Week 7: How does understanding your sector help you?

Introduction

You have now investigated your sector, or the sector that you wish to work in, from several perspectives. You have looked at the differences between jobs, professions, industries and sectors, thought about global and international factors that affect economies and sectors, and analysed the impact of customers, competitors and suppliers. You have also considered the role of organisations such as professional bodies, trade bodies and trade unions in contributing to your understanding of your sector, and how you might make contacts and network effectively. Finally, you have thought about how job markets in different sectors and industries vary.

This week, you will use a tool called a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis to help you think through how this knowledge and understanding will help you. You will reflect on how this information can be used in different ways depending on your circumstances and your aims and aspirations.

Watch Lynne Johnson as she introduces Week 7.

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Transcript

LYNNE JOHNSON

Welcome to Week 7. You’ve done a lot of work already and have thought about your sector from a number of different perspectives. This week, you’ll be thinking again about your current situation by starting to identify gaps in your knowledge, experience, qualifications and contacts. You’ll use the SWOT analysis tool introduced in Week 3 – that’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – to help you to fill in these gaps. You’ll also discover ways of finding help and support and devise a personal action plan, which will help you establish a realistic time scale to achieve your aims and aspirations.

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As with other weeks, you’ll need to use your notebook or the Toolkit  to jot down your thoughts and responses to the activities.

By the end of this week, you will be able to:

• describe the concept of a SWOT analysis and how this can help you to understand your current situation
• undertake a SWOT analysis on your current situation using what you know about yourself and your sector
• identify how you might improve your performance in your current job
• describe possible steps you could take in order to (re)train or gain further qualifications
• outline how a job or career change might be beneficial for you personally.

1 Conducting a SWOT analysis of your situation

Figure 1

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A diagram of a SWOT table, where ‘S’ is for ‘Strength’, ‘W’ is for ‘Weakness’, ‘O’ is for ‘Opportunity’, and ‘T’ is for ‘Threat’.

Figure 1

You have now built up considerable knowledge and understanding of the sector within which you work or want to work. This has provided you with various perspectives from which to view your current situation. How can you use this knowledge to assess and possibly change your situation?

An effective way of organising and exploring this knowledge and these insights is to conduct a personal SWOT analysis. This will help you to identify your personal strengths and weaknesses, and to uncover the opportunities you may have missed and the threats that may have slipped beneath your radar.

Look at and think about each of the elements of the SWOT analysis in turn.

1.1 Strengths

Strengths are the assets that you have under your control and that you can use to your advantage in any situation. They are not set in stone, as they can always be supplemented by new ones, nor are they always immediately apparent so they may take some thinking about in order to unearth them. The following questions should help you with this.

• What do you think you do better than others?

  This may be based on your personal judgement but also on the remarks or assessments of other people you know and work with. The latter are particularly helpful as it is easy to be harder on yourself than other people are, and their views can provide another perspective.

• What attributes do you possess that others don’t?

  These might be particular skills, technical approaches or ways of working. Perhaps you have specific qualifications that are rare in your field or contacts that you can draw on.

• Which of your achievements are you most proud of?

  These may be work-related or not, either will do. Whatever they are, they say something about you as an individual that you can use to demonstrate your skills, values or approaches.

• Do you display particular values that help you at work?

  This might be the way that you treat other people or behave with customers or, perhaps, a specific approach that you bring to your work.

Try not to be too modest about your strengths to begin with. You can always alter the list later when you reflect on it; the important thing is to write positive things about yourself.

1.2 Weaknesses

Weaknesses are the areas where you feel less well served by your natural talents or skills. As a result, you might avoid them because you lack confidence or fear failure. Again, the following questions may help you to identify these:

• What do others say about you that might be interpreted as a weakness?

  Again, as with strengths, sometimes the views of others are helpful, even if occasionally this might be painful. These might reflect areas considered during work appraisals, if you have had these.

• Are there tasks that you avoid because you are not confident about them?

  Think about areas of your work that you always leave until last or prefer to hand over to someone else. Is this because you don’t like them or because you fear that you can’t do them properly?

• Do any of these relate to your lack of training or qualifications?

  Perhaps you don’t like using spreadsheets because you’ve never been properly trained in how to use them, or maybe you leave anything requiring maths to someone else because you didn’t achieve your GCSE in that subject.

• Are there areas of your personality that you think might be holding you back?

  This is a little like the tasks that you avoid, but insight might be more elusive because the question relates to your personality. Do you shy away from confronting others, for example, or talk too much in meetings to no great effect, or are you poorly organised?

