What do you think you ll be doing in five years time

задание по иностранному языку, помогите пожалуйста

Look at the questions and select the correct variants.

1.Choose the correct option.

а) If you wouldn’t tell me, I’ll scream!
б) If you don’t tell me, I’ll scream!
в) If you didn’t tell me, I’ll scream!

2.Choose the correct option.

а) He’s probably lost her number.
б) He’s lost her number, probably.
в) Probably, he’s lost her number.

3. Choose the correct option.

а) I’ll only tell you, if you can keep a secret.
б) If you can keep a secret, I would tell you.
в) You can’t keep a secret, if I did tell you.

4. Choose the correct option.

а) What do you think we’ll be doing in five years’ time?
б) What do you think you’re doing in five years’ time?
в) What do you think we do in five year’s time?

Посмотрите на вопросы и выберите правильные варианты.

1.Выберите правильный вариант.

а) если Вы не скажете мне, я закричу!
б) если Вы не скажете мне, я буду кричать!
в) Если Вы не сказали мне, я буду кричать!

2.Выберите правильный вариант.

а) он, вероятно, потерял свой номер.
возможно, он потерял ее номер.
возможно, он потерял ее номер телефона.

3. Выберите правильный вариант.

а) я только скажу вам, если вы можете сохранить секрет.
б) если вы можете сохранить тайну, я бы сказал.
в) Вы не сможете сохранить секрет, если я вам расскажу.

4. Выберите правильный вариант.

а) как вы думаете, что мы будем делать через пять лет?
б) как вы думаете, что вы делаете в пять лет?
в) Как вы думаете, что мы делаем через пять лет?

Where do you see yourself in five years time? Sample interview answers

In my opinion, this is one of the dumbest interview questions you can get. Because nobody knows what will happen in five years time. Just take the recent virus pandemic as an example. We may have goals and dreams, ideals and illusions. But we will always have just a partial control over the things that happen in our life, and no control over the things that happen in the world, and have an impact on us in this age of global economy.

Nonetheless, this question belongs to most popular interview questions and you will often face it. Dumb or not, you should know what you want to say once the hiring managers inquire about your future plans. Let’s have a look at 7 sample answers to this question. Check also my notes below the answers, as they explain what you should focus on in your interview.

7 sample answers to “Where do you see yourself in five years time?” interview question

Connect your future with your prospective employer

Hiring new staff costs money. Once they have a great employee like you onboard, they do not want to see you leave, be in it six months or in five years.

Always when it makes sense and when it is possible, you should connect your future with their company. Pick a senior role, and say that you’d want to have it in five years time. And if you apply for a position that doesn’t offer any career growth opportunities, say that you’d be happy having the same role, doing a great job, perhaps improving on your weaknesses over time, becoming better in your profession.

As long as they see that there’s some loyalty to their organization, and that you do not think already about a job in another company while still applying for the job with them, they will be happy about your answer.

* Special Tip : This isn’t by far the most difficult question you will face while interviewing for any decent job. You will face questions about prioritization, dealing with pressure, solving problems, and other tricky scenarios that happen in the workplace. If you want to make sure that you stand out with your answers and outclass your competitors, have a look at our Interview Success Package. Up to 10 premium answers to 31 tricky scenario based questions (+ more) will make your life much easier in the interviews. Thank you for checking it out!

Having no vision is also fine

Life isn’t a computer game. There are endless variations, and many things can happen to us every day. The fact that you studied a certain subject or made certain decisions in the past, does not determine the job you will (or should) have in five years time.

It’s perfectly fine to say that you are still trying to find your calling, that you aren’t entirely sure about the direction you want to take in your life or professional career. This answer makes perfect sense in big corporations. You can have all kinds of roles with them, so if after three years you see that accounting isn’t for you and want to pursue career in marketing, it will be possible.

Do not talk about your travel around the world trip, or about a successful startup you hope to build one day

If you dream of a career of an entrepreneur, and a job is for you only a mean to an end–to save money and eventually start your own business, I suggest you to not talk about it in an interview.

The same is true when you dream about traveling the world (just like many young people do), and want to save money and hit the road, perhaps searching your true calling, or just to enjoy your time on Earth until we destroy it.

In such cases, you do not have to tell the truth in the interview. If you do not want to lie, you can always say that you aren’t sure. At the moment you are happy to interview for a job with them, and you will see what the future will bring.

