Where can you see yourself in the next 5 years?
September 29th 2008 12:29
Part of our success in life comes from goals and dreams. Those childhood dreams of becoming a scientist, a policeman, a doctor and a lawyer are just part of the process of getting us there, however it is not that ultimate goal that is the drive for our success. It is actually some of the short term and more realistic goals that eventually get us to where we want to be.
A standard question in a job interview has something to do with short term goals. "Where do you see yourself in the next five years?" - "What do you expect to achieve in the next 12 months?" These questions are tricky, because if you aim too high, you risk being seen as too ambitious and is the all talk no action type. If you aim too low, then you have no drive, and no intention of working there anyway. An important part of this question is knowing where you stand, and letting the interviewers know that you have the capability to having a dream and achieving it with realistic goals.
Setting goals are important because if you do not set goals you end up going all over the place. No one turns into the CEO of a company over night. One step at a time you need to create your own profile, your own network of people, a good knowledge of the overall business and further education. Plan what you need into milestones, and achieve them one by one. This not only gives you the drive you need to keep going, it also gives you a change to evaluate from an early point onwards, whether your ultimate goal really is - what you want to do. Sometimes half way down the track you might realise you would like to take a different direction than you previously planned, then it's not too late to back out and still being able to use any of the skills you have obtained so far in the process to contribute to the next set of dreams.
Having such goal setting habits also keep you challenged, and this also shows the employer that you are driven by challenges which will encourage them to progressively give you more challenging work and that is how everyone gains their knowledge and experience. If nothing new comes your way, you are sure to stay in the same job, doing the same old thing after ten years and have no chance of a promotion or a change of job role.
A standard question in a job interview has something to do with short term goals. "Where do you see yourself in the next five years?" - "What do you expect to achieve in the next 12 months?" These questions are tricky, because if you aim too high, you risk being seen as too ambitious and is the all talk no action type. If you aim too low, then you have no drive, and no intention of working there anyway. An important part of this question is knowing where you stand, and letting the interviewers know that you have the capability to having a dream and achieving it with realistic goals.
Setting goals are important because if you do not set goals you end up going all over the place. No one turns into the CEO of a company over night. One step at a time you need to create your own profile, your own network of people, a good knowledge of the overall business and further education. Plan what you need into milestones, and achieve them one by one. This not only gives you the drive you need to keep going, it also gives you a change to evaluate from an early point onwards, whether your ultimate goal really is - what you want to do. Sometimes half way down the track you might realise you would like to take a different direction than you previously planned, then it's not too late to back out and still being able to use any of the skills you have obtained so far in the process to contribute to the next set of dreams.
Having such goal setting habits also keep you challenged, and this also shows the employer that you are driven by challenges which will encourage them to progressively give you more challenging work and that is how everyone gains their knowledge and experience. If nothing new comes your way, you are sure to stay in the same job, doing the same old thing after ten years and have no chance of a promotion or a change of job role.
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