Personal SWOT Analysis: A Tool for Skill Audit and Development

Planning Careers and Employability

Skill audit through Personal SWOT

Skill audit is essential to review own knowledge and skill set as well as analyse the knowledge gap in order to develop personal and professional planning for achieving personal and professional objectives (Hu et al., 2021). The personal SWOT is effective for analysing own strengths, weaknesses as well as identifying the opportunities and threats. The Personal SWOT will be evaluated further.

Through skill audit, it is possible for me to analyse my capabilities, where the major strengths are such as Punctuality, negotiation skill, open minded, self-motivation learning, team working and interpersonal skill set. However, there are some weaknesses such as lack of communication skill, poor presentation skill, analytical skill set, poor decision making skill and lack of industry led knowledge. I would like to overcome the issues and develop good personal and professional planning in order to achieve my personal and professional aim. Through skill audit, I come to know about several opportunities through which I can improve my knowledge and skill and the major opportunities are such as technological innovation, creativity in decision making, business management, collaborative decision making practice and partnership working practice.

Benefits of social media for job application

Social media is playing a crucial role in creating good social network for searching a good job as per the personal profile of the candidate (Al-Hashimi et al., 2020). LinkedIn is hereby one of the best software to develop personal profile and upload CV for getting appropriate job as per the qualification, personal skill set and abilities (Pengnate, 2018). I focus on developing good profile on LinkedIn and update the profile with latest information and data so that I can search for new job as per my abilities. LinkedIn mainly provides me a scope to be informed with latest job vacancies and workplace activities of the companies across the countries. In this application, I can search for good job designation as well as find several employers who are trying to find experienced and knowable employees. On the other hand, LinkedIn is also beneficial for me to contact with the employers and also with consultancy firms who are able to guide the employees for searching better job. Through this LinkedIn profile, I am able to gather ideas about several organisations and create good social network for identifying better job position as per my personal profile, qualification and skill set.

Evaluating knowledge gap

Through skill audit, it is possible to identify the skill gap and it further provides a scope to develop personal and professional planning to maximise own capabilities in working and achieving the professional aim (Tseng, Yi and Yeh, 2019). As per the personal weaknesses, I feel there is gap in adopting the industry led knowledge and information. I mainly focus on business management courses and getting the job in marketing department of the renowned organisation. It is important to develop personal knowledge and skill set related to the industry information, recent working practice and customer’s trend, in order to work accordingly and meet the organisational aim (Abbasi, Ali and Bibi, 2018). I think, there is a lack in developing the industry led knowledge, and in this regard I would like to improve my personal experience by working with others in the firm and also utilising my own knowledge gathered during the graduate courses on business management and marketing.

Reference List

• Tseng, H., Yi, X. and Yeh, H.T., 2019. Learning-related soft skills among online business students in higher education: Grade level and managerial role differences in self-regulation, motivation, and social skill. Computers in Human Behavior, 95, pp.179-186.
• Abbasi, F.K., Ali, A. and Bibi, N., 2018. Analysis of skill gap for business graduates: managerial perspective from banking industry. Education+ Training.
• Pengnate, W., 2018. Needs of employability skill characteristics based on employers' perception. In 2018 5th International Conference on Business and Industrial Research (ICBIR) (pp. 598-601). IEEE.
• Al-Hashimi, M., Hamdan, A., Razzaque, A., Al-Sartawi, A. and Reyad, S., 2020. Skill gaps in management information systems alumni. In Joint European-US Workshop on Applications of Invariance in Computer Vision (pp. 773-782). Springer, Cham.
• Hu, Y., Wang, M., Kwan, H.K. and Yi, J., 2021. Mentorship quality and mentors’ work-to-family positive spillover: the mediating role of personal skill development and the moderating role of core self-evaluation. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(9), pp.1899-1922.

