What Do You Want to Be Doing in Ten Years Engineering Interview

That's one of the most cringeworthy interview questions of all time.

Um. I don't know. Getting takeout with my terrier? Oh, expect - let'due south become with "biggest pop star since Britney Spears." How does that sound?

Come up on. You can't meet far plenty into the hereafter to know what's for dinner tonight.

And then, why would hiring managers look you lot to tell them where y'all'll be in five years. You don't own a crystal brawl.

Yes, it's frustrating.

The good news? In that location's a quick and piece of cake way to sidestep the question and still talk about your long-term career goals.

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one

Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years? What Are Interviewers Asking?

So, what are interviewers getting at when they ask about your 5 twelvemonth career goal plan?

Interviewers ask most your futurity career goals and objectives for two reasons:

• They desire to know if you're going to stay put in the new position.
• They want to know if your long-term career goals align with the company.

Here's what they don't want to hear:

• Jokes about how you'll be the 1 on the other side of the tabular array in five years.
• Detailed schemes almost getting promoted within the company.
• Pipe dreams about being famous, owning a business, or going back to schoolhouse.
• A bunch of "Hmmmm." And, "Ummmm." Or, "I don't know. That's difficult to say."

And then what are interviewers asking?

Well, when interviewers ask, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" They're really asking, "What are your career goals within this position?"

They want to know that the position will satisfy y'all and that you'll work hard and stay with the company for a long time.

Retrieve, a hiring director's success doesn't depend on how many empty chairs she can fill with warm bodies.

Her success depends on keeping talented employees happy and at work. If you leave, it'south going to price her company time and money.

And so, the "where exercise you see yourself in five years" interview question is how interviewers inquire if you lot're going to stay in the task.

right

You're excited nigh the position and what you lot'll acquire in the coming years. You're eager to become the best at what yous do and progress to the next level when advisable. In v years, I want to complete the internal training program for my position. I've read about it on your website, and I think it's a fabulous program. Not only would I become all the training for my office, only I would exist on the fast runway to becoming a projection manager. That'southward my elevation career goal. Plus, my ideal path would include working away for a couple of years. I understand that it'south of value to yous to find people prepared to do so. You want to give the hiring managing director the impression that you're content with the position equally is. But you should likewise express enthusiasm about developing in a realistic way. Also, show that your personal career goals marshal with the company's long-term goals. They're looking for people eager to work abroad. You're eager to work away. Sounds like a match made in heaven, right?

wrong

Incorrect: You're excited about using the position to move your career frontwards equally soon equally possible. You desire to be CEO of the company if v years. Nothing less. My long-term career goal is to get CEO of the company. My mother ever told me, "Never settle for less than your best." So, I plan to claw my style to the tiptop! The all-time answers for the "where practice you meet yourself in v years" interview question are both vague and realistic. Don't tell the interviewer y'all desire to exist CEO. And never ever say you programme to accept their job in five years.

Regardless, y'all desire to be careful when answering this question. Because it'due south tricky.

Let's say in that location's no clear career path for your position, or you don't know what you want to exercise in the long run.

You'll desire to remain vague just realistic.

That's right - vague. The "where practise you see yourself in 5 years" interview question is the Just question for which you'll desire to prepare a bland response.

It'due south like when you're on a date, and the guy asks if yous'll always want kids or a wedding. He wants to know if you're on the same page.

His ideal future might include Ikea piece of furniture, dogs, and conversations well-nigh preschools. You just want to make it to Burning Man at some point.

So, here's the affair. Permit'south say you like the guy. Y'all need to come up upwardly with an reply that will satisfy his concerns and testify you're cool with delivery - for now.

Y'all'll want to follow the same rules when discussing your future during a job interview.

Here are some variations of "where practice you see yourself in 5 years:"

• Where do you want to be in v years?
• Where do you see yourself in the next v years?
• What are your career goals?
• Describe your career goals.
• What are your long-term career goals?
• What are your short-term career goals?
• What are your goals for the next 5 years?
• What is your ideal job at the elevation of your career?
• What are y'all looking for by applying for this task?
• How do you define success?
• What's most important to you in your career?
• What specific steps will yous take/are you taking to achieve your vision of yourself in the next 5 years?

