitious and ability to manage risk. All these strengths are present and the threats and weaknesses can be reduced with the help of these strengths. In graduate technology consultant, all required skills are present except one that is diversity in education. However this weakness can also be reduced by getting knowledge of different sectors. So the Barclays best suite to my job profile according to my strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and threats that are being calculated through professional swot matrix and personal swot matrix.

Development plan: Personal development plan is basically a road of yourself development journey. It is planning for your aspiration regarding personal development. It involves identifies what skills you have to learn, in which areas you need improvement , abilities that you are lacking and the fields which need to be given priority for improvement. It is a goal setting plan and use SMART goals for the achievement of this plan. Following steps are involved in the personal development plan. 1.

Identify where are you right now. Identify your strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and threats.

2.

Identify where you need want to be. Which weaknesses are to be addressed and what areas needs priority.

3.

Coming up plan to fill that gap. Identifying resources and scheduling those resources to fill that gap.

On the basis of above two analysis, there are certain weaknesses in myself like weak presentation skills, academic diversity and weak marketing skills. Academic diversity is the need that should be reduced immediately and it needs priority upon other weaknesses. So this should be met first. For this purpose, i have to get knowledge in different sectors so that academic diversity can be minimized. This can be done through different courses and seminars. Next will be the presentation skills that can also be minimized by getting training through different training programs. And then will come the marketing skills.

CONCLUSION: A good leader or individual should possess some qualities like ambitious, team leader, ability to work within a group etc. In every person there are some strengths and weaknesses and Swot matrix analyses is used to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are facing by the person. The weaknesses and threats can be reduced by using our strengths. On the basis of above analyses, Barclays is the best suitable organization according to my job profile and characteristics.