Personal SWOT Analysis

Angel Larson – Spring 2023

SWOT Analysis
Strengths	Education at Southeast Tech Associates degrees in Business Administration and Marketing Strong writing skills Fast writing Clear, and easy to understand Open-communication Skills Active listening Direct questions Repeat for understanding 6 years of food-service experience Understanding of customer needs Understanding of organizational goals Able to train others Leadership skills Friendly and open to coworkers Guiding by example Eager to help others Making sure that everything is ready for the next shift Focusing on tasks Able to accomplish tasks efficiently and effectively Delegating when needed
Weaknesses	Negative mindset about customers Sometimes I let negative thoughts influence my interactions with my customers. Lateness I need to improve on my timing, sometimes I am 2-6 minutes late for work because I didn’t leave early enough. Poor Energy I need to improve my energy for work. Sometimes I don’t eat enough or get enough sleep before work. Procrastinating Sometimes I will procrastinate hard tasks, or ones that are boring or take a long time. Poor Rational Thinking I should improve my knowledge about consumer psychology, and behavioral science to help me better understand behavior and how I can interact with others better. Tensions between certain coworkers Improve interpersonal skills between me and my coworkers
Opportunities	Internship in the marketing field Opportunities are available through southeast tech, as well as through some of the regular customers who are in the marketing field currently. Continue to Bachelor’s Degree I will continue to complete my bachelor’s degree in marketing, after I’m done at Southeast Tech in May. Train as a Bartender I could train with my manager and other bartenders to become a sub bartender. Hosting I have started working as a host on some Saturdays, along with my normal serving. This is a good opportunity to see the business function in a different way and build my communication and professionalism skills. Exceeding Job Role Supervising on the dining room has been a good way to build trust with my manager and gain more job responsibilities in my position.     Feedback from Mentors Feedback from manager and boss help me to know which areas I’m doing well as well as which areas I need to improve on.
Threats	Internal Competition There is competition from the other servers at the steakhouse, who have more years of experience, to see who gets which hours and sections. Hand-Written Tickets I am not as fast using a POS computer system anymore, because we write all transactions, guest checks, and kitchen tickets by hand. I Do Not Know How to Close a Register This hurts my chances of being able to be a bartender or close on my own if I don’t learn this. Overwhelmed by Others I can get overwhelmed when I’m leading sometimes, and prefer to have Jana there for guidance and help. Messing up on Orders When I deliver low-quality service, that hurts my reputation with customers and with my coworkers. Blizzards and Cold Weather The weather affects how busy it is at my job, and also the time of year affects how much people are willing to spend.

Shared Results

Charlie:

1. For the strengths category–
   1. All very good strengths going into business and marketing because you need to be able to talk and get along with others not just with customers, where the food business gives a good place and environment to learn and achieve these goals.
   1. Strong writing skills, open communication skills, food service, leadership skills and the ability to focus on tasks, all of which are very great skills to have going into business and marketing, you need to be able to help and understand others like co-workers, customers and more.
   1. Having leadership skills like the ones listed above and focusing on tasks play hand in hand with business and marking because you need to be organized and be able to work efficiently and effectively.
   1. You have to focused, eager, and organized to help when looking into a career with business and marketing.
   1. With that being said, I agree with all of these strengths I see this within Angel every day and it makes her a great person to talk to, be friends with, and to work with.
2. For the weakness category-
   1. Weakness category is not to make you feel bad about things you are not doing correctly it is to help you understand places you need to make improvements on to help you succeed in this career.
   1. So, with the weakness that are listed above it gives a good understanding on things to work on and helps to break it down for people. They are all things that everyone struggles with once or twice in their lifetime.
   1. I agree with some of the weakness, but I disagree with 4,5, and 6 just because I don’t think these are generalized weakness within.