Appendix 2: Cover letter for job application

To

Name

Address Date:

Subject: Application for business management jobs

Respected Sir/Madam,

I would like to apply for the position of marketing executive in your organisation, for having the opportunity of personal and professional development. I reviewed the job advertisement and check the organisational background. I am currently studying in the University of Bedfordshire, on the marketing and business management course. The course work provides me a scope to develop in-depth understanding and knowledge related to marketing and business management. Previously, I was engaged with the business management projects of the retail company, through which I become successful to gather market experience and develop skill set to participate in the marketing team of the companies.

Graduating from the University of Bedfordshire with the degree of business management in marketing will be helpful for me to get good job position in the renowned organisation, as through the degree courses, I am able to improve my knowledge in marketing and also develop critical skill set for working as a marketing executives in the company.

I always try to work collaboratively and contribute positively by meting individual job role and responsibilities at the workplace. I try to express myself openly and clearly with colleagues, verbally and in written communications in order to work efficiently in the marketing department. The skill of client handling, time management and customer relationship management are also useful for me to cooperate with the clients and enhance market communication in order to meet the company goal. I try to utilise organisational resources and I am also efficient to manage technology, organisational software and basic computerised system to manage the job responsibilities and meeting the organisational aim.

Hereby, I request you to review my CV and give me the opportunity to work with you in future.

Yours sincerely

Appendix 3: Personal CV

z

Address:

Contact:

Email:

OBJECTIVE

Keen to have a challenging and performance oriented career in Business management & marketing domain in the profile of marketing executives and chief marketing head with an organization of distinction, teaming my potential and expertise providing vistas galore for professional growth across growing and developing Industry.

PROFILE:

Business management course in the marketing domain

CORE COMPETENCIES:

Team Handling, Result Oriented performance, Experience in Business management and interpretation, Proficiency in MS Office Application and computer software program, Developing and analysing Marketing Strategy, Market Analysis, Competitive Analysis

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Fresher

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

OPS Vidya mandir 2013-2017

University of Bedfordshire 2020-2022

Computer Proficiency:

Basic Computer Operation, MS Office, Marketing software

Management proficiency:

Working in team to deliver client solution in short deadlines

Time Management

Ensuring service quality

Client Query Handling

Marketing strategy development

Skill set:

Proficiency in English

Communication skill

Analytical skill

Problem solving skill

Marketing skill

Computer skill

Customer handling skill

Punctuality

I do hereby declare that above mention all information’s are true and liable or responsible if any discrepancy found in them.

Place:

Date: Signature:

Appendix 4: Employer Interview and Research

Name of organisation

Tesco

What does the organisation do? What products and/or services does it offer?

The organisation is famous in the UK to deliver the best quality retail and supermarket products and services to the customers.

What is the job vacancy situation like in your company/job sector?

The job vacancy is for marketing executive

What application process does your company require?

It is online application process for applying the job, firstly online registration, technical examination, and interview process.

What advice do you have for graduates finding a job?

It is important to create social network through LinkedIn profile and search for jobs as per own skill set and educational background.

What skills are you looking for in a graduate?

The major skills that are required in a graduate are proficiency in English, communication skill, problem solving and creative analytical skill set.

How do you use social media?

Social media is a two way communication platform for enhancing communication and it I utilised for retaining the customers, promoting the brand and managing talent pool.

What are the biggest mistakes graduates make applying for jobs/attending interviews?

The major mistake that the graduates make is they fail to identify the job as per their qualification and personable skill set.

How many people applied for your job/the latest vacancy in your organisation?

About fifty graduates applied for the job.

What are the current trends in your area of the job market?

There is slowdown in the current trend of job market due to this Covid 19 situation, however the rate of remote working practice is increasing in the organisation to serve the online customers.

What are the biggest challenges you experience in your particular industry?

The biggest challenges in this retail industry are lack of experienced employee in the business management and marketing department, cultural diversity, lack of communication and non-cooperation.

What makes a graduate attractive to a potential employer?

Own personality, industry specific skill set and in depth critical knowledge are major factors that an employer requires.

What can I do now to improve my chances when I graduate?

It is important to gain industry specific skill set by attending training and developmental program as well as conduct market analysis to manage the business activities strategically.

Continue your journey with our comprehensive guide to Personal Profile & Self Evaluation Exercise.

Appendix 5: IBM participation form