Are you having trouble with interview questions? You’re not alone.
Many people find common interview questions tedious and tricky to answer. After all, they are a barrier between you and finding a job you love.
Fortunately, questions like “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” are easy to answer once you know what your interviewer is truly asking.
Why do they ask this question, how should you respond, and what are some good responses?
You’ll find everything you need to know here. Afterward, we’ll cover some quick tips for bolstering your answer even more.
Why Do Interviewers Ask “Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?”
The interview process is for making applicants think critically and prepare thoroughly. Anyone entering a job interview should ready themselves for this question and others in advance.
Interviewers want you to answer confidently and succinctly without hesitation.
To many, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” sounds like an odd question. A lot can change in several years, and predicting exactly what you’ll be doing is impossible.
However, when interviewers ask you this, they aren’t asking you to guess your future. They’re gauging your loyalty and commitment to the job.
What is the Interviewer Looking For?
They want to know where you see yourself after five years of staying with the job in question. Your interviewer wants to know your specific goals concerning the position and how your employment may positively affect the job, the workspace, and your community.
For example, you may want to express how you aim to revolutionize the role, improve the workplace or workflow, or move up in the company.
Don’t be too ambitious, but set a modest, respectable goal that someone could realistically reach within five years. If you’re applying as a cashier, you can say that you want to eventually upgrade to being a customer service worker.
While you should be honest, know that the question is speculative. Employers know that things may not turn out exactly as you describe, and they will not hold you accountable. Answer with integrity and make a realistic, logical guess while demonstrating your desire to stay at the job.
How to Answer “Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?”
As with all interview questions, there are plenty of dos and don’ts to consider. Keep them in mind and rehearse your responses beforehand.
Even if your interviewer doesn’t ask you this question, you should keep your goals in mind during an interview. Let’s look at the best and worst responses to this common question.
What to Focus on When Answering This Question
The main point you should focus on for this question is the company itself. Your interviewer is scoping your potential as a long-term employee and wants to see how you will fit, grow, and change over your tenure if they hire you. This is not a question of your personal goals in your overall career, only concerning your ambitions within the job itself.
Think about how you want to positively impact your work through this job. You may want to improve overall efficiency and workflow or set a new standard for customer service.
You may want to work hard and earn a promotion that lets you perform even more critical duties. These are all great five-year goals that an employer would love to hear.
Remember that an employer wants to fill a position for as long as possible. Conveying that you will commit to the company for an extended period is most important.
Even if you don’t intend to stay with the job for long, your interviewer wants to know that you can at least plan for that possibility.
Another angle for answering this question is to focus on how you want to improve as a person through the job.
For instance, if you’re applying for a programming job, explain how you want to better yourself at coding efficiently and accurately in many formats. Any interviewer loves to hear that you want to improve your skills and become an asset to the workplace.
What to Avoid When Answering This Question
Don’t discuss personal goals during this question. For many people, jobs are a venture on the path to other careers, but your interviewer is looking for stability and contentment. They don’t want an employee who wants more than the job they’re applying for right away.
Don’t express the desire for a higher salary over five years. Doing so may express discontent. Interviews usually include a salary expectations discussion where those topics are more appropriate.
Be modest and reasonable regarding your five-year goals. Nobody can start as a new hire and shortly become a CEO.
While you can express the desire to move up in the workplace, you should always express more realistic goals, like moving from assistant manager to manager.
Finally, you shouldn’t try to give a humorous answer. During interviews, if you can gauge the rhythm between yourself and the interviewer, you can moderately inject humor and personality.
However, your long-term goals and commitment are crucial to your employment consideration. Try to take this question seriously and use proper interview etiquette.
Examples: How to Answer “Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?”
Let’s address the question practically by showing you some good answer examples. For each of our three samples, we’ll mention why they make fitting responses.
Example Answer 1
“Through this opportunity, I’d love to grow my skills and expertise over five years. Each day I want to learn from my experiences and superiors to become a critical part of our workflow.
