How to answer the difficult question everyone gets at job interviews

Many of us will have been through a number of job interviews so the process becomes reasonably familiar. But, there's one question that consistently stumps hopeful candidates.

Amelia Beronila, careers specialist at Psychologyjobs.com who has interviewed more than 10,000 job seekers, has offer insights on how to answer that one ‘annoying and tricky’ question posed by most employers. The question we've all likely heard is: "Where do you see yourself in five years' time?"

Amelia says the key to answering is to be a little vague and try not to get ‘specific or too rigid’. Amelia said: “It's not like they're asking ‘Where will you be in five years?’ just to check up on you later, right?”

"They're really asking 'What gets you going? What are you striving for? Have you got ambitions? Does this role fit in with your career path?' The bottom line is, saying 'I haven't a clue' or 'I prefer to play it by ear and not restrict myself' probably isn't the best answer,” says Amelia.

Another answer that's best avoided, and one many of us might be tempted by, is… ‘Oh, five years from now I see myself travelling the world enjoying life drinking lots of wine.’

Amelia said: “Start off your answer with: ‘Planning five years ahead can be a real challenge, especially these days with the world constantly changing.’

“And then you can elaborate on how your goals and ambitions align with the role and the company: ‘While I value flexibility and keeping an open mind, I definitely have some long-term goals that I'm working towards. In five years' time, I'm ideally looking to be in a leadership role within a creative team. Ideally, I'd be working on projects that I'm passionate about, for campaigns that I truly believe in.

"Becoming a creative director or taking on a senior leadership role is definitely a long-term ambition I'm actively pursuing.’” says Amelia. Amelia also suggests giving some thought to 'how you want to feel' in the role, alongside your specific goals.

On top of that, Amelia suggests that if the interview feels good, you can throw in humour to your answer.