Think About the ‘Think About the Future’ Question Accelerated Learning Resources

Think About the ‘Think About the Future’ Question

It will come. Without fail, it will catch you by surprise. They will ask it, you will have a mini mental breakdown, you will pull yourself together and you will provide an answer. It comes after they ask you about your weaknesses, but before they offer you the job.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

To be honest, most of us don’t know what we’ll be doing next week, or even tomorrow for that matter. When preparing for interviews, I find myself asking, “How am I supposed to answer that question?” Because “I have absolutely no clue” or “just living the dream” are not acceptable answers to give during an interview, it is important that you begin to think about this before your interview date rolls around.

I was recently given great advice about answering this question from a nurse manager who works at the UVA Medical Center. He hires new graduate RNs and knows the hiring process forwards and backwards. He offered to give mock interviews to students in the nursing school, and boy am I thankful for that.

The best advice he gave was to be honest and tell the truth. Because no one really knows where they will be in five years, acknowledge in your answer that there is not one definite place you see yourself. Instead, discuss where you want to see yourself professionally, whether it be working as a Labor and Delivery nurse or writing for The Wall Street Journal for example.

A lot of times we hold information back when answering this question, afraid of how it may make us appear to those who may hire us. He told me that if I was interested in graduate school I need to mention it; if it’s an important part of my future plans, I owe it to myself to let it be known to my potential employers. If the organization interviewing you doesn’t appreciate or like the fact that you want to pursue higher education, then you probably don’t want to work for them anyway (it’s all about healthy work environments people). Most of the time potential employers will like knowing you plan to attend graduate school or have dreams of bettering yourself professionally, noting that it shows motivation and goal-oriented behavior, which are both valuable assets as an employee.

However, it should also be taken into consideration that no one wants to hire someone who doesn’t really want the job. Emphasize your dedication and make sure it shows in your answer. Believe it or not, someone answered this question during a real interview saying they could see themselves as a stay-at-home parent in a one year. Because in harsh reality, life is all about being cost-efficient, hiring someone who wants to be happily unemployed in the very near future probably wouldn’t be a good investment for a company. That is definitely not to say that being a stay-at-home parent is bad, it’s just not something you should say when looking for a job that requires long term commitments.

The last piece of advice he gave was to rehearse your answer. You want to take time to really think about where you see yourself, and find ways to incorporate your strengths while honestly answering the question. If you consider these elements when answering this often-dreaded question, you will not only impress your employers, but also spare yourself the mental anguish of being blindsided.

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