Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years - How to Answer
About this video
Jeff Su explains how to answer ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ which he says is really asking whether you will be a dependable, long-term employee — without naming a target title or falsely promising to stay. His ‘Specific to Broad’ formula breaks the five years into intervals: be specific about years one to two, where research via Glassdoor, LinkedIn contacts and similar sources should give a good picture of the day-to-day, and broader about years three to five, focusing on direction, skills and specialisation as uncertainty grows. He says this focuses the answer on what you will be doing rather than a title — which risks sounding pretentious if aggressive or lacking confidence if conservative — shows willingness to learn, and signals long-term intent without saying it explicitly. His sample answer, from his interview for a first management consulting role at EY in New York, describes first-year consultants as generalists absorbing industry knowledge, using project management skills from a KPMG internship and helping on business development decks when unstaffed, then later specialising in one business vertical, mentoring new consultants, and taking a more active part in pitching engagements.
Key takeaways
- The question is really testing dependability and long-term fit, not a five-year title prediction
- Use the Specific to Broad formula: specific detail for years 1-2, broader direction for years 3-5
- Focus on activities, skills and specialisation rather than naming a job title you expect to hold
- Signal willingness to stay long-term implicitly through learning, mentoring and contributing, without explicitly promising it
- Research the day-to-day of the first years beforehand via Glassdoor, LinkedIn contacts and similar sources
Episode details: published October 21, 2020 · 6:10 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Jeff Su’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.
← Previous: Informational Interviews: Best Questions to Ask · Next: Don’t Use STAR in Your Next Interview (Do This Instead)! →
All Jeff Su videos · Jeff Su profile · Jeff Su (official site)
