Career Prep 2009 Summer Blog

Writing can be a powerful tool to help you process and keep track of your progress with weaknesses. CP fellows have some interesting and specific suggestions on how writing out your weaknesses can turn them into greatness. Micheleluce Morand of The University at Buffalo suggests that you begin by “listening carefully to feedback and keeping in mind those things you need to work on over the course of a week, and then write out a plan of how to tackle your weaknesses. Similarly, Raquel Rivera of New York University believes, “in order to work on your weaknesses, I suggest keeping a journal entry that documents any actions you have taken in which you have overcome a weakness. Keeping a journal entry will be an effective way to self-assess your progress in overcoming your weaknesses. Also, having a journal serves as a motivation to make necessary adjustments. Each weakness should have its own section. You should set a goal to have a certain number of actions under each weakness by a certain date, with varying dates depending on the weakness.”

Finally, Noel Flores of Wesleyan University also believes that you must “acknowledge your weaknesses by writing them down, but think about good ways to solve them. For an example, if your weakness is that you are not a good public speaker try to take on responsibilities that will push you to have to speak more often such as taking a class that involves presentations.”