Pro Tip: Let's say the interviewer asks, "Where practice you want to be in 5 years?" And your genu-jerk reaction is to blurt out, "Maui! Tan, retired, and drinking coconut cocktails that come with those tiny umbrellas."

Depending on where you interview, the hiring managing director may or may non find such a response amusing. Remember to approximate your audience.

Want to see how to answer the most common interview questions? Read our guide: " About Common Chore Interview Questions and Best Answers (+20 Examples) "

2

How to Prepare for the "Where Do Y'all Come across Yourself in 5 Years" Interview Question

Start by request yourself:

"What are my career goals?"

Are they related to the open position? No? That's okay. Write down a few sample career goals and aspirations. Fix them aside.

At present, write down a few long-term career goals and aspirations that could menstruation from the position. They may not friction match your 5 yr career goal program, just that's okay.

Adjacent, you're going to need to do some research on the company and the open position.

Here'due south what you're looking for:

• Career Paths for the Position
• Preparation and Development Opportunities
• Shared Values
• Interesting Projects

Allow's apply Procter and Take chances as an case.

P&M is your typical big corporation. As such, they accept a dedicated career website that allows you to check out career paths.

Permit's say your dream job is to work in Sales at P&Grand. You lot do desire to stay there for a long time.

The company boasts that they accept "one of the globe's best sales training programs."

So, you read more nearly the way P&G trains employees.

You find out that P&K personalizes training for each employee.

They too provide mentoring and networking opportunities.

Plus, you discover that the training equals real projects and assignments at an early stage. Brand a list of all the things y'all detect bonny.

For example:

• Personalized Training
• Mentoring
• Networking
• Real Projects and Assignments

When yous notice such a wealth of data, stick with what you lot find. Refer to one of the things you admire in your "where do y'all see yourself in v years" reply.

Now, sales qualifies as a chore that might non lead to a higher position. That's true for a lot of professionals. Other examples include teachers and therapists.

These are jobs where you work with clients and get better at what you exercise. In that instance, your long-term career goal examples should detail comeback in your role.

Right

Use the data provided past the company. One of the reasons I want to work for P&G is considering I find your personalized approach to training bonny. I'k excited most the opportunity to piece of work with a mentor and immerse myself in learning new skills. I'thou likewise the type of employee that likes to hit the ground running and jump into projects as soon as possible. And then, over the next five years, I see myself taking on equally many circuitous assignments as the position would permit.By the end of that period, I desire to say that I've built lasting client relationships. I want to say that I'm one of the all-time Salespeople on the team. I wouldn't heed becoming someone who could train and mentor others when the time comes as well. The candidate'south response focuses on the inquiry she did on P&G'due south training programme. Side by side, she answers the "where practise you see yourself in v years" interview question by explaining where that training will land her in the long run. Everything she mentions is relevant to the position, realistic, and valuable. She's enthusiastic. She expresses a commitment to the visitor and the sales position.

wrong

Without doing inquiry, y'all describe a specific career path that isn't available. I run across myself becoming an established Sales Associate within a few months. I'm a fast learner and don't need much training. After that, I would look at becoming a manager. At the end of 5 years, I want to be the Sales Team Leader or Managing Manager. Don't brand the fault of assuming that it will only accept 5 years to make significant career progress. You could ready off red flags. The interviewer might assume that you'd leave if you lot weren't satisfied with the pace of your progress. Also, the candidate does non come off as prepared. P&One thousand boasts virtually their grooming program. The candidate boasts that she doesn't need training. The interviewer may presume that she'southward not a expert fit for the visitor.

Let'due south say your inquiry doesn't turn up much. You can't detect any decent information nigh the company's career paths. And you're not sure what sort of opportunities you'll have to grow within the business organization.

Do any of the personal career goals y'all listed align with the position?

Let's say they don't. Let'due south say you know this chore is a stepping rock. Or perchance you just need something to brand ends meet until you end grad school.