Do not be afraid to philosophize a bit

At the end of the day, HR managers and recruiters are people, just like me or you. They can easily get bored in the interviews, especially if they hear the same answer from each job applicant.

That’s why it makes sense to, at least sometimes, come up with an unorthodox answer. Saying that you do not believe in planning and prefer to live in the present moment (see sample answer no. 6), you will surely tell them something they do not hear often from the job applicants. And that’s exactly what you should try to do, at least with some answers, because you want them to recognize you and remember you for something.

Do not be afraid to show creative thinking in an interview, or share some opinion that is far from mainstream. Most HR managers will be happy to finally hear a unique answer from someone :).

Ready to answer this one? Check also 7 sample answers to other tricky interview questions:

Accept change give out lend look after

Miss rain read want stop

2. Jack ………. our cats while we’re away next week.

3. There is a reading list to accompany my lecture, which I ………. at the end.

4. We ………. Sue when she leaves, but she says she’ll keep in touch.

5. Unless my parents ………. me some money, I won’t be able to go on holiday this year.

6. It is unlikely that the government ……….. the court’s decisions.

7. Supposing I ………. to transfer a file from one computer to another? How do I do that?

8. By the time you ………. this letter, I should be in New Zealand.

9. Provided it ………. raining, we’ll go for a walk this afternoon.

10.What if I ………. my plans and decide to stay in Thailand longer? Will I need to renew

Exercise 2.Complete the following sentences with the Present Simple or the Future Simple of the verbs in brackets.

1. I ………. (tell) you a secret on condition that you ………. (not tell) anyone else.

2. When I ………. (see) him I ………. (give) him your message.

3. We ………. (go) to bed as soon as the programme ………. (finish).

4. I ………. (lend) you the book as long as you ……….. (bring) it back on Monday.

5. If the weather ………. (be) nice tomorrow, we ………. (go) sailing.

6. He ………. (not do) anything until he ………. (hear) from us.

7. The door ………. (not open) unless you ………. (push) it hard.

8. If Mr. Smith ………. (not come back), he ………. (phone) you.

9. Even if it (rain) tomorrow, we ………. still (go) for a picnic.

I0. I ………. (call off) the sale unless you ………. (agree) to pay me the whole amount in cash.

11. If Brian ………. (get) a new computer, he ………. (forget) about all his studies.

12. We ………. (have) to find somebody else in case Bill ………. (refuse) to do the work.

13. We ………. (have) the meeting this week, provided no one ………. (object).

14. The doctor ………. (not see) you unless it ………. (be) an emergency.

15. I ………. (get) in touch with him as soon as he ………. (come back) from London.

16. Unless we ………. (pay) the phone bill today, they ………. (cut off) the phone.

17. If all ………. (go) well, it ………. (take) me about half an hour.

18. The dog ………. (not bite) you unless you ………. (tease) it.

19. I ………. (put down) your address now in case I ………. (not see) you again.

20. If you (pay) cash I (give) you a five per cent discount.

Exercise 3.Translate into English.

1. Вы сразу же узнаете Тома, как только увидите его.

2. Интересно, когда они вернутся.

3. Не уходите, пока я с ней не поговорю.

4. В случае, если я не застану ее дома, я оставлю ей записку.

5. Я вам сам все объясню, когда мы встретимся в институте.

6. Вы ничего не поймете, если не прочтете статью сами.

7. Я думаю, он все поймет, когда получит твое сообщение.

8. Если ты доберешься туда первым, подожди нас.

9. Я не знаю, когда мы снова встретимся.

10. В комнате будет светлее, если вы отодвинете шкаф от окна (move away).

11. Секретарь не знает, вернется ли он в офис после переговоров (the talks).

12. Мы останемся здесь, пока не прекратится дождь.

13. Ты простудишься, если не наденешь куртку.

14. Я позвоню тебе завтра на тот случай, если ты все-таки передумаешь.

15. Если ты не начнешь заниматься серьезно, ты не сдашь экзамен.

16. Хотел бы я знать, когда вы будете наконец готовы.

18. Спроси его, когда он вернет мне деньги.

19. Я ничего не скажу, пока не придет мой адвокат (lawyer).

20. Если вы подождете, то через пять минут мы присоединимся к вам.

21. Даже если пойдет дождь, мы все равно отправимся на пикник.

