“So, where do you see yourself in 5 years?” Answering the Classic Interview Question

We’ve all heard the age-old example of the classic interview question: “where do you see yourself in 5 years?”. I’m sure we all have some answers for this question, but what are the best answers to give to your interviewer?

In her article, Jane Burnett gives a few suggestions on how to answer this broad and foreboding question in a way to best present yourself. Here are a few of her best tips:

• Talk about the skills you’ll gain from the job you’re interviewing for: Burnett recommends saying that you hope to be utilizing the skills you’ll learn from working there. This shows your interest in the company, and that you see the value they would add to you. It also suggests that you hope to be doing similar work, ideally at the same place.
• Talk about growth: Be sure to mention how you wish to grow, but make sure to use specific benchmarks and goals you have. It’s too vague to just say you hope to “grow”; give specific ways you want to grow.
• Motivation and drive: The purpose of this question is really to gauge how motivated and determined you are. Remember this when you’re answering. You don’t want to give the impression that you’re so ambitious you’ll jump at the next opportunity, but you of course want to show that you’re motivated to work hard and learn a lot in the process.

Image retrieved from Pixabay under the public domain.