Interview Questions – ‘Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?’

or Service-leavers who haven’t got recent interview experience, the prospect can seem daunting. Here, we dissect another of the more common but no less difficult interview questions so that you can show your best side to interviewers and land your next post-Services role.

‘Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?’
It’s a gold-plated classic; what the interviewer really wants to know is firstly, if this is the job you really want versus, just wanting any job – and secondly, how long your focus is likely to last before you need a new challenge.

A tricky question
As a Service-leaver, this can be a particularly tricky interview question since you may never, until leaving the Forces, have had to consider a future in a different role. 

A realistic sense of what the role will give you.
Aim to suggest that with your skills and attitude you’ll be able to make a contribution to the organisation wherever they judge your assets to be most useful. You can use this as a moment to remind them why you are looking for a job with them and how your skills fit.

An interviewer may want to see your strategy for creating a balanced answer between loyalty and ambition. Keep in mind that the interviewer’s perspective is also likely to be that they don’t want the costs of training a new hire before five years have passed.

Change the agenda
You could take the question somewhere else, along the lines of: ‘I’m here because I know I can do the job you need to fill now, rather than a job that I might do in five years’ time’. It can seem a little blunt though – as well as arguably, short-sighted. That said, you could extend your answer into an explanation regarding how your transferable skills fit the role.

Understand your own career goals 
These might include development and progression. Aim to link your career goals to the job description and make sure you know where the role could take you 

within the company if you work hard and do well.

Don’t say – ‘I want your job’.
Honestly, just think about that… It’s a shade confrontational.

If you really must…
Your last resort, especially in times like these, is to say that you don’t know. That said, explain that this is the result of the times and not your lack of thought on the subject. Use the answer to provide some critical thinking on the current and potential landscape of the sector you’re aiming to land a job in.