22. Она получит эту работу только при условии, если представит две рекомендации (reference).

23. Если я и на этот раз не сдам экзамен, они меня отчислят (to expel).

24. Мы встретимся с тобой только после того, как я сдам последний экзамен.

25. Я свяжусь с тобой только в том случае, если получу какую-нибудь информацию.

26. Возьми с собой теплые вещи на случай, если погода изменится.

27. Мы ждем его уже полчаса, но, к сожалению, никто не знает, когда он придет.

28. Я одолжу тебе деньги только при условии, что ты вернешь мне их через неделю.

29. Я не уверен в том, что он изменит свое решение. Если он передумает, все будут очень

30. Если ты будешь читать при плохом освещении (in poor light), ты испортишь зрение

(to damage one’s eyesight).

31. Интересно, расскажет ли он ей об этом. Если она узнает обо всем от кого-то другого,

она его не простит.

32. Если я буду в июне в Кельне, мы обязательно встретимся. Но я не знаю, получу ли я

Future Continuous

Образование Future Continuous.

Future Continuous образуется при помощи вспомогательного глагола to beв Future Simple (will be) и причастия Iсмыслового глагола.

We will be setting off early tomorrow.

He’ll be seeing her often now.

Вопросительная форма Future Continuous начинается с первого вспомогательного глагола (will), за которым следует подлежащее. Если есть вопросительное слово, оно ставится перед вспомогательным глаголом.

Will you be setting off early tomorrow?

When will you be setting off tomorrow?

Отрицательная форма образуется при помощи отрицательной частицы not, которая ставится после первого вспомогательного глагола.

He will not (won’t) be seeing her often now.

Употребление Future Continuous

Future Continuous употребляется:

1.Для передачи действий, которые будут происходить в какой-то определенный момент времени в будущем. Этот момент может быть выражен обстоятельством времени, придаточным предложением или следовать из ситуации.

At this time tomorrow we’ll be approaching London.

I’ll already be working when you return.

I think you won’t be able to speak to him, he’ll be giving an interview.

2. Для передачи действий, которые будут происходить в процессе заранее известного естественного хода событий.

Will you be driving to Glasgow, as usual?

Dr. Jones will be giving the same talk in room 103 at 10.00 next Thursday.

I don’t want to fix a time to see you, because I’ll be calling into the office several

times next week.

3. Для передачи заранее запланированных действий в будущем (в этом значении Future Continuous часто совпадает с Present Continuous).

We’ll be staying here until next weekend.

Tomorrow she will be giving a lecture at London University.

I’ll be driving to Brighton next week so I can give you a lift if you like.

4.Для передачи длительных действий, которые будут происходить в какой-то определенный отрезок времени в будущем, но при этом не будут иметь непрерывный характер.

The school will be putting on a Shakespeare play this summer.

In June I’ll be sitting my exams.

5. В вопросительных предложениях в вежливой форме относительно чьих-либо планов на будущее и особенно для выражения просьбы о какой-нибудь услуге.

— Will you be going out this morning?

— Oh, could you get me a newspaper?

6. Для выражения действий, которые говорящий намерен совершить в будущем, либо для передачи действий, в совершении которых говорящий уверен.

In two years’ time I’ll be working for a different company.

I won’t be sharing the cost of Carol’s wedding gift with you. I’ve made up my

mind to buy her something on my own.

7. В официальных сообщениях (газеты, программы новостей и т.п.), а также в прогнозах погоды.

The prime minister will be making a statement later today.

The management will be attending an urgent meeting with union leaders to settle

Exercise 4.Translate the sentences and comment on the use of the Future Continuous.

1. John, will you be using your car tonight? I wonder whether I could borrow it for a while.

2. When you get to the station, I’ll be waiting for outside.

3. Jack is sixty-five next month so he will be retiring.

4. You’d better not come in July. My mother will be staying with me then.

5. The band will be performing live in Paris this summer.

6. I’ll be seeing Tony on Tuesday. That’s when we usually meet.

7. What do you think you’ll be doing in five years’ time?

8. Will you be going down to the shops later? If you go, could you get me some potatoes.

9. I must go or my parents will be worrying about me.

10. We will be leaving for Manchester at 7.00 in the evening.

11. Maggie and I will be busy today. We’ll be visiting our grandparents as we usually do.

12. Next summer we’ll be moving house.

13. I’ll be making the same old jokes and they’ll be laughing at them in the same old way.

14. It’s a serious injury but he will be walking again in six weeks.

15. It’ll be very late when she gets home and her parents will be wondering what’s happened.

16. Tonight the President will be delivering a televised address to the country.

Exercise 5. Translate into English.

