Being able to predict how we want our futures to be is what everyone wants and we all want a sweet and straightforward future. I believe that anyone who lacks vision is not someone any organization would want to work with. So it should not come as a surprise to you when in a job interview, you are asked a question like, Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?
This is a common question in any interview. The truth is that whenever I ask candidates during an interview session about their plans, what I want to know is if the job seeker has plans to remain with the company for the foreseeable future. Don’t forget that most companies will want to make sure that the long-term goals of any new staff align with the company’s objectives.
Consistency matters a lot and you must be ready to be precise. For instance, let’s say you are applying for a new job as a customer care assistant at our company HighJobLink Limited, and I asked about your 5-year plan. If your reply to this question when applying for the customer care assistant job was about how you hope to have your restaurant, that’s cute, however, it shows that you are not interested in a future with HighJobLink Limited. Your dreams of having a restaurant might also suggest that you are not a good future planner, since being a customer care assistant does not lead to success in the food industry.
Instead, you can say, “I am hoping to learn more about using customer care SaaS software, and grow my own skill set so that in five years, I hope I will be good enough to qualify for promotion as a customer care manager instead of still being in the assisting capacity”. That sounds better right? What every interviewer wants to know is whether to remain and also build your career with the company in the long run.
After going through your resume, if I notice that you have frequently changed multiple jobs in just a short period, I would not trust you enough to be a keeper. If you fall in this category, make sure your answer reassures me as an interviewer that you have every intention of investing in a long-term career with the company.
Keep in mind that hiring managers or recruitment agencies look bad if they offer someone a job and that person quits after a few months. So you need to express an intention to stick with the job you’re interviewing for and make it a long-term role.
Also, keep in mind that every interviewer will try to measure your level of ambition. Remember that any questions you are asked in a job interview, your answer should mostly be all about the company. So in your answers, let your ambition indicate expectations, future career trajectories, and the desire to build on your skills through more education, that way you can be of better help to the company.
Another key to properly answering this question is being realistic when you answer and finding a way to reassure the company that if they eventually spend resources in training you, your ambitions, desires, aspirations, and loyalty will remain with the company. For example, if you’re applying for a position as a security personnel in a hospital, you should not say kinds of stuff like, “My five-year plan is to become a doctor after promotion. Security guards in any hospital aren’t promoted until they one day become doctors. So your answer to a question about your 5 year plan should be realistic.
The answer to this question is a way for any employer to get to know your character and understand you better as well as predict what amount of value and profits you can drive to the company.
Similarly, if you’re applying for a job as a cleaner in a school, that’s not going to lead to a job as a teacher unless you quit your job and get a teaching degree. In such cases, you can say something like, “I’m not sure where I want to be in 5 years, but I am confident that this role will help me learn more about what it’s like to work in the education industry daily, so I can gain the insights I need to make an informed decision”.