The "where do you see yourself in five years" ques

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Is there a *right* way to answer that? Do I go with the ass-kissing "working here" or do I give an honest answer that won't get me hired?

It's just like "do you see this as a job or a career" when it's some stupid entry level position that no one could possibly take seriously as a career.

*kicks a muppet*

Or my favorite...

"What's your biggest flaw"

I mean at what point did a job interview become about being a good liar rather than being qualified?

If you find a way...let me know.

I hold to the premise that age discrimination starts at 30. Here is why....

Employers generally fit two types (sometimes both to varying degrees).

1. The exploiter....wants you to give it all for the career and nothing for yourself. You'll burn the candle at both ends for the illusory promise of gain later in life.

2. Mr. High Expectations....believes that a person should get better and be more accomplished as life passes on.

At 30 you get into a pinch. If you're learned in life that there is more to living than your job, you'll do an honest day's work, but you'll expect your boundaries to be respected. Employer Type 1 doesn't like that and for those over 30, he wants to see the drive and devotion to your job. I feel this type of employer is the one more prone to ask such a question.

At 30, you've been in the workforce long enough (statistically speaking) to have held a couple good jobs and have proven yourself in the workplace. Sadly, if you have a problem holding jobs early on, or you just keep getting dead end jobs, you never move up and Employer Type 2 may hold against you the apparent lack of "achievement" and conclude that there must be something wrong with you.

I've always taken the attitude that "5 year plans" are shear vanity. I'm not where I am today because of anything I thought would have happened. I do not have mastery over the world around me, and I think anyone who believes that is possible either bullies their way forward in life or is delusional.

I would like to think that 5 years later I'll be in a position with better pay and better status as I prove myself in the company, but frankly, I always keep options open because everything can change in a single moment. Frankly, to make a 5 year plan and have it go sour would depress me more than anything else.

I'd love to say "Who the hell cares, I could be run over by a bus next week, why would I wanna worry about where I could be in X amount of years?!"

As for the 'biggest flaw' thing, one good answer is "I care too much" - i.e. you'll leave work for the week and be thinking about the job and your deadlines over the weekend. It's a negative and a positive all rolled into one.

What zer0netgain said has got to be one of the most depressing but accurate things I have read recently in the Work forum. And I'm 30 now!

My former employer definitely fell under category 2. I'm in grad school now and am not looking forward to a life of academic slavery or the tremendous pressure to publish to always be on the up and up. Screw that, once I finish my degree I'm doing something else!!

Spot on responses. I get the feeling that interviewers are following a script (but I get that vibe from people in general, that they're ALWAYS following a script when living their lives), that they feel like they HAVE to ask the same damned questions rather than being original.

My biggest weakness?

Lack of patience for unoriginal interview questions.

I just can't get through interviews. I hate that charisma is more important than qualifications for something that doesn't even require charisma.

I went through a phase of interviews a couple of years back, for the same job with a couple of colleagues, and we were all getting onto the same shortlists. One by one, we each got the posts. My current job came after a 12 month gap of interviews and no applications for anything, and I was initially unsuccessful for the current job, but my details were retained on file. I know I was third in line for the post, and the best of those from 'outside' they interviewed. To be honest,I went home knowing my current boss wasn't going to hire me...so it hurt a bit less when they initially said no-and the real boost to me was from being asked down for the interview, after a 12 month gap, getting to an interview shows a level of interest in you. I was put onto the current job by one of those former colleagues, who was also a mentor.

In my final year at uni, I applied for various things ahead of leaving - and one of the interviews was for a graduate post for the group who now employs me -and to some extent there has been some modification of where I see myself in the future. As it stands I have modified some of my own ambitions, as where I am trying to go isn't a race.

Where I am trying to get requires experience and some money...which I haven't got. I see my current career as a stepping stone to self employment somewhere in the future, and the win of realising the investment in a future business with selling it and retiring from the profits. It's a dream, but is that dream going to come true?

To be honest, I am leaving a lot of things to fate these days. Where I will get, now I have the job I want is unknown. And the unknown is something I, like us all can't really handle too well. That said, I've worked in an industry where you have to adapt to change. The new job has been an interesting ride so far in that respect. I'd forgotten just how busy things could be.

One thing I've noticed so far is that no matter how unpredictable and unknown your career and even your life may be, the one certainty through it all is that there is something to learn from each step of the way. When I concentrate on that fact, I feel more secure knowing that as long as I keep learning, I'll keep growing and getting stronger, no matter how bad things might look and no matter how poor or uncomfortable I may be.

