2nd Interview Presentation Problem

November5th

I have been asked to do a presentation for a 2nd interview and i just don't want to do it - it's quite strange.
They have asked me questions on some 5 year old data and to do a SWOT analysis on the business as a whole.

I feel the SWOT analysis is just too big and all encompassing a task and the data I have been asked to analyse has nothing to do with the role I am being hired for. So every time I sit down to do it, I just have a block.

Is this really pointing to the fact that the job really isn't for me, and listen to my gut feelings? I feel like a failure. Normally I would 'just do it' but I physically can't! Like sitting with that blank sheet of paper...

LittleVoice

November5th wrote: »

I have been asked to do a presentation for a 2nd interview and i just don't want to do it - it's quite strange.
They have asked me questions on some 5 year old data and to do a SWOT analysis on the business as a whole.

I feel the SWOT analysis is just too big and all encompassing a task and the data I have been asked to analyse has nothing to do with the role I am being hired for. So every time I sit down to do it, I just have a block.

Is this really pointing to the fact that the job really isn't for me, and listen to my gut feelings? I feel like a failure. Normally I would 'just do it' but I physically can't! Like sitting with that blank sheet of paper...

Though the data you have been given may have nothing to do with the job you will be doing, are skills of analysis, presentation and persuasion required?

Presumably that, and following a brief, is what they are trying to assess.

cr1mson

What Littlevoice says. They are not going to give you current data as may be commercially sensitive. If you think the SWOT analysis is too much could you bullet point it as it were and then set out a plan on how you would complete it or focus on major SWOTs.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

If it helps - SW is internal stuff and OT is external.

Often it is easier to SWOT [or SCOT as I call it] something that you don't know about as it makes you totally objective

I take out W for weaknesses and put C for Concerns. As I used to consult with businesses on Business Improvement and to be honest, felt uneasy about telling a successful business that they had 'weaknesses'...but concerns worked better.

November5th

Funky_Bold_Ribena wrote: »

If it helps - SW is internal stuff and OT is external.

Often it is easier to SWOT [or SCOT as I call it] something that you don't know about as it makes you totally objective

I take out W for weaknesses and put C for Concerns. As I used to consult with businesses on Business Improvement and to be honest, felt uneasy about telling a successful business that they had 'weaknesses'...but concerns worked better.

In the end I have walked away from this role, going with the gut feeling, but also seeing a life coach acquaintance about what happened. The comments here have been really useful, thank you, and thanks for putting SWOT/SCOT in perspective. I still think it's a bit unusual to ask me to look at the global business, rather than the area the role is in, which would be more useful for both parties I would have thought, deciding fit for the role.