PERSONAL

S.W.O.T.
ANALYSIS
 A SWOT analysis enables individuals to
understand their strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats.

Individuals are more likely to succeed if they

use their strengths to their fullest potential.

Similarly, individuals will encounter fewer

problems if they know what their weaknesses
are and can manage them.
With a little thought, S.W.O.T. can help you uncover your weaknesses so you can

eliminate threats that might otherwise hurt your ability to move forward. 

Why use a S.W.O.T. Analysis?

Even though the S.W.O.T method was originally used for businesses, it can be

useful for personal growth.

When to use a S.W.O.T Analysis:

To make decisions that will help you solve current problems you are facing.

To determine new opportunities to take advantage of your strengths.

To turn your weaknesses into opportunities for growth.

Using a S.W.O.T. Analysis

STRENGTHS
Remember that a strength is a strong
attribute or asset that can involve skills,

qualities, and personal characteristics.

Questions to ask yourself:

What advantages do I have that others

don't have?

For example, skills,

certifications, talents, or

connections.

What personal resources can I access?

Which of my achievements am I most

proud of?

What values do I believe in that set me

apart?
WEAKNESSES
A weakness is an inadequate quality that you
can identify and work to improve on.

Questions to ask yourself:

What tasks do I usually avoid because I

don't feel confident doing them?

What will the people around me see as

my weaknesses?

Am I completely confident in my skills? If

not, where am I weakest?

What are my negative habits?

For example, are you disorganized,

do you have a short temper, or are

you poor at handling stress?

OPPORTUNITIES
Opportunities can be used to take advantage
of strengths or overcome weaknesses.

Questions to ask yourself:

What new skills can help me? Or can I

get help from others?

Do I have support from others to help

me or offer good advice?

What have I learned from mistakes

others have made? How can I apply

these lessons?

How can I challenge myself to showcase

my talents or improve my skills (a talent

show, a competition, a leadership

event)?
THREATS
Threats can be identified as challenges you
face or anything that may hinder

opportunities for success.

Questions to ask yourself:

What obstacles do I currently face?

Could any of my weaknesses lead to

threats?

Have I missed any possible

opportunities?

Are there any people or

circumstances that could hinder my

opportunities?
 LET’S LOOK AT AN EXAMPLE:
Margo performs well in school but has a few areas she needs to work on. She

consistently receives A’s in her science and math courses but has trouble in her

language arts class. There are tutoring opportunities after school, but she

participates in multiple extracurriculars that might prevent her from attending. In

addition, she wants to be more involved in Robotics Club, which would take away

even more time from tutoring and studying.

Let’s do a S.W.O.T. on Margo to determine her Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities, and Threats.

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

Science Language Arts Tutoring after Time restrictions

courses courses school to improve due to

Math her Language Arts extracurriculars

courses skills that occur at the

Robotics club same time

MARGO’S S.W.O.T. Analysis
Based on the information provided, we know a few things:
Margo performs well in math and science.

She doesn’t do well in language arts.

She wants to join Robotics Club but doesn’t know if she should do tutoring instead.

If she does enroll in tutoring, she won’t be able to participate in other

extracurriculars at that time.

In addition to this information, we can also assume some other things about
Margo:
Strengths - She will perform well in subjects involving math and science.
Weaknesses - She might underperform in subjects involving language arts. 
Opportunities - She might have potential scholarship opportunities in STEM fields.
Threats - Bad grades in her language arts courses may reflect poorly on her
abilities.

By performing a S.W.O.T. analysis on herself, Margo will be able to determine

where she should focus her time. She can weigh out the pros and cons of diving

deeper into the sciences and math or improving in language arts courses to round

out her academic profile.