Job Interview Question and Answer - What are your career goals?

Prepare for this common job interview question and answer in a confident and winning way.

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?"

In almost every job interview you can expect to face questions that explore your future plans and goals including:

"What are your goals for the next couple of years?" 

"How would you like to grow within the company?"

Use this interview question as an opportunity to demonstrate your
motivation, self-awareness and focus. Use the good sample interview answers to make sure you have a positive and convincing
response ready.

How to answer "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

• It is not easy to answer this interview question in terms of specific job or company expectations.
• A person cannot accurately predict what the job or the company will look
  like in 5 years time.
• You can only answer in general terms about the
  type of situation you would like to be in and the way you want to have
  grown and developed.
• Avoid giving specific time frames or job titles.

3 top tips when describing your career goals

1. Focus on realistic career opportunities

Look at the opportunities you could expect in your industry and what you hope to have gained from these opportunities.

"It
is an uncertain world and one can't predict what is going to happen.
However, my hope is that I will have contributed to the success of the
company and grown both personally and professionally within my position"

Your interview answer should relate to the job you are being interviewed for in some way. The interviewer does not want to hear that you hope to have published your first novel or be running your own business. This job interview question is designed to assess a number of things:

• How long are you likely to stay with the company?
• What is your motivation in applying for this position?
• Do you look ahead and set goals for yourself?

2. Combine personal growth strategies with your commitment to the job

For example:

"I want to have developed new skills and abilities and to have made
the most of my opportunities. This position will give me the opportunity
to learn more about managing a work team, this is a goal of mine. I
would like to be recognized as an individual who has really added value
to the team and the company"

Good general answer to interview questions about your career goals and how you would like to grow within the company.

3. Define what success and reward mean to you

Demonstrate that you understand that reward (salary, promotion, responsibility) will be based on the quality and value of your contribution.

"I
want to make the most of my abilities and potential. By always doing my
best I can ensure that there will be opportunities to increase my value
and to grow in ways that benefit both the company and me"

Align your success with the company's success

"I
want to continue to gain experience and be a top-performing employee in
a big company such as this one. I want to contribute as much as
possible to the company's expansion and success"

The
interviewer will respond positively if you present yourself, in this job
interview question and answer, as a mature, insightful and
self-motivated candidate who wants to make an important and constructive
contribution to the company.

Common job interview question and
answer guides

Prepare for other typical interview questions and use the excellent sample interview answers to impress in your job interview.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Why should we hire you?

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

What can you tell me about yourself?

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Why do you want to work here?

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Your strengths and weaknesses?

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

What do you like about your job?

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Your greatest achievement?

Preparing for the interview question "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"  will help you with your answer to the question "Why do you want to work for this company?"  You can refer to your future career goals and demonstrate how the company is able to help you in achieving these.

Be ready for this related job interview question and answer with confidence and conviction - "What motivates you in your job?"

How to answer interview questions about handling conflict and difficult situations at tough interview questions

Latest Update - What are your career goals?

• Recent
  research published in the Harvard Business Review suggests that
  individuals shouldn't just set goals. What they really need are "areas
  of focus".
• Goals are the end point while areas of focus are the process
  and way to get there.

• The key is to focus on what you need to do to
  reach your desired outcome, the activities you want to spend your time
  doing, rather than the goal itself.
• The goal is the result, the area of focus is the road.

This is an impressive way to approach this job interview question and answer with a well prepared response.

For example: 

If your goal is to achieve X sales revenue, your areas of focus will include all the activities you need to concentrate on to get there - finding good prospects, developing your negotiating skills, improving your product knowledge, following up with clients and so on.

Job Interview Questions >  Job Interview Question and Answer - Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

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