 Do a SWOT
Analysis
The SWOT analysis addresses every area of your career
situation. As the box below reveals, SWOT stands for Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and it helps
you see if the job you seek is a good match and a good idea. If it's
not, pick another!
First, compare your personal strengths and weaknesses
with the job requirements. You don't have to be an exact match but you
need to be fairly close.
Next, identify challenges and opportunities in your career
area. For example, will this occupation soon disappear as technological
advances render it obsolete? If so, choose another job type! You can get
information about occupational challenges and opportunities from Texas
CARES and OSCAR (see page Step One: Access
for details).
If the job type seems promising, do a Gap Analysis.
Use the SWOT analysis to make sure you're
in the right direction and the Gap analysis to guide you to your goal.
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Fill in
the Gaps
Use what you learned in the SWOT analysis to focus on
the part you have control over: personal weaknesses, especially those
that education and training can improve. If, for instance, the job you
want is viable but you lack certain skills that it requires, develop
an action plan to help you attain them. If you lack personal characteristics,
such as honesty, begin working TODAY to improve yourself. Use the Gap
Analysis and Action Plan as your guide.
Be realistic. If the gap between your strengths and the
job requirements is great, focus on other work in the short term. You
can train for that other job later on.
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Step One Assess: Final Analysis