Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?

Posted October 28, 2013 & filed under Interviewing

Most interview questions aren’t designed to break the mold. A job interview is usually meant to extract traditional answers from whoever is in the hot seat. So, unless you’re applying for an eccentric company where employees are expected to bring a certain breed of off-kilter thinking to the table, you can expect your interviewer to rely on a relatively traditional script. That’s why you should always have an answer prepared for the interview question: Where do you see yourself in five years?

What the Question Really Means

The question itself can be rather imposing. Job seekers often hesitate when asked “where do you see yourself in five years” for one of a few reasons. For some, they’re worried about sounding overly confident about their future in a world where things are often up to chance. For others, the specifics of their career plans are vague, are limited to earning more money, or are centered on upward career mobility. Regardless of the reasons why, the hesitation on this interview question might be a bit misplaced especially since the question is not all that it seems to be.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” actually translates to “Where does this position fit into your short-term and long-term career goals?” The interview question is meant to gauge where you see yourself fitting into the company’s future plans and what you expect to contribute along the way. If your response openly indicates that you only see this position as a stepping stone to bigger or better things, you’re probably going to hurt your chances of getting the job.

How You Need to Respond

When asked “where do you see yourself in five years?” your answer should definitely incorporate company objectives or the position itself into the vision you already have for your career. Keep your response genuine but don’t be afraid to draw parallels between your goals and those of the company. A good answer potentially sounds like this:

“Over the next five years, I’m really hoping to advance my skills to a whole other plateau, getting myself to the point where people can look to me as an industry expert. That’s why I’m really looking forward to this position. I think it can expose me to the types of challenges that will push me to be my best.”

Of course, you need to look at what you’ve already learned about the company through your research when crafting a response. Anything that sounds too generic won’t hit home as well as you want but ultimately, if you can provide an answer that caters to the company’s objectives, you can remove a substantial roadblock to your success in the job interview.

by James Walsh