Question:
I struggle with the question, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" I
believe that interviewers ask me that question to see how ambitious I am and
if I am focused on goals for the future. I've heard that replying, "In your
seat," isn't a great answer. What is?
Answer:
Use this question as a barometer that measures how well you have
conducted your job search to this point. If you are not sure what the
answer to this question is, you have not done an adequate job of defining
your target.
If you feel pressured to misrepresent what you are really looking for, you
may be sitting in the wrong job interview. You may not be on the path to
doing what you love.
But this is a question every jobseeker needs to answer before it is ever
asked in an interview. If a jobseeker can answer this question honestly, it
gives definition and purpose to the job search. And it helps jobseekers
conduct a job interview from the right perspective.
After all, what is a job interview? It is an exploratory process whereby an
employer and a jobseeker determine if they match. There is not one above the
other.
Typically, jobseekers approach the interview like a test that has to be
passed. They concentrate on saying the right things, dressing a certain way
and making impressions that will totally sell the employer. Sadly, many
jobseekers fail to interview
them, to find out if they say the right
things, dress correctly or make the right impression.
So the answer to the five-year question takes on a whole new perspective
when you approach it as you interview the company. You need to communicate
your target, but you also want to know from them how their job can fit your
objective.
As workers in the new economy have been found to change jobs every two and a
half years, it looms as a larger question for companies than it does for
jobseekers. Jobseekers of today are managing their careers by constantly
exploring opportunities to gain skills, experience and responsibility. Can
the new employer provide that for you? Or will you have to look somewhere
else to find it?
And that is all an employer is really asking, by the way, when they attempt
to make a match. It is in their best interest to help you meet your goals.
It makes your contribution significant. So answer honestly -- and don't be
afraid to ask the same things of them.
-- Kelly Stone, myjobsearch.com