Be as honest as possible about these and take into account the views of others; you may, of course, need to ask them.

1.3 Opportunities

This is where all your knowledge about your sector can come into play, as it will inform your perspective on potential opportunities and, later on, threats. From the different elements of the course so far you should be able to address some of the following questions to help identify potential opportunities in your sector.

• Are there technological advances on the horizon that might help your sector, or offer opportunities for new ways of working (home-based or hybrid working for example)?
• Are there political decisions in the offing that might affect your sector?
• What is happening in the world economy that might influence events in your sector?
• Is the world changing in other ways? Are social developments opening up new opportunities or markets, for example?
• Are your customers (or clients or patients) telling you anything about your industry that might provide you with an insight leading to change?
• What about your competitors? Are they developing new approaches that you can learn from? Are their shortcomings instructive in some way?
• Are there staffing changes – or shortages, perhaps – within your organisation that provide an opportunity for you to develop your skills or raise your profile?
• Is your organisation moving in new directions that open up possibilities for you to develop a new role or take on new responsibilities?
• Are there events that you could attend or people that you could network with about any of the above or about possible developments?

1.4 Threats

Threats represent events or developments that are not welcome but which might provide you, or your organisation, with a chance to take action or develop new thinking in order to meet these challenges. Sometimes such threats can stimulate creative thinking from which profitable ideas may emerge. Think about the following questions to help identify potential threats.

• Are there major world factors – political, economic, social or technological – that might have negative consequences for your sector?
• Is your sector or industry changing in ways that threaten the viability of your organisation?
• Are your competitors changing in ways that might affect your organisation’s profitability?
• Are your customers changing their behaviour in ways that might have damaging implications for your organisation?
• Are there specific obstacles to how effective you are at work – colleagues, structures, management, etc.?

1.5 Conducting a SWOT analysis

The following example of a SWOT analysis has been completed by Lucy, a marketing assistant in a company that manufactures and sells walking boots.

It is now time for you to do a SWOT analysis on your own situation. As you work through Activity 1, think about the kind of evidence that Lucy has drawn on for each element of her SWOT analysis. Some of it is personal but some of it relates to the wider context within which her organisation operates.

Having conducted your SWOT analysis, what do you do next? It should not just be an academic exercise with no practical outcomes but a launch pad for action, designed to improve your situation based on your analysis and research. The rest of this week will be devoted to identifying what action you might take to do this.

2 Improving your performance in your current job

Figure 2

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Three people posing with a performance award in their workplace.

Figure 2

Using Lucy (from Section 1.5) as an example, look at how her SWOT analysis has provided her with some ideas for improving her work performance. For example, she has identified the following weaknesses in her performance:

• I can be easily discouraged by negative feedback.
• I am not very good at using IT effectively.
• I can lose my temper if roused.
• I am nervous when in front of an audience.
• Many of my work colleagues have a degree and therefore have more potential opportunities.

These are an interesting mix of factors. Being discouraged by negative feedback is, arguably, a personality trait that many people would admit to, while not using IT effectively is a weakness that could be overcome, to some extent at least, through a training course. Similarly, although Lucy might never lose her nerves when appearing in front of an audience, with the right training she can learn how to minimise the impact of them. There is also the time factor to consider. While the concerns about IT and presenting in front of an audience might be remedied quite swiftly, her lack of a degree might require a longer-term strategic plan.

Lucy’s analysis of opportunities and threats also present her with potential ideas that might help her organisation; this is arguably another way of improving your work performance. For example, Lucy has recognised that ‘there are new markets opening up in the Far East’. She could offer to research this area for the company in order to develop some options for possible expansion. She has also spotted that ‘health trends are making walking a popular pastime for many, especially older people’ and this might present a rewarding topic for market research among her company’s older customers. Finally, the ‘major industry conference’ represents a good opportunity for her to network and obtain new contacts and ideas.

Among the threats, Lucy has identified that there is a ‘lack of good designers with the right skills’; could she investigate why this is the case or see whether this is an area in which she might seek to retrain? Her uncertainty about her manager leaving his job and his ‘possible replacement’ is clearly a worry but knowing that he is leaving gives her a chance to make some plans.

Any of these suggested actions would constitute ways of improving her performance, admittedly with different time frames. As they are based on Lucy’s analysis of both herself and the sector within which she works, they provide a useful illustration of how this knowledge can be used.

