SWOT Analysis
By conducting a SWOT Analysis, it has allowed me to see the areas I need to improve on to be able to be successful both at university and in my future career which enables me to be able to set targets and create a plan on how to improve on them.
From conducting this SWOT Analysis, I can see that I need to work on my confidence skills the most. My lack of confidence is what is holding me back from improving my skills and gaining experiences the most. I find it hard to speak to people outside of people who I’m comfortable with therefore I struggle when having to talk or communicate with industry professionals. I also need to improve my confidence so that I can work on my public speaking skills – a skill important for the future. I can work on improving my confidence by taking part in more class and group discussions.
Another aspect I need to work on is trying to gain work experience in the industry. It is important that I am able to participate in work experience as it will give me the opportunity to work alongside people in the industry that I would like to be a part of and will allow me to learn and develop skills that are required for the specific industry. Work experience also allows me to have an opportunity to start networking and create connections for the future.
I can improve these skills at university by engaging more in class discussions. Another way that I can work on my public speaking skills is by participating more in spoken group presentations. I can also improve by taking part in workshops and seminars that are hosted either by the university or by an outside speaker that are related to the skills that I need to improve on.
While at university I have the opportunity to connect with some industry professionals through careers fairs an also through seminars that are hosted at the university. By attending events like these I will have the opportunity to find some work experience opportunities and to start networking myself for future employment opportunities.
To achieve my goal of working as a journalist in the future, it is important that I make use of the opportunities that I listed available to me. I recently attended two seminars hosted by the Royal Television Society, one about working in different sections of reporting – such as Politics and Sports and the other about the skills needed to be able to work as a reporter for the BBC. Both of these seminars allowed me to learn some skills and different ways of reporting that are used in different sections of the journalism industry. It also allowed me to hear directly from professionals working in the industry currently. I have also applied to study abroad for next year which will help me in my goals of becoming an international journalist. I am taking part in a variety of short skills-based courses in social media for business, project managing and creating content online to help me gain a greater skill set that I can use throughout my future career.
The biggest threat that I have to achieve my dream career is the Coronavirus pandemic and the effects that will happen afterwards. As most people are being encouraged to work from home during this pandemic, it is difficult to be able to find a short work experience opportunity that involves working in an industrial setting. It is also having an effect on the state of the jobs market as many businesses are having to close or are unable to hire new people at this time. This means that the market it a lot more competitive as a result of there being fewer jobs available.
