In 1960’s the book Business Policy, Text and Cases, discussed a new concept called SWOT. SWOT is short for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and is generally used for to aid strategic planning. CAT 2008 is one event that requires strategic planning concepts to the core. CAT 2008 and SWOT, you would ask, well if you look closely at how admission process at various B schools is evolving you will realise that a good score is not all that you need to secure admission in a top notch college. Today’s admission application needs much more and this is where SWOT comes in because it helps you pin point areas to exploit while preparing that application package. SWOT is beneficial even from written exam’s ( CAT 2008 or XAT) perspective as it will help you focus on your weaker concepts while sharpening stronger concepts.  In following text I will highlight how SWOT can be used for preparing for CAT 2008 .

How to perform SWOT

1. Take a piece of paper, size of paper is not important as long as you have enough space to jot down your thoughts.
2. Divide the paper into four parts as shown in the image.
3. Name this divisions as Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. That’s it, you are all set to perform a SWOT analysis.

Strength

Strength is an internal trait of an individual, which means it is something on which individual can exercise control and these traits can form the very foundation of your overall planning.  Start listing down your strengths in the strengths section of the paper. Here are some of the strengths that can help you in making your list,

• Work Experience. You might have exhibited leadership skills at work.
• Education, extra-curricular’s etc.
• Interpersonal skills like, communication, teamwork, leadership skills
• Decision making
• Goal setting
• Geometry, trigonometry.
• Try to answer questions like What sets you apart? What is it that you can do better than others?

Weaknesses

Weakness is nothing but a missing strength, You might have escaped sports activities at school. That is a weakness from application perspective. These are the areas you might want to work on. Think about them and list them in appropriate section on SWOT page.

• Low work-experience
• No sports or other supplemental activities.
• Some sort of negative personal trait. ex. short tempered
• Lack of grasp on current affairs.
• Poor convincing skills etc..

Opportunities

Opportunities are External factors that provide you with a platform to better your chances during CAT 2008 prep. You might be doing a job that supplements your CAT 2008 preparation. That’s an opportunity to sharpen your present concepts and investing more time on concepts you are not good at. A strong network of like minded individuals is also an opportunity because they might boost your confidence and help you perform better.

Threats

Threats are areas on which you don’t have direct control but they are areas that can undermine your MBA dream. Hectic job with lot of traveling can be a threat to your overall MBA preparation. Candidates with better resume and better skills are a threat. Slowdown or a recession is a threat.

How this helps

When you are done with figuring out your Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, you will see that you will have a clear idea of where you Nat to focus. You would want to

• think ways to use your strengths to maximum
• work on your weaknesses. (List your weaknesses from most potent to most trivial and start attacking them from the top.)
• make most of your opportunities. See how you can use these openings to achieve above two goals
• reduce your exposure to threats. Think of ways to guard yourself from these potential party spoilers.

The exercise might sound tedious but actually, it is one of the most simple techniques around. At end of it you will be able to set your priorities and hence, you will give yourself a better chance to achieve your goals.