Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

For most people, many positions, especially the entry level ones are more of a stepping stone than a dream job. But if you’re at an interview and you’re asked what your five-year goals are, I can assure you that being honest that this job is a placeholder until a better one comes along would not go down well with your recruiter.

What about if your intention is to be promoted into the role your potential supervisor holds, and this supervisor is in the room? Should you be honest and tell them you are gunning for their role? Conventional wisdom says until you know their personality better, try not to disclose yourself as an outright threat right from the word go.

How then do you respond to the question ‘where do you see yourself in five years’ or a similar variation and still sound believable and credible?

Career goals

Answering this question in any way other than implying that this is your dream job (even when you know it’s not) could give your interviewers a reason to weed you out. Therefore, ensure you are enthusiastic but reasonable in your response. On the reverse, saying that this is your ideal job and you have been dreaming about it for the last five years will only make you come off as insincere. There should be a link between this current role and your career goals - if the role is in marketing but your career goals lie in IT, you’re not going to be able to make the connection seamlessly.

Options

If you have been keeping your options open as you look into roles, avoid disclosing this fact to your interviewer. If you do, it might be perceived that you’re only looking for another opportunity so you can jump ship. While you shouldn’t lie, don’t feel the need to bare your heart in terms of all the potential directions you’re considering for your professional future.

Another reason you need to show a natural progression from where you are now into the next five years is because recruiters don’t like to spend a lot of time recruiting and training new hires, whether it is you or your replacement after you leave.

The future

The best way to answer this question is by anticipating how you will answer it before it’s asked. Where could this position realistically take you? If you cannot tie the role to growth within the organisation in a realistic way, you could also express your professional future in terms of the skills and expertise that you will gain along the way. Talk about the kind of projects you’d like to be involved in, including opportunities for leadership.