Summary

The website content provides guidance on answering the interview question "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" by encouraging introspection about one's ideal life and aligning career goals with personal aspirations.

Abstract

The article suggests that to genuinely and effectively answer the common interview question about one's 5-year plan, individuals should envision their perfect day in detail, encompassing all aspects of their life. This approach helps to clarify personal goals and ensure that job prospects align with one's desired lifestyle and values. By imagining their ideal daily routine, from living arrangements to work and leisure activities, candidates can articulate a future that is both inspiring and realistic. The process of visualizing a perfect day allows for self-discovery and can lead to more authentic and passionate responses in job interviews, ultimately helping individuals to pursue careers that harmonize with their life objectives.

Opinions

The author believes that the question "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" often causes anxiety because people struggle to reconcile their personal goals with what they think employers want to hear.
It is posited that people generally lack clarity about their future due to uncertainty, societal expectations, and a tendency to either overestimate short-term goals or underestimate long-term achievements.
The article suggests that instead of trying to predict the future, one should create a vision of an ideal day that reflects personal aspirations and can be used as a benchmark for career decisions.
The author emphasizes that planning one's perfect day requires no resources other than imagination and can help identify whether a job aligns with one's life goals and mission.
The author's view is that by focusing on what brings joy and fulfillment in the present, individuals can more accurately outline a future that is genuinely desirable and achievable.
The article encourages readers to take practical steps towards realizing elements of their ideal day, implying that even lofty goals are within reach through gradual progress.
The author concludes that this introspective exercise leads to more confident and authentic interviews, as candidates can clearly articulate how their personal vision aligns with the company's mission, making them more attractive hires.

How to Answer the “Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?” Question.

Give the genuine answer that fits your personal life and makes them want to hire no-one but you.

Photo taken in a bar in Lisbon — Bathrooms can be such a source of inspiration!

If you’re like I used to be, this is an interview question you’re not really looking forward to… because you don’t really know what to answer that will be both a genuine reflection of who you want to be in 5 years and an answer that your future boss will find inspiring -and inspired. And it makes you wonder if you should even have applied for that job in the first place! Because truly, is it what you want? Does it fit your life goals? Your mission?

Why do we not know how to answer this question? First, five years is a relatively long time, and we have no idea what is going to happen to us between now and then. Secondly, if we trust Gates’ law (also known as Amara’s, as you prefer): We tend to overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what we can achieve in five. Thirdly, not knowing could be for plenty of small more personal reasons: - Are you indecisive? - Do you lack confidence? - Do you think there are too many imponderables to even wonder? - Do you believe that you should live in the moment? - Do you feel like the more you plan, the less space there is for spontaneity and nice surprises?

The truth is, most people do not know where they really want to be in 5 years. Nor who they want to be. And even less do they have an understanding as to why. It’s not just you. And sometimes, we think we have a pretty clear idea. But, do we?

There is a very easy solution to find out: Instead of travelling to the future, just bring your future to today.

You simply need to plan your perfect day. This does not require any money, resource or skill. Just your imagination and maybe a pen and a piece of paper if you want to record your thoughts. The guiding questions are below and will help you throughout this rather short process.

The only rule is the following: Your perfect day is one that you could live over and over again without it endangering your life (or the life of others!) — You should be able to find the right balance between Groundhog Day and FightClub!

Where do you live? It can be anywhere you want (well, Mars might be a bit far fetched but hey, you could become good friends with E Musk). Is it in a big house by the sandy beach of a beautiful island or a small studio in the middle of the city centre of a romantic European city? Talking about that house, what does it look like? What is the decor? Zen? Cosy? New age?
At what time do you wake up in the morning and what’s the first thing you do? Think about the people that could surround you (friends, family, pets, flatmates…), the lighting, the temperature, the atmosphere…
What are your morning activities? Maybe you want to follow a routine where you meditate, exercise, learn and reflect (what a change in my life when I implemented this one!) It is also possible that you would rather just have a solid breakfast with your partner and children. Or does a cold shower to get to work immediately after sound more enticing? Either way, be detailed, this is the beauty of your imagination. It is limitless. See it, feel it, taste it, smell it, hear it, intuit it even! Use your senses, all of them, make it real and you’ll know if it actually feels right, you’ll know if this is something you will anticipate every day, if you will do it with pleasure.
Your more trivial activities, what do they look like? Do you go shopping at the farmers market with your mother in law? Do you then call your best friend to complain about that same mother in law? (Having some time to complain about your mother in law could be part of your ideal day — especially if you’re French and your favourite activity is to complain!) Or do you, on the contrary, have a wonderful collective garden where a group of friendly neighbours meets in the morning to take care of it?
If you work, what kind of work is it? What are you happy to be doing? What makes you enter the “zone”? How long can you stay there for? Do you work alone or with someone? What are your colleagues doing? Once again, your imagination is the limit. Does it bring you a rush of joy and productivity hormones? Or do you feel some sort of peace overcoming you? Does it contribute to society in a way or another?
Lunch! Our days are paced by our food intakes (even when we are intermittent fasters) and this is most of the time considered as a pleasurable activity. Who is sharing this moment with you? Is it friends? Family? Nobody (you could definitely want to hear your own thoughts, relax and be completely mindful, there is nothing wrong with liking one own’s company). Think about where you are having this meal, what are you eating?
And in the afternoon, what’s the plan? Maybe some more work? Maybe some way of contributing to society? Another session of physical activity? Or is it something cultural this time? If so, what would it be? Museums, music, plays, movies?
Then comes the evening, this magical ideal day is not completely endless, we are still human beings and time-bound (even though what we manage is not time but ourselves). So what’s up? Feeling fresh, content and happy with yourself for all the things you love and have managed to do so far, right? That means you have some more energy for the perfect evening, or am I wrong? Well since you’re so energised, what do you feel like doing? Having friends over for dinner? Or maybe family? Or maybe you’ll just dine out with like-minded people who love a good restaurant just as much as you do and can’t wait to make you discover that new one?
Obviously, at some point, you need to rest and recharge for the following perfect ideal day. So how do you wind down? What are your last tasks of the day? And once again, who with? What’s this last thing you do before closing your eyes? What are you grateful for before starting to dream?

Now, look at that beautiful day, so productive and yet full of beautiful moments that you have created. Is this answer any close to what you would have originally said if someone had asked you “Where do you see yourself in 5 years”?

No? What’s preventing you from being exactly there in 5 years? Or 3. Or maybe it’s even closer than you thought.

How many of those things are already part of your life? If none, how many can you make a reality starting tomorrow? Really, is that perfect day so impossible to reach?

Yes? Have you started to bring it to your life? Are you implementing any of it already? Are you taking those baby steps that are needed to make it your reality?

Doing this exercise, planning each step of my day seeing no other limitation than my own mind, I realised that I could not envision my 5-year objective because it was tainted by what society tells us we want. It is a construct like there are so many others, and it did not fit. So I could not quite give an answer that was satisfying or completely authentic. Now I can: 1- apply for jobs that are perfectly in line with my perfect day, 2- talk about my vision for my own future and how it fits in with the vision and mission of the company I want to work with. 3- be passionate about it!

And you can too. Be that passionate person that makes things happen. Be that person people want to hire because they show tranquil confidence in who they are and what they want. Be that person that can be a pillar in their company, family, own life.