I was at a career workshop a few years ago and we discussed exactly that question. The consensus was that answering (your job), or an overly ambitious answer was bad. A few participants lost the interview answering in that matter, the boss (who was doing the interviewing) felt threatened. The conclusion was to be proficient in the job (that you are interviewing for), but doing things to improve in that job.

Actually, it might be a good idea to say "I see this position as a stepping stone," or something similar, right? I'd think saying this would cover a lot of bases at once, even if you additionally "revealed" that you or anyone else doesn't seriously expect to know where you'll be in 5 years.

It might demonstrate, in that generallized, deceptively simple way of nuance that seems to satisfy a lot of these interviewer types, that you have ambition, while not necessarily commiting to them right here and now, which I believe might actually be ok most of the time, so long as you present "motivated and capable" without seeming sycophantic. Maybe?

At this rate I'll just be happy if I don't end up as a raging alcoholic. In these harsh economic times, that's all that anyone can really ask for.

The only time I've ever been asked that question I replied "Ruler of the planet". Now, this was already near the end of the interview, and I had gotten a good idea of the sense of humour of the interviewers (most of whom were serious tech geeks, and one or two probably aspie as well).

I didn't get the job; but not because of that remark or my interview. Because my salary requirements were too high (which meant that the job paid really crap, since I deliberately gave lower requirements than I thought I was worth.)

The following are from "10 Interview Questions Decoded", by Selena Dehne
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MS ... s-Decoded/

Q: "Where do you see yourself five years from now?
What they're really asking: Will you be here for only year a before moving on, or are you committed to staying here for a while? Are you a stable person? Can you set goals for yourself?
Tips: Be aware that they might not want to hire someone who will be around for only a year or two. Feel free to say that you have one goal at the moment: to be the very best employee for that particular job."

Q: "What are your greatest weaknesses?
What they're really asking: How honest are you being about yourself with us? How realistic are you?
Tips: Present your weakness as a positive. Don't talk too long or emphasize your downfalls."


These are from the e-book, "How To Impress For Success At Job Interviews", by Vaughan Vandenberg
http://www.interviewsolution.com/

Q: "Where do you see yourself in five years?
The interviewer is trying to find out if your long-term goals are compatible with their workplace. If you are planning to move to another city, retire soon, quit work to raise children or to attend
university, they will want to know it. If you want to climb the corporate ladder, does their company offer these opportunities? Or, if you are looking for a job to settle into for years, is that possible with them? The interviewer also wants to know if you will be happy in the position, or if you want to work in it only as long as it takes to find something “better.” Prospective employers also like to hear anything to do with their industry."

Q: "What is your major weakness?
This 'weakness' question is popular with interviewers because they're interested in hearing how
you tackle challenges. The most important thing to remember is that after you name your
weakness, you MUST discuss what you have done to overcome it. Pick a weakness that is real but understandable or relatively harmless. Whatever weakness you choose to mention be sure that it is work-related.
Never discuss a weakness that would rule you out of consideration by the employer. There are
several techniques for dealing with this question. You must mention a weakness that will not
significantly hinder you in the role being discussed. You can also mention a strength that
compensates for the weakness. Another strategy sometimes suggested is to mention a 'weakness' that may be viewed as a strength.
For example: 'I've always dreaded talking in front of large groups, but I took a public speaking
class last month to develop my skills in that area. I'm gaining the confidence to do this with much more ease.'
Another example: 'I have a tendency to say 'yes' to too many responsibilities. For example, when I was....(you fill in the blanks with a good example). This experience helped me learn to prioritise and also taught me the importance of saying 'no' tactfully when I do not have the time to do something.'
A good example: 'I tend to be a perfectionist. This can create stress for other people, but I'm aware of this and work at being more patient with other people.'
Yet another example: 'I sometimes work too hard which leads to unnecessary stress. I'm aware of this and have got into the habit of getting regular exercise to alleviate this by going running at least twice a week.' "

MizLiz, I do not mean to be rude or sarcastic, but this is just the way life is. As the pseudonymous writer Robert X. Cringely put it,
"I learned an important lesson that day; success in a large organization, whether it’s a university or IBM, is generally based on appearance, not reality. It is understanding the system and then working within it that really counts, not bowling scores or body bags [i.e., not your ability, and/or the quality of the work you produce]."
http://www.cringely.com/2009/03/bowling-for-dollars/

I hate questions like that. But the answer my boss is happy with:
In five years I hope to feel at home in the company, having grown in my function and ready for new challenges.
But that probably depends on the person interviewing you.

I was in a position recently to assist with job interviews, and those were some of the questions that were asked.

The suggestions provided by Logan5 match pretty closely what the interviewers were listening for.

