SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Working out what these are can be a useful part of making decisions and identifying your next steps and creating an Action Plan.
Goal: To gain employment working with the homeless
Strengths
Any skills, aptitudes that may benefit you in reaching your goal.
Example:
- Through my degree I have developed and I analytical and objective approach
- I have a strong interest in and understanding of psychological wellbeing and homelessness.
- I have three years of work experience through my part time job, so I can demonstrate core skills such as communication and team work, ….
Weaknesses
Any areas where you may need to focus for improvement and further development.
Example:
- I have no direct experience of working with the homeless.
- I tend to concentrate on difficulties’ rather than solutions.
Opportunities
To which opportunities might you apply your particular strengths, skills and abilities?
Example:
- My research shows that there tends to be a number of vacancies in this area.
- I enjoy autonomy and this area will give me the chance to take high levels of responsibility
Threats
What obstacles do you face? How might you overcome these?
Example:
- Work environments with unpredictable demands may be difficult and stressful for me.
- Some posts are for qualified Social Workers; my career progression may be limited without further study at some stage.
Actions
Example:
Reflecting on the SWOT above in relation to my experience, I can see that I need to focus my attention on ….
I could do this by ….