This is one of the most important and often used interview questions of all time. Where do YOU want to be in 5 years?
When a potential employer asks you this, they are looking for a couple different things:
- Your work ethic - do you want to climb the company ladder?
- Your industry - are you excited about your potential in your industry? Are you looking to be in technology for a long time?
- Your loyalty - Will you still be with our company if you are hired?
- Your goal setting - By vocalizing your goals, especially to your future managers, you are setting them for yourself. Can you achieve them?
So, any self respecting interviewee says something that their employer wants to hear… Something like “I want to be a project manager for XYZ company” or “I want to be the head of research and development at your firm.”
The funny thing is I have been asked this question 5 times in the last month and a half. Needless to say, my response is less than stellar! Typically, I am pretty straight up and say, “I don’t know. Where should I be?”
In May, I will be finished with two bachelor’s degrees - One in business and one in MIS. In fact, word has been leaking out in the past couple months that I might be up for hire, so I have received six job offers, all preceded by an interview. The fact is, I don’t know where I want to be in 5 years. I barely know what I am doing tomorrow!
I make more money than I deserve now between blogging and Tech Solution. Why do anything different? I love what I do. I feel great about going to work in the morning. And I wouldn’t do anything different, degree or not.
So, where does this leave me and my professional development? Rather than answer that one, I am going to rely on a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien…
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
In 5 years, I still hope to be wandering…