Re: Interviews: Where do you see yourself in 5 years

["Dick Margulis" <margulis -at- mail -dot- fiam -dot- net>]

"J Bailey" <jbailey -at- megapathdsl -dot- net> wrote:
>>This and "what are your long term goals"  are my least favorite questions.
>>My impulse is to say-living, gainfully employed, or something equally
>>facetious such as Ruler of the Free World.
>


I think the question stems from a hierarchical vision of the world that is deeply embedded in the authoritarian personality. (For better or worse, the people who climb corporate ladders tend to be, to some extent, authoritarians.) The assumption is that everyone is just like me, the interviewer, and my boss, the CEO; if you're not as interested in moving up through the hierarchy, you must be a lazy good-for-nothing.

I hasten to acknowledge that this is a gross oversimplification and an unfair caricature, so, no, I'm not talking about you, dear reader, personally.

The point I want to make, though, is that some enlightened companies have come to recognize that SOME people are drawn to climbing through the ranks of management and SOME people are more interested in professional development within their technical discipline. In these companies it is possible to be promoted (in terms of the breadth of responsibility and in terms of salary) based on how good you are in your chosen field, rather than in terms of how many people report to you.

In those few companies, I suspect the "where do you see yourself" question doesn't get asked so much; but even in all those other companies where it does get asked, you might keep this notion in mind--that the answer depends on your personality type and that you can expose your strengths (more than your weaknesses) with a judicious response. You might try something on the order of, "I'm a craftsperson. My ambition is to get better at my craft every day until I die. I can contribute more value to the company that way than by taking a management job--something that really doesn't suit me--although I'd love the opportunity to lead a project team. I'm also a valuable subject matter expert in my field, so I can contribute as a mentor for less-experienced writers." 

My two cents,

Dick

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