“I had dinner with the CIO of Fortune 10 company when I was younger and he asked me this. And because he was a funny guy and I’m a dumb ass I answered “In your position.”
We both got a good laugh and then he was like “No really.”
The “I want your job” answer to this question is extremely common and very cringy pretty much every time” – u/optimaloutcome
“Told my hiring manager “it depends what I get out of this job”. He wanted to know more. Told him this was my first time working in this field and while I enjoyed school for all I know I could hate the job. Told him my long term plan is to build a career but if I don’t like what I’m doing it’s not good for me, the service I was applying to, or the patients I’d meet.
Basically his face lit up and the whole panel loved me. I now sit on my butt for most of my shift and get paid half decent to do it.” – u/Shewantstheglock22
“I used to never ask this question. I thought it was stupid. Then, I saw an employer on Reddit tell of a time that a prospective employee said that they planned to be spending their life in a foreign country in the next five years and was just looking for a job for six months to save up for the trip. I have asked that question every interview since.
It’s not that there’s something we really want to hear, it’s just that there are some answers that we really DON’T want to hear.
As long as your answer isn’t essentially “training me is a waste of your time and money,” it’s a good answer.” – u/Espiritu51
“My last interview in August, I told the woman interviewing me that in a little over 5 years I see myself at the company Christmas party and you ask me how long I’ve been here now and I say 5 years and you say wow has it been 5 years already.
At last years Christmas party she was telling everyone how it was the best response she ever got to that question.” – u/cerialthriller
“I know that “doing your job” or something of the like isn’t the best answer, but I like to hear people who have realistic expectations about how they could grow in their job. So things like: “moving towards a leadership role” or another answer that shows they know what the job they’re applying for is, and they know what it can lead to and plan to work towards that, always impress me.” – u/Peekay427
“I was interviewing candidates for a sales position recently. If they told me they were interested in developing skills in project management and would eventually like to move there, that’s fine. We have project managers too, so even if I lose them in the sales department after a couple years, they’re still valuable to the company. If they told me their dream is to become a writer, however, that would be a red flag. We don’t have any writers on staff – although that is like 5% of marketing’s job.” – u/VNaughtTCosTheta
“I answered this question at an interview with “I’d like to be in Mexico drinking a beer on the beach” it got a good laugh but they asked me to be serious so I said “If I don’t at least have your job in 5 years then neither of us have progressed very far”. I got the job and had their position in 2 years.” – u/MyOwnerIsntReal
“I really want to hear honesty. The major motivation I have in asking it is to see if 1- you have a general plan for the next few years of life, 2- whether I think that’s realistic, 3- how that may factor into your potential role at my work.
Maybe you’re going to be a clock rider. You’re a warm body. We’ll throw small change your way and never give you more than you can handle.
Maybe you’re going to school/moving/whatever and won’t be able to work for us after (x) time. I want to use the time we have to the best ability without wasting it.
Maybe you’re in it for the long haul. We may throw training and extra responsibilities, as well as extra pay, to you that we wouldn’t waste on a short-timer.
Unless your answer is wildly delusional compared to your skills and abilities, there’s not a “wrong” answer. It’s mostly a way to see if your goals match our current and future needs.” – u/random1111
“I’d like to have achieved some measurable accomplishments in this role, such as launching a new product. I’d like to take on more responsibility and find myself in a team of supporting, dynamic people. I see myself as constantly evolving and learning, and I’d want to be as eager and creative after five years in a job as I was on day one.” – u/ImpossibleWalk
“My canned answer was always “I know the answer you’re looking for is that I want to further my education and move up in my responsibilities, possibly to management. But the truth is this: I always want to continue my education, but I’m happy doing bedside nursing. I don’t want to move away from the bedside. There will always be a need for experienced nurses to care for patients and that’s where I want to be.”” – u/brutalethyl
” I HATE this question. Mainly for the fact that even I haven’t been at the same company for 5 years.
If I did ask this question, I’d preface it with ‘I want you to be honest, because it may not be with this company, and that’s fine!’.
IT workers rotate a lot, so it’s expected as long as it’s not shorter than 3-6 months at each job, unless they were internships or entry level.” – u/rushaz
“The best person I ever hired told me a simple, straightforward, realistic answer. He wanted to be a senior dev lead, and continued on to tell me all the intermediate steps and how he would get there. Working hard, learning, certifications , seeking mentorship, and incremental promotions. It was a very modest answer but it showed he had direction and understood what needed to be done step by step to achieve success.” – u/mostlyemptyspace
“I have interviewed many people, and I have never asked this question. It’s idiotic, in part because it’s a question that people prep, so you just get the answer the interviewee thinks you want to hear rather than the truth. It’s not as stupid as, “What is your biggest weakness?” but it’s not great.” – u/bsnyc
“That you understand the career progression the role offers. This question is stupid if you’re going to work in retail or fast food, but actually has a purpose in corporate America.” – u/Liberal-Capitalist
“Any answer that shows you have put thought into where your life is headed is a good answer. The point of the question is not to see if you have a good or acceptable plan. The point is to see if you have thought about it enough to make a plan. Pretty important skill in business to look into the future and see what could be, then to plan the steps required to get there.” – u/Mr_Drewski
Via AskReddit
