How To Answer Where Do You See Yourself In 5 Years (Even If You Dont Know)

How To Answer Where Do You See Yourself In 5 Years (Even If You Dont Know)How To Answer Where Do You See Yourself In 5 Years (Even If You Have No Idea)One of the fruchtweincommon jobinterviewquestions for entry-level jobsandinternshipsgoes something like this Where do you see yourself in five years? Answering this questions can be trickyespecially for young people who might have no idea.This one question aims to gauge your ambition, your personal organization, andfor employers that really care about their employeeswhether the fleck youre interviewing for is one that can help you achieve your career goals. Hiring managers and recruiters might also want to see how you react under pressure.But one of the great things about an internship, first job, or even second or third position is that youre given the opportunity to learn a lot more about what you like and dislike. For many people, its only then that they actually figure out their long-termcareer goals.The best answers to these quest ions will help you avoid a couple of red flag answers. First, it prevents you from sounding like youre a slacker without any plan or ambition. Secondly, it shows that you dont have too strict of an idea about what your life should be (basically that youre inflexible and wrong for the position).Here are some of they points in a perfect answer (with a sample answer to drive the point home). Youll be able to knock this question without any specific short-term or long-term goals.Talk About What You Hope To Gain, Rather Than A Specific Title Or standortYour answer should be focused on skills, experience, and exposurebasically, everything that a job offers you other than money and benefits.Even if youre interviewing for a finance or consulting role and its well-known that after five years you should be in a role called Senior Associate or Assistant Vice President, focusing on a position or title could make you seem like you have a limited view of what work is. You dont want to come off as someone obsessed with titles or power.If a senior role is an ambition of yours, then emphasize that youd love to gain management and leadership experience.Relate Your Answer To The Role Youre Interviewing For (And What Youll Add)By focusing on what you hope to gain in terms of skills and experience, youll also demonstrate to the interviewer that you plan on adding a lot to the company. That way, any promotions that might come in the future will be earned and not just expected.Use your answer as an opportunity to highlight specifically what you could gain from the role and how that benefits the company. Talk about how youll learn certain skills that will help you accomplish X or Y for your future team. This will show your ambitions are tangible and useful rather than just based on naivet or a desire for money.An Ideal Example AnswerIn five years, my goal is to have gained both the skills and perspective necessary to contribute to projects on both a strategic and operational level. F or example, through your companys IT Leadership Development Program, Ill be able to pick up both hard and soft skills. By becoming both a subject-matter expert on information technology and an experienced communicator and organizer, Ill be in a position to help lead a group or a teamwhich I think is an important step on the road to having a fulfilling career.