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I always fumble with the interview question, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”Any advice?

Elaine Varelas provides guidance on how to answer this challenging interview question.

Ask the Job Doc. Boston.com

By Elaine Varelas

Q. My least favorite job interview question is “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” I find it difficult to answer as my position is a very niche one and I don’t want to tell the interviewer that I want their job in 5 years. How do I best answer this horrible question?

A. There are many bad interview questions out there that hiring managers and recruiters repeatedly ask that people dread. This one doesn’t compare to “If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?” Part of understanding any interview question is determining what information they are really looking for. You’d be amazed at what people will say, “Well, I won’t be working here,” or “What I’d really like to be doing is …” and they’ll come up with being a lifeguard in The Bahamas or something that significantly takes them away from a commitment to the company and the industry.

In answering this question, I agree on not wanting to tell them that you want their job in five years. People would rather not hear that as well. What you do want to be able to tell the interviewer is what you want out of work over the next five years. What you need to tell them about is things you would like to accomplish over the next five years. For example, “I’d love to complete the project you told me about on XYZ. It’s exciting and challenging. I would love to see myself having completed significant additional development in the skills that I’m bringing to the table right now. I’d like the opportunity to make notable contributions to the organization that are acknowledged through advancement, work on challenging projects, collaborate closely with leaders at the organization, and contribute to the success of the organization.”

You could then share with the interviewer that you are less concerned about what your title might be in five years or the department that you are in and that you are more focused on the opportunity to use the skills that you have, expanding your skills in your niche area, making valuable contributions to the organization, and continuing to learn and grow professionally. You could share with the interviewer that at the end of those five years, you’d like to come back to them and say, “Have I delivered what it was that you hoped I would deliver when I started five years ago?”

This might be the perfect opportunity to turn the tables on the interviewer and ask them what the retention at the organization looks like. Are most people that you hire still here five years from now? And is that what you hope for? Are they in the same position? Have they been promoted or moved laterally to other opportunities? This shows that you are interested in a lengthy career with the organization. While this can be a tricky interview question, this is your opportunity to point out the skills that you want to use and the new skills you want to develop, the learning or exposure that you want to have, and to find out what their commitment is to their retention of employees and whether they promote current employees as opposed to hiring from the outside for more senior roles. Commit yourself to learning what the question really means, and to bounce back a similar question that helps you discover what you really need to learn.