When it comes to hiring employees, companies look for individuals who are stable and consistent in their performance.
This is why interviews often include questions about career goals and future plans.
This article discusses the importance of having career goals, both short-term and long-term, and how to plan and achieve them.
- It explains why employers ask questions about career goals and future plans during interviews.
- It provides examples of how to answer such questions.
The article emphasizes the need for job seekers to have a well-defined career objective that aligns with their interests, skills, and values, and is relevant to the job and the company they are applying for.
What Are Your Career Goals?
When it comes to job interviews, it is common to be asked questions about your career goals and aspirations.
Employers want to know what goals interviewees have for their careers and how the prospective job fits into their plans.
This is a way for the interviewer to gauge your level of self-awareness, planning skills, and stability in your personal and professional life.
Asking these questions is the way for employers to assess whether you are a good fit for the company you are interviewing with, and if you have a long-term vision for your career.
What Are Your Future Plans for the Long-Term?
When asked about long-term career goals, it is an opportunity to showcase stability in both personal and professional life and demonstrate a commitment to personal growth within the company.
It is important to preset a clear purpose, determination, and commitment to your own career goals by demonstrating how you plan ahead.
Additionally, you can explain how the job opportunity aligns with your career goals and objectives to show how you see the company fitting into your future plans.
Serious Employees
Employers want to hire people who take their career growth and professional development seriously, as these individuals are more likely to become the company’s talents or the next leaders.
Showing that you are a self-determined and focused person who knows how to make things happen can make your job easier and improve your chances of getting hired.
Your ability to plan ahead can make the difference in your own results, should you be hired.
Short-Term Objectives and Long-Term Career Vision
There are two types of objectives that a person can have in their professional life: short-term career objectives and long-term career goals.
- Short-term career objectives can include getting a higher post in a few years or months, learning a new skill to become more productive for the company, or earning a certain amount per month by a particular time.
- Long-term career aspirations can be more abstract, such as creating a path for others in the profession to follow or obtaining the highest post in a company after a certain amount of time.
It is important to provide honest, realistic, and enthusiastic answers when discussing career goals.
A.) Achieving Career Goals
While having career goals is important, it is equally important to have a plan to achieve them.
Employers may ask a follow up question on how you plan to accomplish your future goals, so it is important to describe the constructive steps you will take to reach your objectives.
B.) Communicate your Career Goals and Objectives
When asked about your career goals, it is important to communicate your short and long-term plans to the interviewer.
This will help them to understand how you plan to achieve your goals and how you will grow with the company you are working for.
A good way to approach this question is to think about what you want to achieve in the short-term and the long-term, and how you plan to get there.
Examples of Answers
Interviewer: “What is your goal in life? What is your objective in life?”
- Interviewee 1: “I wish to become a marketing manager with quite a large team to handle and lead.”
- Interviewee 2: “Of late, I have been so much tied up with work, that it has escaped my thoughts to give my life a vision/personal goal to work upon.”
- Interviewee 3: “I wish to do my MBA and later on, set up my own business.”
As you can see, Interviewee 1 has a specific goal, whereas Interviewee 2 seems unprepared, and Interviewee 3’s goal might not align with the company’s expectations.
Therefore, it is wise to have a well-defined career objective that reflects your interests, skills, and values, and that is relevant to the job and the company you are applying for.
How to Answer the Question – “What Is Your Career Objective?”
When answering this question, it is important to keep a few things in mind.
Firstly, you need to contemplate and figure out what exactly you are looking for.
- If ‘getting a job’ is your short-term goal, then what kind of job interests you?
- What do you plan to achieve once you secure the job?
- Have you chalked out a career graph keeping in mind the job under consideration?
Start by planning small goals and draft a career graph for yourself. Be ’employer oriented.’
What Are Your Career Aspirations?
Let’s explore this with an example:
Interviewer: “What are your long-term career aspirations?”
Interviewee 1: “I look forward to leveraging my expertise in software development at a multinational corporation (MNC) that offers challenging job roles and a broader platform to work and perform.”
Clearly, Interviewee 1 is confident about his needs. He wants to secure a job in a large organization that provides him with a higher job position, better compensation, and more exposure.
Interviewee 2: “I look forward to enhancing my expertise in software development and honing other relevant skills as well. My dream is to have hands-on experience in as many technical projects as possible to become well-versed in the skill I have chosen to work on.”
Interviewee 2 is more pragmatic. He is not interested in obtaining fancy job titles and high compensation packages. Rather, he intends to master the skills he possesses and develop other related skills as well.
If the interviewer is seeking a sincere and hardworking candidate, he might select Interviewee 2.
It is important to draft the answer well in advance.
Though it is difficult to flesh out an answer, if you prioritize things, you would be able to come up with an appropriate statement.
A good example of a career objective statement would be –
“I believe long-term goals are achieved when we break them into smaller achievable goals. My short-term goal is to get a job in an organization that is progressive, and performance driven.
I wish to join a competent team wherein I can add value to projects and, in turn, take home learning as well. My long-term plan is to secure a challenging position as XXX in the organization and deliver my best.”
In summary,
During an interview, it is important to be clear about your career goals and aspirations.
Employers want to see stability, commitment, and a willingness to grow within their company.
By presenting both short-term and long-term career objectives, you can showcase their dedication to personal growth and professional development.
Furthermore, demonstrating a plan to achieve future goals can increase the likelihood of getting hired.