Ask yourself:

• Is there any training I could do outside of piece of work that would be relevant to the position?
• Is there any classes I could take that would enhance my skill set up?
• Could I learn any new, handy skills from this job?
• Does the company do whatsoever projects that interest me?
• Does the company have some long-term goals that marshal with mine?

Be sure to continue your answer for the "where do you see yourself in 5 years" interview question brief and general.

Talk well-nigh how you want to develop yourself as a professional in the context of the position.

For example, you desire to larn an extra, relevant skill that volition compliment your office. Or you're interested in taking some general leadership or writing classes.

Y'all can ever mention that you want to develop your skill set.

At the same time, avoid implying that you're preparing for something bigger and better in the future.

correct

Talk over long-term goals related to the company and the position. Equally a marketing professional, I want to develop my skill set. At the end of the adjacent five years, I desire to know how to use software like Photoshop or InDesign. I want to have a better understanding of social media and video marketing. Plus I'd like to go into project management. I would like to learn on the job. Regardless, I want to look into online or evening courses. My hope is that I can utilise my new skills to my chore with you. The candidate mentions a few specific skills she wants to develop. Avoid choosing skills that should already exist well-adult for the role.

wrong

Discuss long-term goals that have you moving on to bigger and better opportunities. In five years, I hope to accept moved on to a much larger company where I can apply the skills I've learned here. I demand 6 years of experience and a developed skill set. I want to apply this position as a stepping stone to prepare for a career with the large boys. Your "where do y'all see yourself in 5 years" answer should non include data virtually leaving. Don't mention owning a business organisation, joining a band, or moving on to another task.

One more than matter to keep in listen is that y'all may exist the type of task seeker that raises red flags. For example, you've only spent half dozen months at your last 3 jobs, or y'all have gaps in your career progress.

Information technology's more probable that you'll get the "where do you see yourself in 5 years" interview question or a variation of it.

Pro Tip: Some interviewers volition fifty-fifty get for the 10 year career goal program. So, brand certain your answers are general plenty to conform a longer menstruum if necessary.

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3

How to Reply "Where Do Yous Come across Yourself in v Years" + Examples of Best Answers

In your job hunt you might face different scenarios—be prepared for all of them:

Situation One - No Information on the Company

The company doesn't have a articulate path forward for employees in my position.

Hither's how to answer the "where do you see yourself in v years" interview question when y'all don't know much virtually the company.

correct

Stick to a response that focuses on how you lot desire to develop a relevant skill ready. As a Chef, I want to develop my skill set. At the end of the adjacent five years, I want to know how to prepare and present dishes for a five-star restaurant like yours. I also want to finish some specialized managerial training if possible. To achieve this, I've decided to practice some workshops and online training in my gratuitous fourth dimension. My hope is that my new skills would assist me say that I am the best at my job here at Le Bone A Petit. Recall that you tin can always mention how you program to develop a relevant skill set outside of piece of work. Try not to become overboard. The interviewer might think you lot will find better things to do than your chore.

wrong

Talk virtually side projects that might result in yous moving to your dream job. In the adjacent five years, I want to cease my side project. My hobby is developing games for apps. I take one in the works at present that I should have washed in the next year or two. That's my real passion. Again, be careful well-nigh bringing up personal information. Here the candidate has let slip that she has a time-consuming side projection. Her project is her passion. So, the interviewer may retrieve that the candidate will exist more interested in that than her chore.

Situation Two - You're Using the Position as a Stepping Stone

Permit's say you do know something most the visitor'due south career paths. But you lot're using the position equally a stepping stone or a temporary fix.

Perhaps y'all merely need something to get you through grad school.

Then, the best answer for "where do you see yourself in 5 years" should include pledges of long-term commitment.

But look, that sounds similar a lie. At present, you lot should never lie during an interview.

See, the goal is to find something that you tin can become behind even if y'all practice end up quitting within the next v years.

