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Where do you see yourself in five years?





There is no exact answer for this question. The interviewers ask this question to know more about your career goals. The ultimate goal of any good hiring manager is to hire the best fit out of the crowd, one who is proactive and will work hard if hired. (For more information about proactive employees, read my blog “What kind of employees is today’s recruitment industry looking for?”)The recruiters want to hire you for the job now and not in future, so rather than demonstrating your ambition for future job, demonstrate your level of commitment to the job you’re interviewing for.

Moreover, the response to “Where do you see yourself in five years?” provides you an opportunity to sell yourself by commitment to the career path and the position. This kind of questions can trap you. There are various ways of asking the similar question:
interview
  • What are your future goals?
  • What is your dream job?
  • What are your long-term career goals?
  • How do you define success?
  • What you want to achieve by this job?
  • Where do you want to reach in future?
  • What is the ideal job for you in today’s scenario?

You have to answer in such a way that your answer aligns with the company’s long term goals and values. In today’s corporate world, the competition is hooting up. The interviewers just want an excuse to weed you out. Make sure that your answer should not even hint the recruiter that this is not the job of your dreams. The employer is expecting a candidate who can work tirelessly for the company and sees it as a great move for his career.

For example, if you see yourself as an IAS officer in coming years, then interviewing for an IT company has got no point. Hiring and training new people is a time-consuming process. The interviewers does not want to invest time and effort in someone who is already planning to leave the company for something better as soon as it comes along. If they hire you and you quit in next few months or years, then they have to again look for a new candidate and repeat the process.

interview

Sample Answer:
“I’m passionate about the work I do and would love if in coming years there were opportunities for me down the line to also be able to mentor other employees or new recruits to be successful within this position, perhaps as a manager or supervisor of the company.”

Your response provides insight to the fact that you’re willing to help fill the vacancies by providing training for potential replacements down the road. The emphasis is on growing with the company (shows that he’s a good long-term hire) and taking on new challenges (shows that he’s goal-oriented and proactive), not on a specific title or job description (shows that he’s flexible).

Want some tips?
Yeah sure! You just need a few easy tips and a healthy dose of reality.

It is best to give the general answer: 
If you are not sure about the career path or you don’t want to disclose your long-term goals, then give the general answer. Speak about your strengths and skills. If required you can add how they will benefit the company. You can also talk about the developments that you want to see in yourself. At some interviews, you have to be specific. In that case, describe how you are the best fit for the position and how you will serve in that field in that company but at times be careful because sometimes if you are too specific, you run the risk of talking about goals that are not achievable in the job you are interviewing for. Also from the interviewer’s perspective, that might mean that you’re not a good fit.

Emphasize on your interest in a long-term career at the company: You must show an honest intention to stay long with the company and ensure the recruiter that you would be a good investment as the organization is going to invest considerable time and money in hiring and training you for the job. Demonstrate your enthusiasm for the job as an exciting step for you. Make it clear that you are motivated to take on this opportunity and wish to explore more in future in the same stream.

Never give an opportunity to the recruiter:
If you, being a job seeker, are ambitious to start up with your own business in the future, then even though these goals are admirable, don’t share them with your interviewer otherwise it would be counted negative on your part. Recruiters want to hire a candidate who is going to last longer, as there are going invest in training you.

interviewTherefore take your own time to think about this question and thoughtfully prepare a response but don’t memorize it otherwise it may sound unrealistic to the interviewer. Extensively, researching about the company will provide you the information to find out what a potential growth path might be for you. This should be the foundation for your answer. It would help you to prove why you’re the best fit for the job as you see your future within the company.

GOOD LUCK!

Rohini Shendre
Digital Marketing Executive
Talent Corner HR Services Pvt Ltd


About Talent Corner
Talent Corner H.R. Services is a professional human resources consultant providing innovative recruitments solutions to the corporate world. Incorporated in 2002, Talent Corner has now grown into one of India’s top HR Services Companies with Over 150 employees in Offices and located at 10 Locations across the country. We are currently serving over 900+ clients in diverse industries.

We are providing recruitment services in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Rajasthan, Gujarat, & Cochin. In a Dynamic Business World, Standardized Business Solutions don’t Often Work. Therefore we offer customized Recruitments and Executive Search Solutions for Companies across industries. Visit our website to know more about us at: http://talentcorner.in

Apart from High Quality Recruitment Services, Our Industry Demands “Ownership” in Business. Thus in Order to Scale, we have Developed a Unique Recruitment Franchise Opportunity to harness your Entrepreneur Aspirations. To know more about our recruitment franchise opportunities, visit : http://talentcorner.in/franchise-at-talent-corner

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