1. Я не знаю, что я буду делать завтра с трех до шести.

2. Когда мы придем домой, она еще будет печатать доклад, и нам придется подождать.

3. Я буду работать над этой статьей на следующей неделе.

4. У вас еще будут занятия, если я приду в пять?

5. Через пару часов начнут прибывать первые гости.

6. Очень скоро вы будете снова искать работу.

7. Вы увидите декана завтра? Не могли бы вы передать ему мои бумаги.

8. Вы сегодня будете писать итоговый тест?

9. Когда вы будете сдавать экономику?

10. Пока Брайан в отъезде, я буду гулять с его собакой.

11. Купить тебе газеты? Я буду проходить мимо киоска.

12. Летом мы как обычно будем жить на даче.

13. Мы приедем в шесть часов. Хорошо, я буду вас ждать.

14. Я могу попросить Дика помочь нам. Я буду завтра встречаться с ним.

15. Если я не приду вовремя, она будет названивать всем моим друзьям.

16. Этим летом я буду очень занят. В июле я буду сдавать вступительные экзамены.

17. Через полчаса мы будем пересекать финскую границу.

— На нем будут белые джинсы и черная футболка.

Future Perfect

Образование Future Perfect.

Future Perfect образуется при помощи вспомогательного глагола to haveв Future Simple (will have) и причастия IIсмыслового глагола.

By the time you get back she will have left.

By the time we get there the film will have started.

Will she have left by the time you get back?

When will he have finished his work?

Отрицательная форма образуется при помощи отрицательной частицы not, которая ставится после первого вспомогательного глагола.

She will not (won’t) have left by the time you get back.

Употребление Future Perfect

Future Perfect употребляется:

1. Для выражения действия, которое завершится к определенному моменту в будущем. Этот момент в будущем может передаваться либо обстоятельством времени, чаще всего с предлогом by (by that time, by the end of the month etc.),либо придаточным предложением времени или условия.

By the end of the week we’ll have decided what to do.

The sun will have set by the time we get home.

By the time you come home, I’ll have finished the decorating.

We will have had our talk if you come back in about twenty minutes.

2. Для выражения предположения говорящего относительно того, что какое-то действие должно было совершиться (или не могло произойти) к моменту речи. На русский язык Future Perfect в этом значении переводится глаголом в прошедшем времени в сочетании со словами должно быть, может быть, вероятно.

Most people will have forgotten the fire by now.

The little pine tree that Grandpa planted when I was born will have grown to a

height of six feet or more by now.

You arrived only yesterday so you won’t have heard the news.

Exercise 6. Translate the sentences and comment on the use of the Future Perfect.

1. By the end of the course, you will have learned all the basic skills.

2. You’d better ring me back in half an hour. By then I’ll have found the letter.

3. She won’t be at home at 9 o’clock – she’ll have gone to work.

4. We only posted the invitations yesterday so you won’t have received yours yet.

5. The weather forecast says that the rain will have cleared by the morning.

6. If you arrive late at the sale, the best things will have gone.

7. I’m confident that I will have finished the report before the end of the week.

8. We won’t come in. Your family will have already gone to bed.

9. She will have completed her training by the spring.

10. By the end of the month I will have been in this company for three years.

11. Mr Green will have retired as the Principal of Glasgow University by the end of December.

12. You’ll have studied English for quite a number of years I imagine.

Exercise 7. Translate into Russian.

1. К этому времени, возможно, я найду другую работу.

2. Приходите в 4 часа. Ректор подпишет все документы к этому времени.

3. К тому времени, когда ты придешь домой, ты забудешь все, что я тебе говорил.

4. К середине июня мы уже переедем на дачу.

5. Если ты не остановишься, ты потратишь все деньги еще до конца отпуска.

6. Когда ты увидишь ее в следующий раз, она уже сдаст последний экзамен.

7. Я его увижу во вторник. Он уже получит все необходимые бумаги.

8. Если ты приедешь через год, все уже все забудут.

Future Perfect Continuous

Образование Future Perfect Continuous.