Jared:

• Opportunities & Threats –
  • Finishing ones education is important to better ones ability to achieve occupational dreams; however, not gaining experience on a moderate rate will affect the opportunities ahead. Bartending is a small part of industry that is important, and at the same time isn’t. It’s in the presentation that attracts the costumer. The lighting, cleanliness, house setting are various individual fundamentals. Management is more of how we can get more consumers. Working good on your own is a strong ability to achieve, since it will open doors to higher branches. 
  • Being in a competitive environment is a challenge, but the only way to be better; is to get better. The biggest competitor to you in every industry to be honest; is yourself.

Self-Analysis

Strengths: (Internal Advantage)

• What professional skills do I have?
• I am well spoken; I can formulate my words in different ways to speak to different kinds of customers. But I generally start off very friendly and approachable and am able to get my point across in few words most of the time.I can work well with a team, when everyone is openly communicating and following the same set of rules.
• I am able to handle conflict, if my customer’s are dissatisfied, or if my coworkers have an issue with something I did or said. I am able to find out the root of the problem, correct it, apologize for the mistake, and move on.
• I have good time-management skills when it comes to completing tasks associated with my job, if I am starting to fall behind, I will get someone to help me, or take a break on taking more tables until I am caught up again.
• I have good writing skills, that help me to write fast and clear, so that I can turn in my tickets quickly, read my handwriting, and organize what I need to get faster. I
• also make sure to price my tickets as soon as possible, so that it saves time later. I am able to have clear, open communication with customer, by asking them direct question, listening closely, and repeating back information.
• I also tell my customer’s my name so they are more comfortable with me, and know who to ask for if they need me.
  • What am I good at?
    • I’m good at talking to strangers and initiating conversation.I’m good at listening to others while they are talking.I’m good at reading body language and facial cues. I am good at remembering things in the short term, so that I can get things faster and make sure it goes to the right person.
    What services can I offer but others can’t?
    • I am knowledgeable about alcoholic beverages and can bring out drinks. This is helpful because I can give my opinion and suggestion on the drinks, and I know almost every beer, liquor, and wine that we have on hand.
    What favorable personalities do I have?
    • I am in a positive mood at work and am friendly to customers. I can push away all my thoughts and attitude before work, so that I am not sounding negative to my customers. I do have to push myself to be in a better mood sometimes but its always worth it to push to see the bright side, instead of dwelling in the negative.I am receptive to my coworkers’ moods and can tell when to delve deeper or when to leave them alone. This is helpful, because it can bring me closer to my coworkers on a personal level, and help me to understand them more.
    What resources do I possess?
    • I have a dependable ride to work and can give rides to others. This is really helpful especially in the winter.  I have an app to track my tips and income. I use this app to help organize my finances and see my fiscal improvements on daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
    What am I adept in?
    • I am adept with numbers, adding, and multiplication.I can write very fast and clear.I can delegate work to others well, playing to their strengths.I can be a team player and help others out, even when I’m busy.
    What other traits or skills will make you ideal for that post?
    • I show leadership in the dining room, by making sure everything is restocked and ready, making sure the other servers are doing well with their tables and seeing if they need help with anything, taking out drinks for other servers, running through transactions for other servers, asking servers how their sales where and how their night went, and by helping others with menu and service knowledge.Ability to work well on the bar side or the dining room side.Dedicated to great service for my customers and harmony between me and my coworkers.
    What type of business contacts do you have? Preferably in fields like insurance, marketing, and advertising.
    • Contacts within the business field through regular customers
      • Jeffry Hazlett – AdvertisingTricia Benn – MarketingSteve Paulson – Marketing and Advertising
    Have you completed any campaigns or projects? If so, what are they?
    • When I used to work at O So Good, I would make menu lists for the coffee drinks and the desserts. I would also print out kids’ menu, special menus, and update drink and special boards. I would also sometimes oversee some of the inventory and would regularly check if we needed to order anything.
    With your expertise in a certain field, can you impact positive change in an organization?
    • I believe that with my expertise in the field of customer service and food service, I could help make a positive change in the practices of an organization.
  • What professional certifications or qualifications do you have that make you stand out from the rest.
    • I have completed my serv-safe alcohol certification when I worked at Granite City, and I have completed my OASHA certification.

