Career Goals Interviews Questions and Answers - Earning Ideas

Career Goals Interviews Questions and Answers

Here are the list of Common Career Goals Interviews Questions and Answers. in this post you will learn how to answer career goals related interview questions.

Career Goals Interviews Questions and Answers

1) What are your short-term goals?
In this question, the interviewer is seeking to see if your goals match the opportunities presented in the job for which you are interviewing. Tailor your answer in a way that answers yes to that query.

Example Answer: “In the short term, I hope to help manage a large project that is aiming to expand social services into under served educational institutions. In college, I was fortunate to take a number of courses about the history of such programs and about contemporary trends in that area. It is a meaningful area, and I believe that with the organizational skills I have developed through my internships, along with my education, I will bring many skills and creative ideas to a project like that. When I heard about the project your organization has begun, it sounded like a wonderful fit with my interests and skills.”

The candidate conveys a short-term goal that is compatible with the organization’s interests. The candidate also explains how his education and work experience are relevant to the job.
Avoid presenting a short-term goal that is not compatible with the needs or interests of the company with which you are interviewing.

2) What are your long-term goals?
In this interviewer question, the interviewer is seeking to assess whether your goals match the opportunities presented in the available job and the company or organization offering that job. You should know the company and the position well enough to understand whether the interviewer might be bothered if you imply you do not intend to stay at the organization for the long term.

Example Answer: “My long-term goal is to serve as the head of a retail store in a major Fortune 500 retail company. This is why I am highly interested in working for your company. Over the past few years, I have been preparing for this goal by studying marketing and management in college. I learned a great deal about how to lead marketing campaigns and how to manage a small store. I wanted to translate this knowledge in the real world, so I took a job in a small retail chain for two years. I received a broader range of responsibilities than I would have received in a larger chain, and it was a very valuable experience. I am now ready to move into a national chain, where I hope to draw on both my academic and professional experiences.”

This answer projects a solid long-term goal that is compatible with the available job. It also takes the opportunity to describe the educational and professional experience the job candidate has garnered in order to prepare for the new position.
Avoid seeming as if your long-term goals are unrelated to or incompatible with the job you are seeking.

3) Where do you see yourself in five years?
In this interview questions, the interviewer is seeking to assess whether your goals match the opportunities presented by the job opening, and whether your ambitions are attractive to the organization. To answer this question well, consider emphasizing your goal-oriented perspective and your desire to continue to stretch your skills and make valued contributions to the company you seek to join. 

Example Answer: “In five years I hope to be serving as a manager of one of the restaurants in this chain. I would enjoy the challenge of building a strong branch and adapting marketing practices to the local environment, so that my branch would become a high-revenue-earning one. My education has helped me prepare for that by introducing me to broad principles of economics. And the fact that I have worked for a competitor chain gives me a good alternative perspective that I can draw on when working for your company. Because I have already served as a junior assistant manager and have experience building a successful staff and contributing to key marketing campaigns, I will bring good experience to the position of assistant manager that you are offering.”

The candidate conveys a medium-term goal that is compatible with the company’s interests. The candidate also describes how his or her education and work experience are relevant to the job.
Avoid presenting a medium-term goal that is incompatible with the needs or interests of the firm you are interviewing with.

4) Where do you see yourself in ten years?
What They Are Looking For: The interviewer wants to know that your longer-term goals are compatible with his or her company’s goals or interests. How you answer this question should depend on the type of company or organization you are interviewing with. Clearly, if the company is known for training employees for three years and then sending them out to be independent operators, you might not appear to be a good fit if you imply you wish to be with the company for ten years. However, ifthe company values long-term employees, you are probably best offimplying you intend to stay with the company for a while.

Example Answer: “In ten years, I hope to be serving as a top CPA of a company like yours. This is why I am highly interested in working for your company. Over the past few years, I have been preparing for this goal. I majored in accounting as an undergraduate and I have begun to prepare to acquire my CPA credential. I had a wonderful opportunity to intern for a small business, as well as for a larger CPA firm. That diversity of experience provides resources for me to draw on in my future work. Now I feel ready to take a longer-term career step by joining a firm that I hope to grow with for years.”

This answer is good for a company that is known for hiring job candidates for the long haul. The candidate demonstrates a long-term goal that is compatible with this company’s interests and also conveys to the interviewer the educational and professional experience that will help the candidate excel in the company.
Avoid presenting a career goal that is incompatible with the needs or interests of the firm you are interviewing with.


5) Will you be seeking higher education?
The interviewer wants to hear an answer that is consistent with his or her company’s needs or interests. Some companies expect their employees to continue to develop their skills through additional education, while others may want you to advance largely through learning on the job. If you believe the company might be concerned that you will depart quickly in order to earn an advanced degree, you might choose to let the interviewer know you will consider the needs of the firm as you determine later whether or not to pursue further education.

Example Answer: “I foresee myself gaining many key skills on the job with your company. Whether or not I pursue further education will depend in part upon the needs of your company at the time that I would likely consider further education.”

This answer is very cautious. It is more suited to a situation in which the candidate is unclear about whether the company supports higher education among its employees. If the candidate were certain that a company expected its employees to attain higher education, the candidate ideally would have sounded more certain about the desire to seek higher education.


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