I was lucky enough that the interviewer shared with me what he was looking for. Whether his assessments were fair or unfair, some "wrong answers" he got are:

Where do you see yourself in five years? "Climbing higher and getting promotions. I'm very ambitious." (The interviewer, after that applicant left: "wow, that one will be hard to take! he's going to be more interested in "jockeying" ahead than getting the job done. I bet he'll get mad anytime he's overlooked for a promotion, too.")

Where do you see yourself in five years? "Here." (The interviewer, after the applicant left: "He's telling us what he thinks we want to hear. Of course he sees himself here - but does he have any real plans? Is he thinking about his future? Does he need this job? Does he even care about what will happen to him?")

Where do you see yourself in five years? "I don't know." (The interviewer, after the applicant left: "Doesn't know, doesn't care, doesn't really seem interested in the job.")

What is your biggest weakness? "I don't really have any." (The interviewer, afterward: "We all have weaknesses. Either he's not being honest with us, or he's not being honest with himself. Either way, it's trouble.")

What is your biggest weakness? "I don't know." (The interviewer, afterward: "I HATE that answer. Doesn't seem to know much of anything.")

What is your biggest weakness? "I get mad real easy." "I like to party and have fun." "I don't like to be told what to do." etc. (The interviewer, afterward: "Yep, that's a weakness alright! He/she knows what's wrong, but doesn't seem interested in doing anything about it. Me? I hate dealing with people... in fact, these interviews drive me crazy. But figuring out what makes people tick, that's interesting to me. You see what I'm getting at? We're explicitly asking for the greatest weakness, but what we're.. I mean, at least what I'M looking for is some insight, some analysis, a creative way to take advantage of a negative, and drive it where you need to go. Does that make sense?")

What is your biggest strength? "I'm a 'people-person'." (The interviewer, afterward: "She's trying to tell us what she thinks we want to hear. This question is BS, anyway, but you have to try harder than that to answer it. Besides, I HATE the phrase 'people-person'. I bet she's a 'happy-camper', too. She should have said it with 'quote-quote finger quotes'!")

What was one of the biggest challenges you had in your other jobs, and how did you resolve it? "my supervisor was doing something I disagreed with, and I told her so, but she wouldn't listen, and it made the job harder for everyone. So one day, the president of the corporation showed up, and asked me how I was doing, and I said 'terrible!' and explained why I didn't enjoy the job anymore, and he fixed the problem right up and transferred the supervisor to another site. The supervisor got mad about it, but apologized to me later on, and we got along alright after that." (The interviewer, afterward: "YIKES! I can't believe she just told us she went over her supervisor's head to the president of the freakin' company! The president was just trying to make conversation, too, and got bombarded with complaints. And it sounds like the supervisor got demoted, too. What a mess! I hate it when someone goes over my head more than anything. THAT is something we DO NOT need around here!")

How do you feel about your current/previous employer? Why are you leaving your current employer/Why did you leave your previous employer? "The boss was a jerk." "That company was very irresponsible and unethical. They only fired me because I wouldn't go along with them, and if they hadn't fired me I would have quit." "I'm really not getting ahead in that company: everyone else knows each other, and if you're good friends with the boss, you get a promotion, otherwise, you get a lot of extra work and little else. But I really like your company's reputation for being fair." (The interviewer, afterwards: "You know what? I don't know where I'm getting it from, but there seemed to be a little hostility there... did you get that feeling? Don't even bother answering that! If he/she didn't get along with the previous employer, I don't think it's realistic to expect them to get along with us. And he/she will just bad mouth us afterward, too, so it will be worse than a waste of time and money to hire him/her. Next?")





I didn't see all the same things, but the interviewer did tell me I had an extremely way of looking at things, and he said I picked up on some subtle things he would have missed, mostly body language, or sudden changes in the amount of detail in the answers, or little things in the answers that I felt suggested something important (such as a small off-hand indication that the applicant researched our company before applying, a sudden rephrasing of an answer, or similarities or contrasts between two answers that suggested a bigger picture, and that sort of thing.) I didn't know what to make of everything I noticed, but the interviewer seemed to find my impressions useful for adding things up or explaining things, and when I told him what I noticed about the interview he would scribble notes or underline his own comments and say "wow, that makes more sense... in fact, I would bet...." I guess it's where I have to go through extra trouble to "translate" what other people say into a "language" I understand, forcing me to look for extra cues or clues.

If the interviewer was a science fiction fan, I'd use the Chekov used in Star Trek's "Mirror Mirror" and say (with a Russian accent), "You die and we all advance in rank."