Weaknesses: (Internal Disadvantage)

• What am I bad in?
  • I am bad in medical emergencies.
  • I am bad when dealing with physics and calculus.
  • I am bad at dealing with being outside in cold weather.
• What should I hone and practice?
  • I need to work on my communication skills when it comes to sharing my feelings with others.
  • I should work on my rational thinking skills.
• What am I afraid of?
  • I am afraid of letting other people down.
  • I am afraid of letting myself down.
  • I am afraid that I will mess up so bad that I’ll get fired and everyone will hate me.
• What is my wrong mindset?
  • My wrong mindset is when I let negative thoughts influence my interactions with my customers and coworkers. Sometimes I get really annoyed at work and it can be hard to let that out without upsetting someone.
• What are the roots of my failure?
  • The root of my failure is when I am unrealistic, and don’t believe in myself enough.
• What do I need to improve?
  • I need to improve on my timing. I really want to start coming to work and school 10 minutes early, so that I’m not stressed out and I’m all ready to go.
  • I need to improve my energy for work.
  • I need to improve my attitude with some customers.
  • I need to improve my view on who I’m working with.
• What traits do you think you should and can improve on?
  • I can get distracted from the bigger picture sometimes.
  • Sometimes I will procrastinate hard tasks when I’m really stressed.
  • I should work on what do when I’m feeling overwhelmed.
• To deliver success in your current or future roles, do you think you have the essential skills or qualifications?
  • Improve my punctuality to work, school and events.
  • Improve my knowledge about consumer phycology, and behavioral science.
  • Improve interpersonal skills between me and my coworkers.
  • Improve my physical health.
  • Improve my working mindset to be more positive.

Opportunities: (External Advantages)

• What training programs are available?
  • Internship opportunities are available through southeast tech.
• Can I receive better education?
  •  I will continue to complete my bachelor’s degree in marketing, after I’m done at Southeast Tech in May.
• What can my employer offer to improve myself?
  • I could train with my manager, and other bartenders to become a sub bartender.
  • I have started working as a host on some Saturdays, along with my normal serving. This is a good opportunity to see the business function in a different way and build my communication and professionalism skills.
  • Supervising on the dining room has been a good way to build trust with my manager and gain more job responsibilities in my position.
  • Feedback from manager and boss help me to know which areas I’m doing well as well as which areas I need to improve on.
• Who can support and help me?
  • My parents, extended family, boyfriend, friends, teachers and my manager; all help to support, educate, and encourage me in my life and career.
• What am I best suited for?
  • I’m best suited for a job involving group interaction and working together but that also involves specific tasks I can accomplish on my own.
  • I need freedom in the workplace. I want to be trusted to work on my own but also have access to have help from my managers.
  • I prefer to work in a job where I can interact with a lot of people, and where I can use my brain to solve problems quickly and effectively.
  • I like a job that has specific goals and guidelines, but where you can use your own methods and means to get the job done your own way.
• What trends in your industry can you take advantage of?
  • One thing to take advantage of is that employers want people who are adaptable, and easy to work with. So that they can learn and grow on the job, while being able to accomplish goals with others.

Threats: (External Disadvantages)

• Who are my competitors?
  • People who are more professional outside of the workplace.
  • People who are more on time and dedicated to hours.
  • People who are already done with college.
  • People who have experience in the field.
  • Competition from the other servers at the steakhouse, who have more years of experience.
• What are the new technologies that I don’t master?
  • I am not as fast using a POS computer system.
  • I do not know how to close a register.
• What hinders my efforts to success?
  • Can get overwhelmed when I’m leading.
  • I feel like I need to be taken more seriously in the workplace.
  • When I deliver low-quality service, that hurts my reputation with customers and with my coworkers.
• Can current job and industry changes and progression affect your advancement?
  • There are no health benefits, paid time off, or advancement guarantees in my job.
  • The weather affects how busy it is at my job, and the time of year affects how much people are willing to spend.