I was speaking with a friend earlier this week and he mentioned the importance of leveraging one’s opportunities in the career planning process.  The comment was not meant to be profound but it left me thinking about my current work situation and how I am utilizing the opportunities presented to me each day.   Over the past year and a half, I have put considerable effort into evaluating my professional strengths and weaknesses.  While initially a challenge, I came to appreciate the importance of articulating those skills that come natural to me and those that do not.  As I have stated in previous posts, I firmly believe that people will accomplish the most when working in areas of strength.

     After speaking with my friend, I realized that I must evaluate my opportunities with the same focus I utilize in the evaluation of my strengths and weaknesses.  In pursuit of more information on the subject of opportunity evaluation, I came across a MindTools.com article titled “Personal SWOT Analysis: Making the Most of Your Talents and Opportunities”.  A SWOT assessment builds on the traditional strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) assessment many people are familiar with and adds the important elements of evaluating our opportunities (O) and threats (T).

     A few examples were put forth that can help us identify opportunities that we may overlook.  These examples included evaluating new technology available for opportunity expansion, attending new networking events, filling in for colleagues on extended periods of leave, and taking on projects that force us to develop new skills. 

Are you in the habit of evaluating, and reevaluating your professional opportunities?  If not, how can you cultivate this habit?

Mind Tools Editorial Team (n.d.). Personal SWOT Analysis: Making the Most of Your Talents and Opportunities. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05_1.htm

• This topic was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Kevin Mahoney.