SWOT analysis is the study of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Personalities differ from person to person. Success lay in the identification of who you are, and recognizing the positive and negative aspects of oneself. Self assessment is the ideal method to analyse oneself, but it is not a task that can be done overnight. It is an ongoing process that requires our constant attention to identify the key factors influencing “who you are”.

Identifying the “strengths” helps in pinpointing one’s area of excellence. Confidence, analytical skills, contacts, good interpersonal skills, all add up to one’s skills. Once identified, the key skills must be utilized for personal development. For example, a good technical knowledge backed by an analytical mind can be of immense help in climbing up the way to success in an organization. Similarly good interpersonal skill and a sunny attitude can make a good leader capable of boosting the morale of the team members, thus ending up as of tremendous value to an organization. A person with a thirst for knowledge can be assured of success in the dynamic technological era. Key factors, once recognized, can be improved to one’s advantage.

However, it is not easy to finger the weaknesses. It takes a lot of mental courage to accept the weakness and use them for self development. But never accentuate on personal weaknesses at the time of interviews. Give a general picture to convince them a proper identification has been done and that steps are taken to overcome or improve the situation. Seeking of a third party help in knowing the weaknesses can prove to be of help later on. Never opt for a job which is based on the personal decrepitude. Go for it only if you are confident of overcoming them.

While the “strengths” and “weaknesses” varies with the personal traits of the individuals, “opportunities” and “threats” are external factors beyond the control of the individual. Opportunities must be exploited and threats must be circumvented or met head on to succeed. With more trainings introduced by the business concern to groom the individuals to face the challenges imposed by the futuristic changes, opportunities open to learn or enhance the skills through training must be fully utilized for self development. Concentrate on the weaknesses so as to negate their impact to the career.

Threats to a career can be in the form of competition, or lesser demand for the work we do. Threats cannot be eliminated, but their impact can be minimized by the effective use of the strengths. Achievement lies in one’s skill in forecasting the future trends in the industry.

Recognising, understanding and appreciating oneself helps to foresee future. The first step in career planning is on the recognition of the key skills, identify the job that demands them. Find out more on the opportunities provided by the organisation to enhance the skills through higher education, training, and company policies for self development. Using self skills or other external factors, try to foretell the threats to make necessary adjustments to the career growth.

Thus by recognizing who you are, overcome the negative traits, utilize the external aids and fight the unknown through SWOT analysis to succeed in life.