Swot yourself better
How a personal SWOT will identify your next (best) steps
Hello! ??
How are you doing?
I’ve had two mentoring chats this week, and both conversations centred around growth; how can I show more of myself? How can I move forward in my career? What does a future in marketing look like for me with this or that experience? What’s next?
These questions unpack a LOT of discussion which I’ll be covering in the coming weeks, like:
But before we dive into that, I’d like you to take a slow breath and ask yourself: “What do I need to do to be ready for my next challenge?”
Your growth starts and ends with you
I think it’s safe to say that a lot of the time, it’s easy to rely on other sources to bring their outsider perspective and tell us where we need to improve.
Managers, teachers, friends - the list goes on. While that outsider perspective is undoubtedly valuable, it relies on two things:
But life can creep up on you, pass you by, and even throw you curve balls which require you to think independently about your next steps and how you’re going to get there, which often leads to one or two common feelings:
These challenges can sneak up on you, or simply hover over you like a dark cloud. But either way, these pose challenges that, if you’re not ready for or prepared to tackle, can leave you feeling stuck or frustrated.
Your next challenge could be any number of things:
You may think your first step toward this goal should be finding that job, revamping your CV, or pondering the “how do I get from this role to that one?”
If you’re reading this, nodding along, thinking “yep, that’s where I’m at!” I’m going to challenge you to pause, and instead ask yourself two questions…
If you like what you’ve read so far, why not subscribe? You’ll get more stuff like this in your inbox once a week.
Question 1: Why is that my next step?
Okay, so ‘why is that my next step?’ might be an easy answer for some, but either way, it’s important to have clarity on why you want to become an SEO specialist, why you want to get into marketing, or why you deserve that promotion.
Why is that why so important? Because someone will ask you that question in the future, and you need to be prepared to answer with conviction.
Whether it’s an interviewer, your manager, or your perplexed partner asking why you suddenly want to leave that cushty job for a whole different career, knowing your ‘why’ gives you a certain clarity and confidence in your convictions when asked not just why you want the job, promotion or career, but what value you stand to gain and offer in equal measure.
Understanding why you are doing what you are doing will help with the next question, too.
Question 2: What do I need to do to get there?
So now you’re well equipped with your why, you need to map out how you’re going to get to where you want to be.
Unfortunately, this process isn’t as easy as figuring out how you will get from London to New York.
It’s about understanding:
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, I get it - I have been there! So here’s a tactic of how I personally have overcome that feeling of overwhelm, one that will help you map out a plan of how you’re going to prepare yourself for the next step in your career.
How to create a personal SWOT
Picture this: I’d just bought a flat, my sofa hadn’t arrived yet, I couldn’t afford a “I’ve had a bad day” bottle of wine, and I was feeling pretty rubbish after being overlooked for a job because my “skills didn’t align with the role.”
It was a copywriter role, something I’d wanted so deeply and intensely for so long. To this day, it’s up there with one of my biggest heartbreaks (along with breaking up with my first boyfriend and when Alan Rickman gave Emma Thompson an Enya CD in Love Actually - IYKYK.)
After a good head wobble and a few tears, I re-read the feedback from the recruiter - “while your enthusiasm for the role and experience in marketing is a great asset, your skills don’t align with the role.”
(Yes, I still remember those piercing words to this day.)
So what could I learn from this on the surface?
But what skills didn’t align? And how could I work on them?
I decided to channel my sadness and frustration into action.
领英推荐
I re-read the job description and I found that the “skill set” they were after wasn’t exactly laid in black and white. In fact, they didn’t really ask for anything other than “good understanding of the English language.”
So once again, I felt stuck.
Fuelled by a cocktail of frustration and rejection (and a severe lack of wine), I then decided to take matters into my own hands and apply an analysis, something I did at work a lot, to me: a SWOT analysis.
What is a SWOT analysis?
A SWOT analysis is a planning tool to understand an organisation, department, or process’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
They look like this:
However, they can be easily applied to your personal development. You should follow the same rules of a traditional SWOT, i.e. ask yourself what are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
The key to your SWOT being a success, and therefore useful, is determined by how candid you’re willing to be with yourself. Ask yourself honestly:
Top tip: Don’t just focus on work skills!
A strength could be anything, from an “adaptable mindset” to confidence, flexibility, cultural understanding, creativity, empathy, the list goes on.
Your strengths are what make you, you - and knowing these can help you with your CV, portfolio, personal branding, and even in interviews.
Okay, I’ve run my SWOT - now what?
Now you’ve mapped out your SWOT, have you found yourself staring at a bunch of bullet points, feeling accomplished but confused as to what to do with all this information?
You’re not the only one. So here’s how to translate your SWOT into an action plan:
‘Refine the diamond’
My wonderful ex-mentee and current Marketing Assistant, Izzy, can attest to the fact that I live by this saying (and is probably rolling her eyes because it’s the 3rd time she’ll have heard or seen me say it this week.)
‘Refine the diamond’ is the idea that nothing should ever be perfect and that creating good things should take time and consideration.
Your SWOT is a way to ‘refine the diamond’; slowly chipping away at your weaknesses and threats, adding gentle pressure now and again to uncover your strengths and opportunities which enable you to face any challenge and create long-lasting value.
So with that in mind, whilst I encourage you to do this now, I also encourage you do this from time to time too.
You’ll grow and change, face new challenges, and be steered in all sorts of directions throughout your career. So a SWOT can be incredibly grounding in moments where you need clarity or direction.
I personally do them every year as, since growing into leadership roles especially, I find the opportunity for reflection a great source of empowerment. As it really is less about your weaknesses and threats, and more about turning those things into additional opportunities and strengths, or simply letting go of the stress that comes with the things that you have no control over.
Oh, and that dream of being a copywriter? The universe had other (and, in hindsight, much better) plans.
Have a great week, you’ve got this!
Coral x
This article was originally posted on Substack - get this newsletter to your inbox every Monday by signing up here.
Things I am loving or have loved:
Reading: I recommend ‘Surrounded by Idiots’ to absolutely everyone, but more so to marketers that work with sales teams (iykyk)
Listening to: ‘The Rest is Entertainment’ is a fascinating look behind the curtains of film, TV, and media - plus, it’s very funny too
Singing along to: If you fancy some pure pop escapism, please let me introduce you to the infectiously funny and insanely talented Irish singer-songwriter CMAT
About the author of The Marketing Mentor
Hello! I am Coral, a Marketing Director who’s been in marketing for over 10 years, worked at 7 different companies, in 10 different roles, across 7 different industries.
After experiencing career-defining mentoring myself, I am trying to pay it forward as best I can, from 1-2-1s to this newsletter, and everything in between.
When I’m not in my professional headspace, I enjoy cooking and eating in equal measure, getting creative, being outside, and fussing over my incredibly spoilt dog, Bobbi.