How to Effectively Answer “Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?” Question

Sep. 12

Today, I am going to show you how to create and give an amazing answer for the tell me about yourself question in interviews.

A common question that gets asked during an interview is the ““Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?” question.

With this question, interviewers essentially want to know if you will be satisfied with the position, and that you will work diligently and stay with the company for a long time.

Generally, employers do not like people who move from job to job. They want someone who is willing to stay and master their current role and take on more responsibility if possible.

Many people make the mistake of telling the interviewer that they want to climb the corporate ladder or become a senior executive. This indicates to the interviewers that you may be using the job as a stepping stone to find a better role. This leads interviewers to question whether you are interested in the responsibilities associated with this job altogether.

Do this instead:

Step 1: Affirm the interest to grow within role

Step 2: Identify interested responsibilities of the role

Step 3: Define personal success for “5 years”

Organizing your answer using the above three steps will you develop effective answer to this notorious question. We will break these steps down bit further later.

During this question, it is important that you don't give them the impression that this role is a just a stepping stone for another role. Show them you are willing to do whatever it takes to do great work in the role through your answer

Here is an example that you could model your answer after:

“So Dulik, where do you see yourself in five years?”

“I am looking forward to joining a company to call home and help the company grow and expand myself professionally. Ideally, I would be able to meet and exceed the responsibilities and expectations in the role, leading to more opportunities to grow within the role and company.

“One of the main things that excited me about this role and your company was the responsibilities and duties that were associated with it. Responsibilities such as managing projects, getting customer feedback, and coaching team members are some of the responsibilities that I am looking forward to performing and excelling in. I had similar experiences and responsibilities in previous roles at companies such as Oracle and Lenovo and had a lot of success with the ideas I implemented.

“I’d consider myself successful in the next five years, if I am given the chance to implement even better ideas and grow with a company of my liking.”

Let’s break this down further.

Step 1: Affirming the interest to grow within role

With the below statement, you affirming to the interviewer that you looking for a role to grow and exceed expectations and a company to call home.

Step 2: Identifying interested responsibilities

In the next statement, you identify specific responsibilities in the role that you excited and looking forward to take on. Also, you can reiterate your success in the past roles. When you answer the questions this way, it shows your professionalism and your experience quite directly.

Step 3: Defining personal success

Lastly, define what success means to you.

“I’d consider myself successful in the next five years, if I am given the chance to implement even better ideas and grow with a company of my liking while helping company grow.”

By following these three steps, you would be able to craft and provide a great answer to this notorious interview question.

That’s it for today!

Cheers!

Dulik Kohomange

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