Here is the best answer to that interview trap question

Building a successful career is an uphill task. It involves acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies and offering them to the highest bidder.

Job interviews offer an ideal platform for the career builder to showcase skills to the prospective employer.

An interview session enables both the candidate and the recruiter to evaluate the degree to which their partnership will be beneficial to either party.

It is for this reason that recruiters coin the interview questions with the objective of not only hiring the right person, but one who will be worth the organisation’s investment in the long run.

Career experts opine that no interview should be taken for granted. This is because not all questions asked require straightforward responses. Top on the list is the trap question of “Where do you see yourself in five years?” or “What are your long-term career goals?” The answer to this question has the potential to snatch away that job. It is advisable that every career builder understands that “no progressive organisation will hire a vision-less candidate”.

If the organisation is to realise its strategic goals, then only strategic hires have the potential to ensure the attainment of the corporate goals.

Recruiters use the responses to this question to gauge the seriousness of the candidates. Is the candidate interested in building a career or they just want to make a few bucks as they loiter in the job-market?

Recruiters also use the question to assess the candidate’s attitude and loyalty to the job at hand. They want to know if the candidate is genuinely interested in the job and how long he or she plan to work for the organisation.

They also want to know if the candidate’s five-year plan align with that of the organisation?

A recruiter will use the responses to the question to determine whether the candidate is both schooled and educated. Is he or she a logical thinker?

How much employability skills have you acquired so far? What are you people skills like? Are you well socialised?

These questions are interview traps to weed-out ill-prepared interview candidates. In answering the question “Where do you see yourself in five years?,” You must remember that the key objective of all interview questions is to fill the role at hand.

As such, candidates must tactfully pitch themselves with every response they provide. They must also be   enthusiastic, passionate, realistic, ambitious and logical in their approach to all interview questions.

It is advisable to focus more on professional growth than personal growth. Some will talk about salary and cars they want to drive.

Others will sabotage their chances by announcing they intend to ‘grab’ the recruiter’s job in future, a clear sign of career illiteracy.

The writer is Human Resource Practitioner.