If I work hard and succeed, I’d love to eventually garner more responsibilities and roles within the company, serving wherever I can.”
Why This Answer Works
This answer is concise but shows reverence for the company and the role in question. It expresses a desire to grow individually and within a company system. It also shows the speaker’s interest in a promotion and the assumption of more responsibilities without sounding too forward.
Remember, sometimes it is alright to be vague about your five-year goals as long as the direction you’re describing is positive. This answer does that well, showing an obvious desire to be helpful as a team member.
Finally, it shows promise for the future by demonstrating how they could have a lasting positive effect on the company.
Example Answer 2
“Over five years I want to enhance my programming skills beyond Javascript and Python. If I can steadily master PHP, C++, and more, I will be a critical resource for the company while growing in my career.
In five years, I’d love to be proficient enough to improve our workflow and mentor younger trainees with less expertise.”
Why This Answer Works
This programmer’s answer shows a strong desire to grow through the job. Saying that you want to improve your skills is perfectly fine as long as the position in question will help you do it.
This answer combines company loyalty with personal accomplishment, suggesting that the speaker wants to fulfill a critical role over time.
It also has positive future implications by mentioning mentorship. Answering this way demonstrates a will to bolster the entire company’s skill set rather than just one’s own.
Example Answer 3
“Through five years as a substitute teacher, I will be pursuing my Master’s in Education as I devote myself to ensuring the safety and education of the children.
I want to network with as many teachers in the school system as possible. By learning from them, growing in my role, and gaining practical experience, I hope to be on the path to becoming a full-time instructor.”
Why This Answer Works
This substitute teacher applicant’s response firmly establishes a modest goal. They want to move up to a full-time position within five years.
However, they do not show any discontent with the role at hand, wanting to improve their coworkers’ and children’s experiences in the school. The applicant shows a firm desire to grow while maintaining a steady pace.
Additional Tips to Impress Your Interviewer
It never hurts to have additional tricks in your arsenal. Here are three more tips that can impress your interviewer, especially if they ask you about your five-year goals.
1. Make Direct Eye Contact
Always make direct eye contact during interviews to show your commitment and intent. When you’re talking to someone, the best way to show that you are intentional about your goals is to face them while you talk. Don’t give an intense look, but use your countenance to show how critical your goals are to you.
2. Ask Your Interviewer What Their Goals Were
Conversing with your interviewer can help to create a more relaxed space. However, it isn’t always appropriate, so read the room before trying this tip.
Asking your interviewer about their goals when they started the job shows a desire to learn and a healthy inquisitiveness. It’s best to ask this question after you give your answer.
3. Send a Follow-Up Email After the Interview
Not only is it good etiquette, but it impresses your interviewer to send a follow-up email after the interview. It shows confidence in how you performed and shows that you are well-versed in corporate communication.
There’s no better way to show your dedication and earnestness, just like when you brought up your five-year goals.
Additional Questions To Be Aware Of
Interviews can include as many or few questions as the interviewer likes. You must prepare yourself for several kinds of queries, including the ones below.
- What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses? When someone asks “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” they want to know if you can compensate for your faults and work as a functioning member of a team.
- Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job? When someone asks “Why are you leaving your current job?” they want to understand how much job loyalty matters to you.
- Tell Me About a Time You Failed: Everyone goes through mistakes and errors. If an interviewer asks, “Tell me about a time you failed,” they’re looking to see how you recover from your failures.
- What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? This question is mostly for young applicants for part-time opportunities. When an interviewer asks, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” they want to know your ambitions and how the job can be a path to reach them.
- Do You Want To Tell Us Anything Else About You? When someone asks “do you want to tell us anything else about you,” it’s a good time to show some personality or explain any physical or mental accommodations you require.
Wrapping Up
At first, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” sounds like a vague question. However, it’s much easier to answer knowing the interviewer wants to hear about your loyalty, commitment, and satisfaction.
Growth and advancement through work are great, but the best way to answer is to show your excitement for the job at hand and how it will continue.
