By the time you complete your 9th grade, people will often ask you, ‘What career field are you planning to choose?’
Acting? Coding? Writing? Engineering? Perhaps, become a travel influencer?
You will be left wondering: How to choose a career that suits you?
Which career has more demand in today’s market? Will it make you rich? Will you be happy with your chosen career for a lifetime?
The questions will keep popping up and before you realize, you might be overwhelmed with your options.
A powerful strategy you can use to clear this cloud of confusion is doing a personal SWOT analysis.
SWOT analysis – what’s that? Let’s find out together!
What is Personal SWOT analysis?
SWOT stands for STRENGTH, WEAKNESS, OPPORTUNITIES and THREATS.
A SWOT analysis is a strategic approach to figure out:
- What you are good at
- What you need to work upon
- What you could take advantage of
- And what you should avoid
This analysis will help you to come up with a list of career planning options that match your unique personality.
Sounds exciting already? Here are the top 3 tips to make your SWOT analysis G.O.A.T:
Be Honest With Your Answers
After you answer a question, ask yourself: Will I give the same answer if nobody is watching me? This analysis will help remove any white lies you’ve told yourself and bring your true personality to the spotlight.
Skip The Fear Of Judgment
People will judge you. You will judge yourself too. Ask yourself: Is this judgment scaring you or drifting you away from what you want? If yes, it’s time you rethink your judgment or talk about it with a person you trust.
Do Self Reflection
Take every question listed below and ponder on it for a couple of minutes. Allow yourself to arrive at an answer that makes sense to you. Even when your answers make you feel uncomfortable, write them down. It will help you to ground your reality and make better career choices for yourself early in life.
That said, self reflection is not easy. To ease out the process, sit in a place with minimal distractions. Best, if you keep your phone far from your reach. This will help you dive deeper into self-reflection and get the best answers out of you.
Bonus Tip: Consider your likes and dislikes when coming up with your answers. This will help you form a personalized analysis based on your personality.
Should You Conduct a Personal SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is 100% worth your time. It will help you:
- Understand your career needs and desires
- Get into a right direction of career exploration
- Create a career development plan that aligns with your personality
- Make informed and practical career decisions
How To Make a Personal SWOT Analysis?
Here comes the main thing!
Are you ready with your notepad and pen? You are about to answer interesting personal SWOT analysis questions.
Let us get started.
Strengths: What Are You Good At?
(Imagine building a career around it!)
| Strengths Questions | Example Answers |
| What achievements am I most proud of? | – I won first prize in the English storytelling competition in school. – I was called by my school principal and praised for my creative writing skills. – I am the monitor of my class. – I studied the entire night before my Marathi test and secured the highest marks in my class. |
| What activities do I enjoy during my free time? | – Painting. – Spending time with friends and discussing cricket scores. – Observing people around me and noticing their body language. |
| Which school subjects would I like to explore beyond the classroom? | – English literature. – Drawing. – Value Education. |
| What values are most important to me? | – Not breaking someone’s trust. – Always telling the truth to my parent and teachers. – Helping others in need. |
| In which subject do I consistently achieve the highest grades? | – English. – Marathi. – Hindi. |
| What do my parents, teachers, and friends often praise me for? | – I have good organisational skills. – I am disciplined with respect to time. – I make good drawings. |
Weakness: What Are You Bad At?
| Weakness Question | Example Answers |
| What habits do my loved ones mention as bothersome? | – I feel upset easily if someone says something mean to me. – I don’t go down to play with other kids. – I don’t take part in sports. |
| Which activities or classes do I find uninteresting or distracting? | – I don’t like doing science experiments in the lab. – I am easily bored in geography class. – I am always distracted doing Maths homework. |
| When do I feel nervous, stressed, or anxious, or experience negative emotions? | – I feel anxious when people ignore me. – I feel nervous when meeting new people. – I feel stressed to speak up when my classmates bully me. |
| What tasks do I tend to procrastinate on? | – Making a study plan for exams. – Practising guitar for my music class. – Doing my economics homework. |
| Are there subjects or activities where I don’t receive favourable scores or feedback? | – I received a C grade in Hindi last test. – I always receive a lower score in dictation tests. – I failed the Tilak Vidyapeeth Math exam in school. |
Opportunities: Where Can You Find Growth
| Opportunities Question | Example Answers |
| Where can I improve according to myself, family, and friends? | – Making friends and socialising. – My mom says I should memorise tables better. – I should be good at organising my school room. |
| What activities do I want to engage in more, regardless of obstacles? | – Engage more with teachers. – Participate in extracurriculars. – Become more outgoing and outspoken. |
| What topics pique my interest, even if I lack confidence in them? | – Psychology. – Coding. – Getting famous on Social Media |
| Who are my role models, and what makes them inspiring to me? | – Priyanka Chopra: Confident public presence. – Malala Yousafzai: Courageous advocate. – Twinkle Khanna: Quirky writing perspective. |
| What issues matter the most to me? | – Gender biases. – Partiality among the students by teachers. – Mistreating the poor people. |
| If I had access to free, unlimited training, what skills would I want to develop? | – How to master film-making. – How to be a travel blogger. – How can I start a grand library business? |
Threats: What Are You Affraid Off?
| Threats Question | Example Answers |
| What aspects of my life are consistently declining? | – Marathi grades declining. – Lost interest in drawing since new teacher arrived. |
| What technologies are replacing the work I enjoy doing? | – Fear of ChatGPT replacing content writers. – Concern about digital art replacing traditional methods. |
| What obstacles am I unprepared to face if I want to succeed in my chosen career? | – Acting: Unwilling to work long hours. – Event Management: Prioritize work-life balance. – Law: Hesitant about controversial cases. |
| Are there any disturbing facts, news or statistics that pose a threat to the things I enjoy doing? | – Fear of online trolls discourages blogging. – High freelancer competition causes sustainability concerns. – Safety concerns about pursuing modeling career. |
What to do after completing a SWOT analysis?
You’ve completed your SWOT analysis thoughtfully. Congratulations!
What should be your next step after SWOT analysis?
Say hello to your three guiding A’s:
- Ask: Reach out to your trusted teacher or Career Guidance Platform, peer, family member, or friend to review your report and share their thoughts.
- Analyze: Look up for careers that align with your strengths. For instance, if you’ve discovered that public speaking is a strength and you enjoy it, explore careers involving public speaking. List down career options that intrigue you, and understand more about them through an insightful masterclass or an engaging workshop.
Yash Ramteke 
Mohammed Khan 
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