Imagine that y'all would stay in the position for five years. Tailor your answer to reverberate what yous'd do if that were the example.

right
I saw that you accept an employee preparation program for young accountants. I would honey to complete such a program within my first or second year working with you. Plus, i of my professional career goals is to work on a project for a not-profit. So, I would hope that at the stop of five years, I would accept at to the lowest degree a couple of such projects under my belt.

wrong

Well, I was laid off from my last job equally an Admin Banana, so I've decided to attempt out the corporate earth. I've always been more attracted to startup culture. But when I saw the offering for a position at a Fortune 500 visitor, I idea why non? Worst case scenario I can always cantankerous working for a corpo off my bucket list. Information technology'south important to show that you lot're enthusiastic nigh the position. Hither, the candidate does not show genuine interest or enthusiasm for the position or the company. She doesn't know if she'll like the work environment which could cause her to quit sooner rather than subsequently.

Situation Three - Yous're in the Middle of a Switching Your Career

Permit's say you're in the middle of switching your career. You don't know where you'll be in five years because you're correct in the eye of trying to effigy that out.

The ane reward you accept is that y'all know that you desire to do the task you're interviewing for correct now. So, in your "where do you see yourself in 5 years" answer, you lot might mention you desire to be fully situated in your new career.

correct

I'thousand applying for a marketing position considering I want to put myself on a more creative career path. I have a groundwork in law, so I know that I would be well-nigh constructive in a police business firm. I can apply my legal knowledge to inform my piece of work. That should give me an border that I wouldn't have if I started over in a dissimilar industry. At the same fourth dimension, I nevertheless need to transition. And then, over the next v years, I want to develop my artistic skill ready in this entry-level position. So, my long-term goal is to become a skillful marketing professional within your company. Equally a career changer, it's not a terrible idea to get-go with an caption of the long-term goals driving you. The candidate then switches gears. She explains what she plans to do over the next five years within the position.

wrong
My biggest dream is to have opened my eating place by that time. I'chiliad also still trying to pass the bar exam, which I hope to pass inside the next year. We'll encounter. That'due south why I remember that taking a marketing position in a law house is a expert career goal right now. I want law to be my condom job. Just in case nothing else I want to do works out. The candidate has aspirations beyond the position. That'south great, only you shouldn't tell the interviewer about it.
In five years? Well, I don't know. I'one thousand non the forward thinking type. I prefer to exist in the moment, and that'due south why I'm switching careers and trying new things. I will exist 30 in five years. I could be a different person. To be honest, I accept no idea where I will be in 5 years. I but promise that wherever I am, it'due south warm! Avoid saying "I don't know" as a response to the "where exercise you come across yourself in 5 years" interview question. Also, don't brand information technology audio like you could be anywhere.
My five twelvemonth plan is to exist CFO of a major corporation. And with the giant salary I will be given for my services, I will buy a summer abode in South Carolina. Later which, I will buy whatever the latest model of Mercedes-Benz is at the time. And if y'all think that's impressive, you should ask about the ten-year plan. Don't warning the interviewer to the fact that you have long-term goals to work somewhere else. Also, be aware that if yous make information technology obvious that you'll outgrow their puny company in the near hereafter, they may determine y'all're not a skillful fit.

Pro Tip: Let's say y'all're shut to retirement. The "where practice you see yourself in 5 years" interview question may seem similar an ageist tripwire. And no, information technology's not a off-white question.

And then if you lot program to retire in 5 years, give a response that focusses on how you'll develop your skill set within the position.

Struggling to answer those tough behavioral interview questions? Check out our guide on the STAR interview method or view all our helpful interviewing tips.

You've aced your interview. Now, what? Time to ship a thank you e-mail to your interviewer. Here's how: " How to Write a Thank Y'all Email Afterward an Interview (+x Examples) "

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an reward over other candidates. You tin can write it in our cover letter architect here. Hither'south what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and showtime writing.

Cardinal Takeaway

Keep these points in listen:

• No, interviewers don't wait you to know exactly where you volition be in the next five or 10 years.
• What they practice expect is that yous're taking the position you lot're applying for seriously.
• They expect you to stick around for awhile and do good work.
• What interviewers really desire to hear when they enquire "where do you come across yourself in 5 years" is - Hither.

Still not sure how to answer the "where do you lot see yourself in 5 years" question? We can help! Exit u.s. a comment, and we will assistance you select a few safe career plans before the big day.

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