SWOT Analysis

Hello office pros! In part two of the three part series on my top 3 tools for EAs, I’ll examine the SWOT analysis tool.

SWOT stands for:

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats

Traditionally used by business executives to make informed choices, say for a product launch, the SWOT tool has other uses as well. I find it useful to assess the current state of my career as well as prepare for a job change.

Strengths and Weaknesses are pretty obvious categories. Opportunities are the people or resources that can support your strengths; Threats are people or resources that are barriers or the negatives (for example, taking a pay cut or demotion).

For example, let’s say you are working in tech and are considering a lateral job change to a nonprofit organization making the world a better place. Noble idea, of course, but before you jump into a new industry, take time to deep dive the world of nonprofits. Nonprofits are very different from corporations. There are plusses and minuses to each. To make a good decision for you and your career, spend time doing research to find out what you’re really getting into. Changing industries is akin to starting over for EAs – you have no or limited knowledge about the new industry and business.

You need to learn the language, new acronyms, and rhythm of business, so you may have to take a demotion or pay cut if you change industries. It’s better to know upfront than get through the interview process and receive an offer only to find out the salary is below what you are able or willing to accept.