Interview Q Where Do You See Yourself In 5 Years

Interview Q Where Do You See Yourself In 5 Years This week were tackling one of the most feared interview question. That question is, Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?. Many Hiring Managers use this question as a trap for candidates. This question is designed to trip up applicants  who wouldnt fit in, or would  move on from the job quickly. Interviewers may also trip up genuinely qualified candidates with this question. However, this question shouldnt intimidate passionate candidates. How Not to Respond Initially, its important to establish how you shouldnt be answering this question. Many interviewees have some kind of knee jerk reaction to this question. For example, some  potential employees may struggle to answer. Others  will make a joke, stating theyd like to be CEO, or something along those lines. Although humor can sometimes be a good response, this is not one of those situations. This question is very influential and should be addressed as such. Lastly, dont be overly specific in your response. Stating, Id want a company car, six figure salary, and a c-suite title demonstrates ambition, but its far too specific and comes off as pretentious. Saying you want a position in the future that doesnt even exist at the company may take you out of the running right away. Hiring Perspective Firstly, to figure out how to answer its important to understand why the question is being asked. Hiring Managers asking this question are trying to understand where this job would fit into the applicants grand career scheme. Hiring takes a huge amount of resources. Interviewing, vetting applicants, training, and worst case, severance packages all are costly endeavors. Again, this is why interviewers want to make sure they have a good candidate. If this job doesnt seem to be a long term fit for a potential hire, the return on investment is extremely low. They want to get a sense of your career goals and aspirations. If your resume doesnt tell a good story leading up to this position, now is your chance to explain your shift in focus. With this perspective, you are ready to answer. See Yourself In 5 Years Nobody is expecting you to have a vision into the future, or look into a crystal ball. If you know how you expect your career path to look, answering should be relatively easy. Often these answers are better the more specific they are. However, with this type of answer, this isnt the case. While a specific answer shows your plan is thought out, it may place you out of the organization. Its great to say you want to grow in your career, but if there is no room for growth, they will assume youd leave. This is why candidates shouldnt be  too focused on future job titles. If a company doesnt have a position you want in the future, they know you wont be around too long. In closing, the best way to think about this question is not answering about where you want to be, but who you want to be. Do you want to have more experience and responsibilities. Do you want to be a manger with a small passionate team? Figuring out who you want to be further along in your career not only helps you answer this question, but gives great self perspective.