How to Answer Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years - Career Sidekick

How to Answer “Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years” - Career Sidekick How to Answer “Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?” Interview Questions and Answers / https://www.edenscott.com/blog Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Of all the interview questions employers ask, this one seems to frustrate job seekers the most.The problem: Who honestly knows where theyll be in 5 years?Dont worry, in this article, youre going to learn:Why employers ask this questionHow to give the best answer possible for where you see yourself in five yearsMistakes to avoid in your answerA word-for-word sample answer you can copyWhy Do Employers Ask Where You See Yourself in 5 Years?When the interviewer asks you this question, they arent expecting you to really know where your career or life will be in 5 years.Nobodys going to write down your answer and check on you in five years, so it doesnt matter if your prediction is accurate.All that matters is you give a good answer that gets you the job offer, right? So keep reading and well discuss how to do that now.So, since theyre not expecting you to accurately predict the future (its not like anyones going to foll ow up and check in 5 years anyway), what do they actually want to hear when they ask where you see yourself in 5 years? Why are they even asking this?Heres are 3 reasons why employers ask where you see yourself in five years:They want to make sure youre ambitious and goal-orientedThey want to see how much youve thought about your professional futureThey want to make sure the job theyre offering fits in with your goalsIf you dont seem to have put any thought into what direction your career is going, its going to cost you job offers from top employers!And if you seem like you dont really want their specific position, they wont hire you either. Employers have a LOT of applicants to choose from and almost always pick a candidate who has specific reasons for wanting their job. This means researching the company before your interview and being ready to name a few things that excite you about their job description, their companys overall mission, their industry, etc.How to Answer: “Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?”If youre thinking, How do I know where I see myself in 5 years? This is impossible to answer, then dont worry. Help is on the way.Heres how to explain where you see yourself in 5 years (or 2 years, 3 years, etc.)Well look at 3 key steps to answering, and also the #1 mistake to avoid when answering.3 Steps to Answering, and One Huge Mistake to Avoid:The worst thing you can do is seem like you havent put any thought into it this all. Youll seem like youre unmotivated or just dont care.So, thats the first step put some thought into where you really do see yourself in five years, and prepare an answer.Youre already doing this right now by reading this article, so thats a great first step. Nothing sounds worse than saying, Wow, I havent thought about that. I have no ideal.And you also dont want to draw a blank and answer with uhh.. ummThe next step is you need to make sure your answer sounds slightly ambitious.You dont want to say, I see myself in the s ame position doing the same work 5 years from now.Remember nobodys going to tap you on the shoulder in 5 years and check on you! If you do want to stay in your next job for five years without trying to get any promotions, thats your choice. But saying that wont help you get hired for most of the high-quality jobs out there.So for the interview, you just need to say something thats a bit challenging but still reasonable.Then finally, tailor your answer to the company youre talking to.How? Make sure their job fits your 5-year goal.If you dont make it seem like the job youre interviewing for right now fits into the big picture of what you want, they might not hire you because theyll think you dont really want to do this work.Itd be a pretty bad decision for them to hire somebody whose goals arent being met in this job. Youd be unhappy, bored, and probably quit pretty soon. No company wants this, because it costs a lot of money/time to hire and train someone new.So you want to set thei r mind at ease that this job is truly what you want to be doing! This is also true when answering, whats your dream job? you dont need to say this is your exact dream position, but it should have some similarities to what you want to be doing long-term!Keep this last piece in mindas you prepare for your interviews and think about how youll answer this question for each company you talk to.Always saysomething thatll help the company seewhy you want their job. And dontever pick something thatll make them wonderwhy you applied.Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years? Example AnswerNow that weve looked at why employers ask where you see yourself in 5 years and how to answer, lets finish with a word-for-word example answer.Example answer for Where do you see yourself in 5 years?Where do I see myself in 5 years? Well, since becoming a Project Lead in my last job, Ive found I really like project management. In five years, I hope to be leading larger projects, or maybe managing multiple pr oject teams. I thought your Senior Project Manager position was a great step in that direction and would provide a nice challenge, while also making use of my 2+ years of prior project leadership experience in this same industry.So just to recap, in this sample answer for where you see yourself in five years, youre:Showing the employer youve clearly thought about this topicMaking sure to sound slightly ambitiousExplaining not only where you want to be in 5 years, but also how their specific job fits into your longer-term goals, and why you applied for their position!If you do these three things, youll put a smile on the interviewers face and move one step closer to getting the job offer. And most importantly, youll feel confident and relaxed next time they ask where you see yourself in 5 years.Got a question on any of this? Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!And if you want 14 more questions and answers to practice, check out this page.