When interviewing for a just about any professional career, you will encounter the dreaded interview question, “Where do you see yourself in the next five years”? In all honesty, as college students and recent graduates, most of us don’t know where we are looking to be in the next five years (we are just excited to finally finish college). Before you answer this question, it is important to know what the interviewer is looking for.
What the interviewer is looking for?
When interviewers ask this question, they are not looking to hear about your personal aspirations. This might include how you plan to be a rock star, or you see yourself working from a laptop on the beach etc. Companies are making a huge investment by hiring a new employee. They are often investing thousands of dollars in hiring and training a new employee. Hiring managers want to know if you are worth the investment. They want to know if you are willing to stick around the company and grow professionally and solve their problems. Hiring managers are not looking for you to come in and waste their time and money by training you for a few months only to see you leave because you don’t think it’s a good fit. When this happens, they have to put out a new ad, spend weeks interviewing and training until they find the right candidate again. This can be a complete waste of time for hiring managers, who would rather have someone in the position already.
How to NOT Answer this Question?
Knowing how to answer this question requires knowing how to not answer it first. It’s important not to give the interviewer any indication that you do not plan on working for their company for the long term. After all, they are looking to make a long-term investment in their new hire. Even if you do not plan on staying at this company for the next five years, do not let the hiring manager know this. Another common mistake to this question is saying, “I would like to be in your position”. Although this will be ideal for you, there are two reasons not to say this:
1. You don’t know how long it took that person to reach that position – It may have taken that the interviewer seven to ten years to achieve their current position. Saying you plan to get there in five years could be construed as insulting to the interviewer.
2. They are insecure about their position – Considering this is your first time meeting the interviewer and you don’t know how they feel about their current position, they may not appreciate the fact that somebody plans to soon be competing for their position. The interviewer may feel threatened and not want to hire you out of fear of losing their job (you never know).
How to Answer this Question?
When answering the question, “where do you see yourself in five years?” it is important to structure you answer by covering a few topics, such as:
1. Your Interest in the Job
2. Your Core Strenghts
3. Your Professional Goals
4. Where you would like to be each year
A simple way to answer this question would be: I definitely see myself employed within this company for the next five years and beyond. I feel as though your company and I share some of the same values, such as _______ and _________. I would really like to take those to a superior level with the help of this company. This is definitely the position I’ve been preparing for and I am excited about the opportunity to work with you for the next five years.
Another more in-depth answer might sound like this: I would love to have the opportunity to be employed in a company where career growth and challenging work are common occurrences, providing me with the opportunity to utilize my core skills in assisting with the growth of the position and the company. From my prior research on your company, I can see that you routinely offer these opportunities and I know your company will value my core skills. I am really excited for the opportunity to possibly work with you for beyond five years.
While I am focused on success, long-term stability and ongoing development, I am very commercially aware of the present climate within this industry, and am looking forward to working hard for my next employer to secure my role with them. I would like my commitment to this company to go beyond five years.
Final Comments:
When answering this question, it is important to make sure you are expressing that you plan on staying at the company for a long time. It is also important to demonstrate some of your key strengths and how you plan on enhancing those strengths through employment with the company. Your goal here is to have the interviewer visualize you in the company for the next five years or more, so you want to demonstrate the traits and skills that you are sure their company will admire.
Another Great Tip for Answering, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years question”
Assuming you’ve researched the position and you know the growth opportunities that will be available, it is a good idea to tell the interviewer that you see yourself assuming the responsibilities that go with that position. For example, if you are applying for an accounting position and in five years you know that the position will likely lead you to a Senior Accountant position, tell the interviewer that you see yourself in the role of Senior Accountant (be sure to state the responsibilities of this position and how you plan on executing them as efficiently as possible).
Have you encountered this question?
If you have encountered this question (as an employer or a potential employee), how was your experience? how did you handle it? Please tell us about it in the comment section below.