Table 2 shows what actions Lucy can take now that she has identified areas where she can improve her performance.

Some of the statements that you made in your SWOT analysis might not lend themselves immediately to ways to improve your work performance. Instead, they might signal areas where you have identified possible training needs or qualifications that you might obtain; you will be looking at this area in the next section.

3 Training, retraining or gaining new qualifications

Figure 3

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A person on graduation day being awarded with a diploma.

Figure 3

If you look closely at the weaknesses section of Lucy’s SWOT analysis, there are several areas where she has identified a possible need for her to develop her skills in some way, possibly through training. In particular she makes the following statements about her weaknesses:

• I am not very good at using IT effectively.
• I am nervous when in front of an audience.

These are both areas that could be addressed by training, and give Lucy the opportunity to practise new skills developed through such training. In the case of Lucy’s IT skills, she probably needs to define exactly which of her IT skills needs improving. For example, does she struggle with particular packages such as Excel or PowerPoint? As Lucy works in marketing, it is clear that both of these applications would be relevant to her role and lacking confidence in using them is likely to hold her back in terms of her career progression.

Alternatively, Lucy may feel that social media is increasingly important in her role but she lacks confidence in using it appropriately. Similarly, her reservations about her nerves in front of an audience possibly stem from the fact that this it is an important part of her job, or likely to be so, and she lacks the strategies to cope with her anxiety.

A starting point for Lucy with both these cases would be for her to discuss her concerns with her line manager and seek advice on how to fill the gaps. Her line manager should be able to help her understand the likely importance of these skills in her role and whether or not they are a priority for her. If they are, then the company has a responsibility to ensure that Lucy is trained adequately and should ensure that she goes on appropriate training courses, possibly through in-house or online provision.

This being said, Lucy also makes other statements in her SWOT analysis including:

• There is a lack of good designers with the right skills in the organisation.
• Many of my work colleagues have a degree and therefore have more potential opportunities.
• My line manager would like to leave his job and I am uncertain about his possible replacement.

These concerns are not quite so easily addressed by merely talking to her line manager, although this might be a useful first step. They also have potential implications for Lucy’s training and development but over a longer timescale than the previous examples.

To address the first statement, Lucy would benefit from doing some research into footwear design courses and how the company recruits designers. This might reveal shortages of trained designers in the UK or the fact that the company does not have the right contacts with vocational training courses in this field. Ideally, Lucy would conduct this research with her organisation’s agreement but she might also do this in her own time. The outcomes of her research might link closely with her second statement.

The second statement is very much concerned with Lucy’s future career and she is right to be attentive to this. She might begin by looking at her company’s policy on supporting staff wishing to gain further qualifications of this type. They might have specific courses that they insist their staff follow that are in the interests of the company.

Lucy also needs to think about where she sees herself going in the future – would a degree help this process and, if so, what type? Seeking some objective careers advice at this stage might also be helpful. This is clearly a longer-term process but letting the organisation know that she is ambitious will not harm her chances and may even open doors for her. Doing some research and then having a conversation with her line manager would be a good strategy.

The third statement, while reflecting her uncertainty about the future, is also linked to Lucy’s career aspirations. It is possible that she’s worried she may not like the new line manager as much as her current one. She might also calculate that their leaving could present a promotion opportunity for someone such as herself (or maybe a colleague with a degree!). Her line manager might be happy to have a confidential discussion about these possibilities and to give Lucy some advice but she needs to be alert to the possible implications for her training and development.

It is clear, then, that these last statements all have a bearing on each other and that Lucy can’t look at them in isolation. It is also evident that research is going to be a key part of her strategy so that her knowledge and understanding of her organisation, industry and sector can inform any decisions that she has to make.

You have now looked at improving your work performance and the training and qualifications you could undertake as outcomes of your SWOT analysis. You might also have identified the possibility of a new job or even a career change so this will be the final area you’ll investigate.

4 Progressing your career: new job or career change?

Figure 4

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A person filling in a job application form.

Figure 4

Look again at Lucy’s SWOT analysis and examine her statements; there are a number that could be useful if she is considering a career change. First, consider her strengths:

• I am a good communicator with both colleagues and customers.
• I can organise my time efficiently.
• I contribute effectively to teams I belong to.
• I take the lead where this seems appropriate.
• I enjoy my work and get on well with my employer.
• I have three reasonable A levels and a vocational qualification in marketing.

