Show that your professional objectives and the task at hand are compatible.
You should bring a notebook, a copy of your CV, and a crystal ball to a job interview.
All kidding aside, the final one may be useful since recruiting supervisors love to ask questions like "Where do you see yourself in five years?" (Alternatively, they can inquire, "What are your short- and long-term goals?")
Some Advice for Providing a "Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?" Response
Demonstrate how your career objectives and the position you're looking for coincide.
Concentrate on the abilities you want to acquire and improve.
Don't be too precise when describing positions or deadlines.
Never say "Not here," "I don't know," or "I want your job."
It's a difficult topic, and the answer is simple to get wrong if you don't start considering it beforehand.
Why Do Interviewers Pose This Question?
1. To Verify a Candidate's Fit for the Position
This is a question that interviewers use to gauge if your professional objectives and the position you are applying for are compatible. If the two don't mesh well, the hiring manager may question your want to grow in your position or your ability to stay long enough to have an impact, which makes you a riskier hire in their eyes.
According to Mike Manoske, co-author of The Job Search Manifesto and career counselor, "many managers ask that question to feel safe." Manoske told Built In. "Stability is usually what they're looking for."
Such prudence is necessary. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees typically work in a job for four years. Employee tenure at tech firms is often less than that.
2. To Prevent a Candidate at Flight Risk
Interviewers want to be sure that the candidates they choose have the will to succeed and the ability to develop, but also aren't already planning how to get their next positions, given the high cost of hiring and onboarding new staff.
According to Roxy Phothirath-Burke, director of customer success at Resident, hiring managers are looking for someone who will fit in with the organization both now and down the road.
"Are they hoping this is a long-term position for them?" Phothirath-Burke explained her thinking process to Built In. "Or are they genuinely just looking for a stopgap while they're still looking for something else?"
3. To Check for a Growth Mindset in the Candidates
Phothirath-Burke said, "Hiring managers also ask this question because they're trying to find out how the candidates see yourself growing and how that growth might or might not be compatible with the company's vision."
In the startup industry, things change quickly. Hiring managers "still want them to be able to work the hardest in the role that you are attempting to hire them for in the current moment," Phothirath-Burke said, adding that you never truly know what that next role will be for someone.
Some Advice for Providing a "Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?" Response
1. First, respond to this question for yourself.
Candidates should consider their short- and long-term professional ambitions in order to be ready for this inquiry from hiring managers.
Director of business development at Cogo Labs Hilary Malecha said that seeing one's job as a story may be beneficial. She advises prospective employees to ask themselves: What is the turning point in my story? What is my desired destination? What abilities must I possess to go there?
Malecha advises seeking someone, such as a mentor, who is more experienced and working in the field they want to be in the future if they need assistance figuring this out. Find out what positions they had that equipped them with the abilities required to get that job. Job searchers need to have a better idea of how to prepare their responses after doing this.
2. Express Your Interest in the Position
During job interviews, Rick Wolf searches for intentionality in applicants.
Wolf, a data science manager at Grand Rounds, informed Built In, "I don't think you're going to be very satisfied in a role I have to offer if someone're kind of just drifting along, or you're here because I asked you to be." Furthermore, I won't be able to manage you well as I won't know how to best support your development.
Employing managers want to know if applicants are seeking more than "just a job," and that the position for which they are applying aligns with their long-term career objectives. This inquiry reveals that.
Saying during an interview for a social media marketing job, for instance, "I want to eventually be a UX designer," suggests that you may not be enthusiastic about the prospect of this specific role.
The same is true if you apply to a fintech business for a customer success position but claim not to be very interested in the financial services sector.
In other words, if a candidate for a sales position says during an interview that he wants to be a fisherman in five years, he would think, "You might be able to do the sales job, but how motivated are somewhat you going to be... to really understand and grow within this company alongside be successful at your job if you have no interest at constructing a career within our industry, or within this specific skill set?" said Stephen Jensen, the previous manager of midmarket at Motive.
3. Remain General
Career counselor Kirsten Nelson usually advises job applicants to be quite particular in their responses to interview questions. Not with this particular one.
Nelson said, "I believe that answering this question a little bit more broadly is acceptable." She advises applicants to hold off on providing too much information about deadlines and job titles.
Rather of stating, "My goal is to become a senior marketing director in three years," talk about your overall goals and the experiences, talents, and influence you aim to achieve. Say, for instance, "I intend to increase my understanding of various marketing channels, particularly by experimenting with social media and paid search ads and looking for methods to become more involved in campaign strategy."
A career counselor and creator of Catalyst Creation, Catalina Peña, gives similar advise: "Saying, 'I want to be a manager of this team, and have this many people, as well as want to work on this particular project — and I want to do language proficiency all from my house,' is a bad way to answer." stated Peña.
She continued, saying that a candidate boxes themselves in more the more explicit their response was. The less probable it is that the work will be able to accept a more precise five-year plan, the more specific it is.
Candidates seeking something from a job that the position does not provide are not sought after by hiring managers. Responding with purpose and flexibility in the specifics is the best course of action.
4. Put Skills First
When asked, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" during an interview, be sure to highlight the skills you want to gain and develop.
