Completing the TOWS Matrix Step

1: Identify your strengths (5) What skills do you have? What do you do well? What personal resources can you access? What do other people see as your strengths? What have you achieved? What are your key values?

2: Identify your weaknesses (W) What tasks do you usually avoid because you don’t feel confident doing them? What will the people around you see as your weaknesses? Are you completely confident in your education and skills training? If not, where are you weakest? What are your negative work habits disorganized, or are you poor at ? Do you have personality traits that hold you back? For instance, do you fear public speaking?
Again, consider this from a personal/internal perspective and an external perspective. Do other people see weaknesses that you don’t see?
Identify ways in which to overcome them.

3: Identify your opportunities (0) What new technologies can help you? Or can you get help from others or from people via the Internet? Is your chosen career sector growing? If so, how can you take advantage of the current market? Do you have a network of strategic contacts that can help you, or offer good advice? What trends do you see in your chosen career sector, and how can you take advantage of them? Are there further training opportunities, networking events, conferences etc. available to enhance your career prospects? Which two of your learning strategies do you want to develop further as life long learning strategies?

4: Identify threats (T) What external obstacles could prevent you from pursuing your chosen career? What is the competition for your chosen career? How is your chosen career sector changing? Does changing technology threaten your chosen career?

5: Generate strategic options For each combination of internal and external environmental factors, consider how you can use them to create good strategic options: Strengths and Opportunities (SO) – How can you use your strengths to take advantage of these opportunities, gain employment and remain employable? Strengths and Threats (ST) – How can you take advantage of your strengths to avoid real and potential threats? Weaknesses and Opportunities (WO) – How can you use your opportunities to overcome the weaknesses you are experiencing? Weaknesses and Threats (WT) – How can you minimize your weaknesses and avoid threats?

Sample Solution

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