Future Perfect Continuous образуется при помощи вспомогательного глагола to beв Future Perfect (will have been) и причастия Iсмыслового глагола.

Next year I will have been working in the company for 10 years.

В следующем году будет 10 лет, как я работаю в этой компании.

In May we will have been living in this flat for a year.

В мае исполнится год, как мы живем в этой квартире.

Вопросительные форма начинается с первого вспомогательного глагола, за которым следует подлежащее.

Will they have been waiting?

Отрицательная форма образуется при помощи отрицательной частицы not, которая ставится после первого вспомогательного глагола.

They won’t have been working long when we come.

Употребление Future Perfect Continuous.

Future Perfect Continuous употребляется:

Для передачи длительного действия, которое будет продолжаться в течение какого-то периода времени до определенного момента в будущем.

By the time she graduates I’ll have been teaching English for thirty years.

We’ll get there at 10.30 at the earliest. They’ll have been waiting for over an hour.

When you arrive I will have been staying in this hotel for ten days.

Future Perfect Continuous употребляется в английском языке очень редко, поскольку редко возникают ситуации, требующие употребления данного времени.

Different Means of Expressing Future Actions Compared.

Exactly How to Respond to “Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?”

When you get asked an interview question like “Where do you see yourself in five years?” you might think, “Does five years from now matter? I have rent to pay now!” Or, “I haven’t gotten that far. I’m about to turn 26 and need health insurance.”

It’s easy to become laser-focused on your next job and your next job only—no matter why you’re looking, but especially if you’re unemployed or looking to get out of a toxic workplace. Or maybe you know what you want in the future, you just don’t know if your vision aligns with what the interviewer wants to hear.

SEARCH OPEN JOBS ON THE MUSE! See who’s hiring here, and you can even filter your search by benefits, company size, remote opportunities, and more. Then, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll deliver advice on landing the job right to you.

Read on to find out what interviewers want to know, how to put your answer together, and what to avoid—plus a few example answers.

This question is “an attempt to measure a candidate’s motivation and future goals,” says Muse career coach Tara Goodfellow, owner of Athena Consultants—and gauge how well they match up with the role you’re interviewing for. Have you thought about your career path and how this role and company would fit into it? What are you looking to accomplish in this position, and how are you hoping to grow beyond it?

Employers are looking to understand what value you’ll bring to their organization on your way to achieving your goals, says Muse career coach Eloise Eonnet, founder of Eloquence Coaching. “They also want to know what kind of person you are and will become,” Eonnet says. What’s most important to you: being proud of the work you do? Becoming a great team member? Learning how to be an awesome manager?

Follow these tips to craft an answer that will impress your next interviewer.

Connect the job to your career goals

Think about your medium- and long-term career goals—maybe the type of job you want, the kind of company or team you’d like to work for, or the sort of work environment you’d like to be in. Or perhaps your goal is about how you’ll be seen by the people you work with—for example, as a great manager or as an expert on saving at-risk accounts.

Then, figure out how this position will help you reach your goals. Is this role a common step on the way to your dream job? For example, maybe you want to be an account executive down the line and you’re interviewing for a sales development representative role. Or maybe you’re hoping to gain experience with a certain task or grow a skill that will help you in your career. For instance, you might want to work on a website redesign or learn how to manage databases.

Know that it’s OK you don’t have it all figured out yet

You might have no idea where you want to be in five years, particularly if you’re an entry-level candidate—and that’s totally fine. (Check out this worksheet or this article to help you along. ) “Most folks just don’t know the scope of potential opportunities until they get some true experience,” Goodfellow says.

In this case, do some research about the career paths and professional opportunities that might follow from the position you’re interviewing for and learn a bit about related departments. See what might interest you and then be ready to explain *why* you’re interested, Goodfellow says. For example, maybe you’re interviewing for a sales role and you’d like to get experience selling to different types of clients to get a sense of which industry or niche you might want to pursue or maybe you’d like to learn more about marketing and how marketing and sales interact and collaborate.

Just “showing in your answer that you understand the role helps,” Goodfellow says, so even if you don’t know where exactly your career is headed, make sure you’re clear on what opportunities this job will provide you and show that you’re excited to explore them.

Be honest

Ultimately, while you want to connect your answer to the role, “You have to answer with what feels right to you.” Goodfellow says. So be honest—but tactful.

