“Where do you see yourself in five or ten years?” typically means “Do you know what you want?”
I used to view this question as a trap. My fear was that if my answer of where I saw myself didn’t match their answer of where they saw me, I would automatically be disqualified
I often hear college students scoffing at this question, which they sometimes interpret similarly to the idea of having a career objective on their resume. “Dah!” they’ll snap as they roll their eyes. “Like, my goal is to get a job! How hard is that to figure out?”
In most cases, employers want to hire people who have goals—even if those goals don’t equate to climbing the ladder of success at Ivory Towers Office Furniture (whether or not you see ivory towers in your future is a completely different matter).
This is important: you would be amazed at how many people out there no do not have goals for themselves
Now, if you view this job opportunity as a mere stepping stone to somewhere else, that doesn’t mean you should just come out and say that. But if your track record is one of setting goals and achieving them, illustrate that. Further, emphasize professional and personal growth over achievement of a certain salary or position title. Stress your commitment to a personal mission—a mission that preferably be aligned with the mission of the organization that is interviewing you.
“What would you say is your greatest weakness?” typically equates to “What are you doing to better yourself?”
This question is often the most feared question of all. People see it as a no win scenario—if I am too honest, I give them a reason not to hire me. If I am too soft or indirect, they think I am dodging the question.
Hey, we all have imperfections. You know that, and employers know that. They are human too. But what they want to know is what you are doing to correct those imperfections. They want to know what you are doing to improve yourself.
Now, that’s not to say that you should answer the question with something like trying to quit smoking or drinking. But there are two levels on which this issue (the one of self-improvement) may be addressed.
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The above is an excerpt from The Last Guide to Interviewing You'll Ever Need, which is available for sale for $17 in our bookstore or for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. Students know that good experiences helps to build a good resume and that good resumes help you land interviews, yet how many of us have been shown how to interview well so that we can get hired? Written by Keith F. Luscher specifically for the job hunting students who use CollegeRecruiter.com. To get hired, you must know how to interview well. Read this book and you will. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter. |