Saying something like, "I want to get better at designing, running, and optimizing marketing campaigns in the next few years," is an example of what you might say. In order to be even more useful, I look forward to honing those abilities and expanding my knowledge.
Alternatively, you may respond something like this: "In my current role, I've enjoyed overseeing a direct report." Thus, I see myself improving my management and leadership abilities over the next several years, expanding as a supervisor and mentor, and positioning myself to oversee a developing team.
"In my current role, I've been able to gradually become more involved in driving the strategy behind our product roadmap," may be the first line of another response. And I want to keep doing it that way. I envision myself having that kind of influence.
Job seekers, in the opinion of Shwetha Shankar, vice president of customer success at Tray.io, should focus their comments on the skills they aspire to acquire.
Shankar suggests that candidates start by breaking down their long-term goal into the talents necessary to get there if they are unsure about what abilities to convey.
Moreover, applicants may wish to include some wording from the official job description in their responses.
Regarding wording specifically, Shankar suggests the following as starting points: "I want to become an expert in XYZ," or "I want to improve my skills in such and such area." You could even go as far as saying, "I envision myself in a leadership role in this particular space, and in order to get there, I'm hoping to learn A, B, and C skills along the way."
Shankar said, "It's a blend of ambition and humility that makes for an excellent answer to that question."
5. Link Your Short-Term Objectives To Your Long-Term Ambitions
Malecha remembers being amazed by a candidate's response when she asked him about his objectives.
The applicant said that he intended to work directly in venture capital during the next five to ten years. To provide them with the best advice, he wanted to have a deeper understanding of the inner workings of profitable businesses, including how they monetize and attract consumers.
Since we are creating businesses and getting lost in the details, it was kind of an awesome response and a cultural match for Cogo [Labs]. However, Malecha said, "We also have a venture capital firm that makes investments in them.
She noted that when this subject was asked of her in an interview, a senior analytics manager colleague of hers handled it similarly effectively.
In essence, the applicant said that she envisioned herself eventually leading from a female perspective, either at Cogo Labs or somewhere else. She intended to take on this job and drive development and impact for the startups it is now incubating, but first she wanted to acquire all the necessary skills.
This response was well-balanced "between realism and tactical versus [an] optimistic, long term approach," which is why Malecha found it appealing.
'Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?' Sample Responses
It takes balance to respond to the question about the five-year plan. A strong response shows that you are determined and motivated, and it also shows that you are enthusiastic about the position for which you are applying. Here are some beginning points to help you formulate an answer:
"I see myself ultimately rising to the position of leadership in the [vertical industry] field. I want to get even more knowledge about [skills and experiences] along route to my destination.
"I want to keep honing my [example] abilities."
"In order to make an even greater impact, including [impacts you wish to make], I want to learn how to [skills] even better."
"Right now, I love [the ways you're contributing to my job]." I want to keep doing it, but I also want to push myself to develop in other areas, like [examples].”
"I'm interested in using my passion for [broader themes of your skill set] to change the world, especially for companies that value [the value that most closely aligns with you]."
"Right now, the [industry vertical] sector has me quite enthused. In order to achieve [objective that is in line with job description], I hope that in five years I will still be improving at [skills] and learning more about how to become an expert in [skills].
Things You Must Never Say in Response to the Question, "Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?"
Not Sure.
Malecha is not a big fan of candidates responding to questions with "I don't know."
She believes it shows they haven't given their long-term professional aspirations much, if any, attention. (With one exception: she believes it's OK for new graduates to state "I'm not sure." Even then, however, she will reword the inquiry to attempt to gauge the candidate's overall goals.)
Not knowing what you want your future to look like, however, falls into "a little bit of the red flag category" for someone who is already a few years into their work, according to Malecha. It might be a sign of a lack of desire or vision.
In a Position That Is More Senior Than the One I'm Applying For.
Hiring managers may get concerned if a candidate responds to the question indicating that they would want to advance fast into a senior position. It demonstrates that their attention is not fully focused on the task at hand, but rather too far down the road.
That suggests to me that they may not be [there] for the long run in the position we're seeking for, Phothirath-Burke added.
"In an Other Department."
Phothirath-Burke recently conducted an interview with a candidate who said that their five-year plan was to advance to a senior position—in a different department.
That is a warning sign, in Phothirath-Burke's opinion. "Either I won't be able to provide them with the resources they need, or they will become bored and disinterested because this isn't what they want to do with their life. I won't be able to meet their expectations for what they're looking for."
"I'm Heading for Your Position."
Benefit of responding in this manner: it conveys assurance.
Cons: Phothirath-Burke said she was a bit anxious about it. "However, I would be delighted to learn about their reasoning behind it."
Phothirath-Burke is turned off by the candidate's aggressive remark in part because she lacks the necessary work knowledge to make such a statement.
That, in her opinion, demonstrates a desire to run before learning to walk.
Commonly Asked Questions
How to respond to the question, "Where do you see yourself in five years?"
Talk about your ambitions for professional development and skill acquisition, particularly if they are in line with the job description and the objectives of the organization. Don't specify the job titles or promotion dates you are looking for.
Why is it that people often ask, "Where do you see yourself in five years?"
Employers are interested in learning about applicants' aspirations and whether or not they line up with the objectives of the business and the role. Employers may lower attrition and guarantee that recent workers have room to grow within the organization.
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