Even if you think this is going to be a short-term gig for you, you don’t need to say that. Instead, focus on your potential, Eonnet says. Talk about the “value you will have created in a few years’ time. No need to mention a specific company name or exact position,” she says—e.g., “In five years, I will have managed a few multi-channel marketing campaigns and I will have become an expert on social media data reporting.”

Be realistic

Make sure you’re talking about goals you can accomplish in the next five years. If you’re an entry-level candidate, telling a department head that you’ll have their job in five years doesn’t make you seem ambitious, it makes you seem naive (and arrogant). Talk about moving up one or two levels max in your career or about learning skills and gaining experiences you’ll be exposed to in this position.

Follow this formula

So how do you put this together as an answer? Eonnet suggests following this formula:

Here’s what not to do (no matter how tempting it might be).

Imply haven’t thought about your goals (or tell a joke)

For example, this is a no:

No matter how true it feels. You should also steer clear of other joke answers like “retired on a beach” or “as a rich widow.” Even if you don’t know exactly what’s in store for you down the line, use your answer to show that you have a plan to figure it out.

Imply that you’re leaving this job the first chance you get

Not every company is expecting you to still be working for them in five years, but unless they state otherwise, it’s best to assume that they do, Eonnet says. Goodfellow (who was formerly a recruiter) adds, “It’s very expensive to train, and expensive to recruit, so I do want to hear you intend to stick around.” You don’t need to explicitly state, “I’ll still be working for you,” if it’s not true, but avoid saying anything that would be impossible if you still worked for the company. So if you’re interviewing for a software development job at a startup, don’t say that you’re hoping to have landed your dream job at Google by then.

Be too generic

“I remember being asked this question early in my career and wanted to blurt out, ‘I have no idea! I just need a job to pay my bills,’” Goodfellow says. She didn’t, but she ended up saying something “semi-honest and equally vague about wanting to do my best, learn more about the role and company, and apply my strengths to help the company achieve its goals.” She doesn’t recommend being this bland. Use this question as an opportunity to highlight why you’re a good fit. Maybe you’re excited to get hands-on experience producing professional videos after producing a number of successful student films with little to no budget, for example.

Ramble

“Be honest, direct, and succinct,” Goodfellow says.

One possible answer to this question might sound like:

“I’m someone who loves solving problems, so in five years, I’d love to be seen as the go-to financial analyst when departments or projects need to save money and achieve their business goals. I will have worked with senior financial analysts to learn from their approaches before taking on a few smaller budgets myself and slowly building up from there. But I will have also completed a few courses on business operations using XYZ Co’s professional development allowance since I want to make sure that any suggestions I make go toward not just saving money, but increasing efficiency and achieving company goals.”

Or let’s say you’re an entry-level candidate who doesn’t quite know where you want to be in five years. You might answer with:

“In five years, I’d like to be in a position where I know more about my longer-term career aspirations as a designer. I will have gotten experience working for a design agency and know more about the industry overall. I’ll have grown my technical skills and learned how to take feedback from clients and incorporate it. And the way your agency is set up, I’ll also have gotten the opportunity to design different kinds of deliverables—including websites, branding, and ad campaigns—for different kinds of clients to see where I really feel at home before settling on a focus.”

A a couple of years into your career, you might say something like:

“I’ve found that the most rewarding part of working in HR has been when I get to be part of putting together a training or development session—it’s so satisfying to help my coworkers learn something new and useful. So in five years I’d like to be more of an expert in learning and development. I’ll have learned more about what goes into putting together development opportunities for employees and have hopefully coordinated or run some training sessions myself. In a training and development coordinator role like this, I’ll also learn more about how to work with individual employees or teams to identify prime opportunities to upskill and find the best form of training available so I’m delivering programs that are useful to individuals and the org overall. Hopefully, in five years I’ll be helping make decisions about what kinds of programs a business will offer and how to make sure employees are benefitting and growing.

Regina Borsellino is a NYC-based editor at The Muse covering job search and career advice, particularly resume best practices, interviewing, remote work, and personal and professional development. Before joining The Muse, Regina was an editor for InvestorPlace, where she also wrote about topics such as investing and biotech companies. She holds a BA in English language and literature from the University of Maryland and an MFA in creative writing from American University. Find her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Answering this interview question

Probably one of the trickiest interview questions (and definitely one of the most cliché), finding the perfect answer to “where do you see yourself in 5 years?” can be a minefield.

