I have been discussing each area of a Career SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis. We will wind up this topic by looking at the last area: Threats.
We so often get blindsided by problems or “threats” if you will, that we could have avoided if we were only paying closer attention.
Today I have 3 questions for you to ask yourself that will help you to be able to identify these threats and figure out a way to avoid them before they happen.
- What trends could harm you? Are you keeping up on the trends and what they are all about? If not I suggest that you spend some time researching these and learning more about them so you are not behind everyone else.
- What weaknesses could turn into a threat? What areas are you not strong in that could potentially cause you a problem? Are there places to educate yourself in these areas so that you can get stronger in them?
- What obstacles are in your path? What future obstacles are there? Do you even know what is in your way or are you wearing rose colored glasses and hoping for the best? If you are aware of potential problems ahead of time you can take steps to avoid them. If you are just waiting it out and hoping for the best you may get a surprise you are not prepared for.
Just by taking some steps to be proactive and figure out the threats around you that could potentially harm you if they were to happen is going to help you in the long run.
I’m not saying stress over these things. I am saying educate yourself and be aware so that if something happens you are prepared and know how to handle it and you are ahead of the game.