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Management consulting

A lesson from management consulting : SWOT analysis for Judiciary prep

A SWOT analysis is a management technique used by large management consultancy firms to determine the status and viability of a complex project. 

It gives you the ability to look at your goal strategically. 

The acronym SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. 

What makes SWOT particularly powerful is that you can identify the current status of your preparation comprehensively, and also prioritise what you need to work on. 

Most people never do a SWOT analysis and dive in headfirst into challenges, only to realise that they are ill-prepared to handle them.

A lot of people actively avoid any form of reality check – “what if” they realise that they have too much to do or are not prepared? 

Both these forms of behaviour are similar to that of an ostrich who buries its head in the desert when it is facing a sandstorm, in the hopes of avoiding one. 

You can’t afford to be like that if you have serious intention of clearing the judiciary exam.    

Would you like to conduct a SWOT analysis right now to find out where you stand given the status of your judiciary preparation?

It doesn’t matter if you have not started preparing seriously, this exercise will still be beneficial.  

Let us conduct a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) to understand where you stand with respect to your judiciary preparation – this is very important to accomplish a big challenge. 

Be honest, because you are likely to be the biggest beneficiary of the exercise. If you are not honest, you may ignore your own reality, and suffer a huge loss. You may miss out on an important eye-opening moment.

For a Yes to be applicable to a statement, it must be FULLY true. If there are two parts to a statement and only 1 is true, you should mark it as a No. 

Download this file and start filling in the underlined terms in the appropriate quadrant. This is what it looks like. 

Part 1: My broad goals for the judiciary exam are in place and I have started studying. 

  1. I have shortlisted 3 states to attempt the judiciary exam. [Y/N]
  2. I know how many hours I need to study everyday and have created an hourly study plan. [Y/N]
  3. I have met my hourly targets in the daily study plan for at least 1 week. [Y/N] 

Interpretation Key: 3/3: S; 2/3: O; 1/3: T; 0/3: W; Only write the underlined words in chat and your notebook.

Part 2: I know which are the most important subjects and which topics to focus on in each subject to prioritize preparation. There are minimal to no chances of wasting time in studying the wrong things.   

  1. I have procured past years’ unsolved papers for prelims & mains. [Y/N] 
  2. I have created a subject-wise trends’ analysis for major subjects. [Y/N]
  3. I have created an integrated syllabus of major, minor subjects and local laws for all the states that I will be attempting. [Y/N]

Interpretation Key: 3/3: S; 2/3: O; 1/3: T; 0/3: W; Only write the underlined words in chat and your notebook.

Part 3: I have access to all necessary resources and guidance that I need to prepare for the judiciary exam. 

  1. I have obtained books for all the subjects as per my integrated syllabus. [Y/N]
  2. I have marked out what I need to study from those books. [Y/N] 
  3. I have a conducive environment for encouraging me to study, attempting mocks, to receive feedback on my work, including a committed mentor. [Y/N]

Interpretation Key: 3/3: S; 2/3: O; 1/3: T; 0/3: W

Part 4: I am confident about my English skills for all phases of the judiciary exam.  

  1. My English vocabulary, grammar, sentence structuring and written communication skills are already upto the mark – I have reviewed the past 5 years’ papers and I can do this well.  
  2. I practice reading difficult texts, answering questions from them and writing a short summary (precis) every week and get corrections. 
  3. I am confident about my spoken English – I am regularly able to communicate my point of view to 3 or more people in a group, including seniors who are in positions of authority. 

Interpretation Key: 3/3: S; 2/3: O; 1/3: T; 0/3: W

Part 5: I am prepared for my Hindi/ regional language skills. 

  1. I know the difficulty level at which the language is tested and precise understanding of what I will be tested upon. 
  2. I have access to all the resources that I will need to prepare for the same and I know what to study from those resources.  
  3. I have been practicing this consistently and making progress for at least three months. 

Interpretation Key: 3/3: S; 2/3: O; 1/3: T; 0/3: W

Part 6: I am confident about my judgment-writing and drafting skills.

  1. I have reviewed the questions in the past years’ papers of the last 7 years.
  2. I have learnt the format and the rules of drafting each type of document. 
  3. I have practiced drafting at least 5 types of each variation of a judgment or draft, obtained correction and improved.

Interpretation Key: 3/3: S; 2/3: O; 1/3: T; 0/3: W

Part 7: I am on track with GK and socio-legal essay writing.

  1. I devote 30-60 mins to current affairs everyday to stay on track.
  2. I have the resources for static GK and am already making progress everyday.  
  3. I practice socio-legal essay writing skills to improve myself.

Interpretation Key: 3/3: S; 2/3: O; 1/3: T; 0/3: W

Part 8: I am making progress on my answer-writing skills every week to be prepared for the mains exam. 

  1. I review the solved or unsolved questions of past years’ papers for the answer-writing for every subject that I study. 
  2. I practice writing answers to past years’ mains question papers every week.
  3. I practice weekly answer-writing based on trends for other questions in addition to what was asked in past years and receive corrections. 

Interpretation Key: 3/3: S; 2/3: O; 1/3: T; 0/3: W

Part 9:  I have a realistic plan for interview preparation and am executing it. 

  1. I perform mirror-work/ recording myself for at least 5-10 minutes everyday on what I studied or a socio-political issue, and developing my opinion.
  2. I am performing other work to build my self-confidence such as affirmations, or visualizing that I will clear the exam.
  3. I am attempting mock interviews once every month. 

Interpretation Key: 3/3: S; 2/3: O; 1/3: T; 0/3: W

Part 10: I have a backup plan in place.

  1. I know how many attempts I will give for the judiciary, and have identified which competitive exam or private practice backup options I will pursue in a gap year. 
  2. I have access to resources or facilities to cultivate those backups ahead of time. 
  3. I have started spending some time everyday to nurture those options. 

Interpretation Key: 3/3: S; 2/3: O; 1/3: T; 0/3: W

How to use the SWOT analysis

  1. Populate the quadrants as per the statements.  
  1. The objective is to have as many Strengths as possible. Everything should move to the Strengths quadrant eventually, at least 3 months before you attempt the prelims exam (6 months before is even better).
  1. In 1 year, you must build at least 3 Strengths if you are in early years of college, and 5-6 strengths if you are in 4th or 5th year to continue preparation effectively, otherwise you may feel a lack of progress and lose motivation. 
  2. Where possible, convert an Opportunity into Strength – this is your low hanging fruit, and it will give you a quick win and boost self-confidence. 
  1. If you have an area of Strength, there is nothing additional that you must do in that area. However, you must continue to maintain it by practicing and revision. Do not slip here, do not be overconfident. 

How was the SWOT analysis?

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