Although when answering most interview questions (like ‘do you have any questions for me?’ and ‘why should we hire you?’) we advocate being as specific as possible, in this case being more vague about your goals is likely to be the better approach.

Working out the best way to answer this interview question requires careful consideration – because you need to avoid sounding unrealistic, while at the same time making sure that you don’t seem indifferent. Read our complete guide to Interview Questions.

Scroll straight to the bottom to see a quick, summary video of how to answer!

Why do employer’s ask «where do you see yourself in 5 years?»

It’s clear that answering this interview question can be tricky – so in order to work out the best answer, it’s important to look first of all at the reasons why employers choose to ask it…

1. To see if your goals align with theirs

When employers ask you what you’ll be doing in 5 years’ time, they don’t actually expect you to know exactly where you’ll be.

Instead, what they’re looking to hear is that you have a long-term plan, and that this particular role (and their company) fits in to your 5 year plan.

From your answer, the employer will be able to assess whether your career goals align with where they see you progressing in the role, and confirm to them that you are both on the same page.

To really impress them when answering this interview question, you can drop in some things you’ve researched about the company, and explain to the employer how these align with your personal career goals.

2. To see whether you are committed to the role

By asking this common interview question, employers want to know that you are sticking around for the long-haul. They want to see how this role fits into your long-term plan, so you need to make sure you reassure them that you’re not going to leave as soon as you find a better offer.

If possible, it’s a great idea to try to express that in 5 years’ time you hope to still be at this company (probably in a more senior position) to show that you are committed to the role and the progression that it will offer.

3. To see if you are ambitious

Your answer to what you’ll be doing in 5 years’ time will be indicative of your ambition, and the employer will want to know that you have the desire and the drive to progress. Individuals who write down their goals are 33% more likely to achieve them.

While you don’t need to be specific about the position you’re after, saying that you would be interested in being in a managerial position in 5 years time, or that you’d like to challenge yourself by moving to a different office, will indicate to the employer that you have big aspirations and the drive to grow in your career.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years examples

Example 1

«In 5 years’ time I would like to have proven to management that I have the drive and determination to significantly help the business grow by making some really positive steps forward, while building strong relationships with clients and colleagues along the way.

I would be delighted if the opportunity of further progression arose, but in order to reach this point I understand that I would need to successfully fulfil this position first.»

Example 2

«My career plan for the next five years is to push myself to excel in every challenge I am faced with and take on more and more responsibility. I saw on your website you have a mentor scheme which I think is a great idea for new employees starting the company and something that I would be keen to get involved in.

If the opportunity arose, I would of course be interested in further job progression, maybe even leading a small team, but I understand that any extra responsibility comes with time once I have proven myself and helped the company to grow.»

Example 3

«I’m a very ambitious individual and I would say I am the type of person to just get stuff done! 5 years down the line I will have achieved goals for the company as well as personal goals for myself.

I would welcome the opportunity for advancement, perhaps to a supervisor or managerial position, where I can continue to grow with the company, influencing and supporting other employees in their career paths.»

What to avoid when answering ‘where do you see yourself in 3 years?’

— Being unrealistic

When answering this common graduate interview question, it’s important to stay in check. Saying you want to be a CEO in 5 years time will be a big red flag to any employer.

Not only is this likely to make you sound egotistical, but it’s also, let’s face it, an unrealistic expectation – one that may indicate to the employer that you won’t be fully committed to this job role.

— Underselling yourself

Equally, you need to be careful not to under sell yourself when explaining your 5 year goals.

Saying that you’d still like to be in this role in 5 years’ time is a big no-no – you want the employer to know that you have ambition, and are looking to progress at their company rather than staying in the same position.

— Saying you don’t know

And finally, avoid saying that you don’t know where you see yourself in 5 years’ time! By asking this interview question the employer wants to know that you have clear career goals, and that you are committed to the opportunity – saying that you don’t know is likely to make you sound uninterested.

No-one can predict exactly what they’ll be doing in 5 years’ time – but to avoid falling into a trap during your interview, make sure to prepare your best answer to this age-old interview question.

Variations of the interview question «where do you see yourself in 5 years?»

Where do you see yourself in five years video summary

Tip: Change the playback speed in the settings at the bottom right corner, to suit your learning requirements!

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Other common job interview questions: