I once answered this question truthfully in an interview. Big mistake. My answer was “I know you have to ask that question, but I really dislike it. No-one knows what they will be doing in 5 years. In the last 5 years I have worked in Japan, Camdodia, Australia and New Zealand in 6 different jobs. No-one including me had any idea that could have happened in the last 5 years. So I am not going to answer that question.”
Stunned silence from interviewers.
A few days later when they rang me back to say why I did not get the job, the woman said we do not think you will stay in the job in the long term.
What a surprise.
Don’t say “Doing your wife.” Don’t say “Doing your wife.”
“Doing your . . . son?”
I’ve always hated this question because there’s no good answer. You can get clever, you can be honest, or you can be a suck up-- either way, you’re going to wince about it later.
I’ve always gone for vague. “I see myself taking advantage of whatever opprotunites come my way . . . blah, blah, blah.”
Probably still on the street unless that asshole PO comes up with some BS parole violation - he hates my guts. Do you reckon I should get someone to do the prick?
Not to mention that telling an interviewer that you refuse to answer a reasonable question makes you sound arrogant and difficult.
I think the problem is that too many people are either very short-sighted in their careers or they just drift around with no real objectives or goals. I mean you should have a pretty good idea in your head where you want to be in 5 years when you are taking a job. How long until you can expect a promotion? What’s the next level? Are you expected to get special certifications or go back to graduate school?
You could, especially if you feel it’s not going well, give a totally off-the-wall one word answer, like “Bagworms.” It could play out like this:
Interviewer: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
You: Bagworms.
Interviewer: Excuse me…?
You: Bagworms.
Interviewer: Uh…I don’t understand what you mean.
You: Just bagworms.
They can’t dispute, believe or disbelieve that, can they?
In 5 years my leveraging of synergistic paradigms will have refocused the product stream into exciting new tangibles! Who knows where 10 years will lead?
I think this question is hard to answer when you’re just starting out. I remember having no clue about where I saw myself in 5 years when I was just out of college. I suppose an honest answer at that time would have been “I haven’t had enough work experience to say where I’ll be in 5 years. Right now I like doing xyz, so I can see myself doing more in that direction with more responsibilities, but I may also fork off to do abc if I find I have an interest in that.”
But after you’ve been working for a while, you should have a good idea where you see your career going–even if it’s staying the same. So it could be something like “I really like programming and I plan to stay programming as long as I can.” Or else “I plan on moving out of programming and into more of a team lead or manager role.”
If you haven’t given any thought to it, that’s not good. Employers want to know that you think ahead and can work towards long-term objectives. Also, employers are looking for different types of people. Some employers want someone who will stay in the same job for a long time, others want people who are interested in moving up. So it’s not just a BS question. How you answer the question can give valuable insight into the type of employee you will be.
**Where do you see yourself in 5 years? **
Your job.
One I’ve actually used: “I’m an IT Professional. I’ve never stayed in one job more than three years in twenty years in the industry. How the heck am I supposed to know what I’m going to be doing in five years?”
“Five years closer to retirement”
I’ve been working at the same place for 24 years now so I probably won’t need to answer this question in an interview situation.
I think it’s a ridiculous question and doesn’t tell anyone very much at all. In 5 years, I could have completely switched careers and back again. I could be in school etc.
So much of what happens to you in life depends upon other factors than your “5 year plan”. I didn’t plan on 3 kids–2, yes–but #3 was a surprise, to use one example. I didn’t plan on my husband losing most of our money in a dotcom mess, either–but neither did he. People don’t plan illness or disabilities that can and do change their work aspects etc.
We none of us can predict the future, and since I like to be honest in these interviews, it’s hard to find a way to say that.
So, I make up stuff. I loathe interviewing for reasons such as this–it’s BS.
“Ideally, I hope to be doing something similar to what I do now, but with more responsibility and at a higher level of expertise.”
This answers the unspoken questions:
Are you going to quit to go bike through Europe in the next five years.
Are you going to be content doing menial tasks and will be the type of person who when new responsibility comes your way immediately answers with “that’s not my job.”
Are you so ambitious that you are coming after my job (not a good thing).
I hate this question. Especially when you get to a certain level/amount of experience/age. I don’t especially care to advance, thanks. I’ve had the boss’ job, it sucks, I don’t want it. Glorified babysitting is not my idea of advancement. Currently, I’m a department of one (that’s right, still sans assistant) and it’s the way I like it. Not everyone is cut out to rise through the ranks. The whole concept of “If you don’t want to be here <insert HR dreamed up goal> within 5 years, you’re not right for this spot” is horse crap. Some people find a niche they like and stay there and do well there.
[ol]
[li]Well, if someone looks inside my basement freezer, probably prison.[/li][li]On trial for embezzlement.[/li][li]Burning your dog.[/li][li]Sobbing myself to sleep in an alcoholic stupor, fighting off suicidal urges caused by wasting my life in pointless, dead-end jobs.[/li][li]TWEAKING, BITCH!!![/li][li]In a stone temple in a Camodian jungle, being worshipped as a god and hacking up water buffaloes with a machette.[/li][/ol]