While these are fairly generic, and would be very relevant to her current career in marketing, they are also the kind of attributes that employers seek in many areas of work. The Open University Careers and Employability website lists the following ‘employability skills’ (The Open University, 2021)

Lucy’s strengths already match several of these skills and attributes and areas such as digital and information literacy, and her commercial and global awareness, she has already targeted as important areas for her development and planned action to address these. . This suggests that she could legitimately consider new jobs or a career change if she wished. Her lack of a degree, as she acknowledges, might hold her back, but she has a vocational qualification, A levels and work experience that would redress some of the balance.

In addition to these strengths, Lucy also refers to several opportunities and threats that have implications for her future. In particular, the following statements are worth examining:

• The company is still family owned with a very traditional culture.
• There is a lack of good designers with the right skills in the organisation.
• My line manager would like to leave his job and I am uncertain about his possible replacement.
• There is a major industry conference soon where I can make new contacts.

The first of these statements suggests that Lucy might feel stifled by her current employer and that the opportunities for her might be limited. Moving into a similar job somewhere else might allow her talents to flourish and provide her with greater potential to forge a successful career in marketing.

The second statement indicates that she has done her research and identified a problem for her organisation that might present her with an opportunity. Lucy doesn’t mention that she has any design talents but, if this were the case, she might be able to make a sideways step into a new career as a designer with her current employer. This would probably depend on their recognising her interest and supporting her through the necessary training, possibly via a degree or BTEC course in footwear design. This would also have the advantage for Lucy of filling the gap in her education that she acknowledges exists when she states that ‘many of my work colleagues have a degree and therefore have more potential opportunities’.

The third statement could be read as a sign of Lucy’s ambition to move into a position of greater responsibility. Her concern about the replacement for her line manager, who she feels is going to leave his job, might be mixed up with her perception that maybe she would be the person to fill the vacancy should it arise! As suggested earlier, there is no harm in Lucy letting her employers know that this is in her mind; communication, initiative and self-management, are on the list of employers’ preferred attributes, after all. It is possible also, that if she harbours ideas of promotion, then these might be realised with another employer so looking outside her ‘comfort zone’ might be productive.

Lucy’s final statement indicates her shrewd understanding of her sector and how it operates. While this could be construed, in the context of networking, to further the interests of her organisation, such a conference would also present Lucy with a golden opportunity to do some networking on her own behalf. It would allow her to find out whether job openings exist elsewhere and potentially meet the people who influence decisions about recruitment.

Lucy, therefore, has options for change that could include getting a new job or even changing careers. Her statements about herself and her sector, based on her research and investigation into the ‘bigger picture’, have revealed to her some possibilities that would probably have remained hidden otherwise.

This week, by using Lucy as a case study, you have been able to combine your knowledge of yourself with an understanding of your sector or industry to construct a powerful analytical tool – the SWOT analysis. There are two final comments to make in this context. Firstly, your circumstances – and your attitudes and priorities – will change, so updating your SWOT analysis at regular intervals is a useful habit to adopt. Secondly, it may be helpful to involve someone else in this process who can provide you with an objective perspective and ask you the right questions about your analysis. This might be a friend or colleague that you trust or an outsider such as a careers adviser or mentor (to be discussed in Week 8).

5 This week’s quiz

Well done – you have reached the end of Week 7 and can now take the weekly quiz to test your understanding.

Week 7 practice quiz

Open the quiz in a new tab or window (by holding ctrl [or cmd on a Mac] when you click the link).

6 Summary

This week you have looked more closely at how to make use of the knowledge that you are gaining about your sector. In particular, you have been introduced to the concept of the SWOT analysis and how this can help you to analyse some of the factors relating to your sector, and assess how these might affect you personally. You have done this in three specific areas: improving your current performance; retraining or gaining new qualifications; and progressing your career through a new job or career change.

You should now feel that you can:

• describe the concept of a SWOT analysis and how this can help you to understand your current situation
• undertake a SWOT analysis on your current situation using what you know about yourself and your sector
• identify how you might improve your performance in your current job
• describe possible steps you could take in order to (re)train or gain further qualifications
• outline how a job or career change might be beneficial for you personally.

Next week you will look at planning action in relation to your goals based on what you have learned over the past few weeks. Your practical action plan will contain realistic aims and objectives to guide you as you take steps to make these aspirations a reality.

You can now go to Week 8.

References

Acknowledgements

This free course was written by Martin Pennington.

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence.

The material acknowledged below is Proprietary and used under licence (not subject to Creative Commons Licence). Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this free course:

Figure 1: © AnsonLu/iStockphoto.com

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