A careers expert has revealed how you should actually answer an annoying job interview question that leads most people to either have an existential crisis or say something they'll regret.
Let’s be honest, job interviews can be pretty painful anyway, or at least tedious; having to sit and brag about yourself or worry you’re going to be asked a ‘red flag question’.
And of course, one of those common cliché questions a lot of interviewers seem to love to ask is something along the lines of: “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
Ugh. I mean, I don’t even know what I’m going to have for tea most days, let alone what I’ll be doing with myself further down the line.
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But careers advisor Erin McGoff often takes to Instagram to advise her followers on job interviews.
And in one clip she explained the best way to answer that dreaded question.
The American says the key is to be a little vague and try not to get ‘specific or too rigid’.
She elaborates: “Employers are not asking ‘Where are you going to be in five years because I’m going to check in on you and if you’re not there I’m going to call you out’.
“They’re just asking ‘What are you excited about? What are you working towards? Do you have goals? Does this job fit into the trajectory of your career?’”
So basically, as McGoff says, you should never be responding to it with ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I like to go with the flow and not put myself in a box of limitations’.
The expert instead suggests starting off your answer with: “It’s hard to know what life is going to look like in five years, I mean as we’ve seen, the world can be very unpredictable."
And then you can carry on with something like: “But while I do like to maintain flexibility, adaptability and an open mind, I do have specific ambitions and goals.
“Five years from now, I’d like to be in a role where I am leading a creative team. I’d like to be working on projects that I’m excited about for campaigns that I really believe in.
“Becoming a creative director or having a senior leadership role is definitely a goal that I’m working towards.”
She also recommends focusing on ‘how you want to feel’ as well as what you want to do.
Plus, she says that if it feels right, you can always be a ‘little fun with it’.
So, you know, perhaps it’s not the worst thing if you don’t know what you want for tea as long as you can express your goals.
Jess Battison