Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?

I have plans, but no idea where they’ll take me

Have you ever been asked that stupid question in an interview?

I have.

Plenty of times.

What the interviewers are looking for is ambition and the desire to climb up the ladder BUT to stay in the same place.

They’re investing a lot of their time and money in you and you’d best be sure that you don’t feed them any BS.

When I was interviewing for teaching posts, the answer was always,

I see myself as head of department or head of key Stage 3

So, I could get a big, fat tick in the ‘ambitious’ box.

But what’s the point of asking this?

In today’s fast-paced and changing world where literally anyone can tap away at a keyboard and publish something, or buy and sell thins online, start a business doing virtually whatever you want, the thought of a 5-year plan to fit into corporate life is farcical.

I’m not saying anyone should sit in an interview and answer

Well, not here, that’s for sure

When they’re asked that question.

What I’m saying is that there is so much more out there, and the possibility of carving out your own career away from the 9–5 is more real now than it has ever been.

And it’s entirely possible that you can have a successful corporate career AND do your own thing in your spare time.

Type ‘Side Hustles’ into Google and see just how many results appear.

Side hustles are the way to go.

Everyone is looking for a way to make a bit of extra cash and there may be times where that side hustle explodes and you can replace your full-time income and pursue a career doing something you love.

All you need is the ‘ganas’ and the dedication to make it happen.

If you have the drive and determination then you WILL find a way. The world is littered with people who had no clue what they’d be doing in 5 years but had the drive to pursue a goal and even had no idea how they were going to reach that goal but they found a way;

• James Cameron had no experience of making films but went to his local library and read PhD theses to find out how it was done.
• Conor McGregor was never the best MMA fighter at his gym, but kept turning up, and learning, and found a way to improve.
• James Dyson had a dream of creating a vacuum cleaner that would out-perform the others on the market.

Why should you dedicate the next 5 years of your life climbing up the greasy pole of corporate life when there’s so much more to do.

This platform especially has literally millions of users. 99% of whom are dreaming of making their money outside of the 9–5.

Don’t fall into the trap of dedicating th next 5 years of your life to something that doesn’t fulfill your dreams and ambitions.

Look elsewhere.

Try something new.

Find a way to make it work.