Importance of Long term career goals

It is considered as a healthy practise to set long term goals as these goals help you to develop a clear mindset which can increase your focus on your career. “Can you describe your long term goals”, is one of the most asked questions by any hiring consultancy for any job position and not having a proper, well planned, structured, impressive and honest answer can be troublesome.

Also read – Tips on how to achieve Long term career goals

To come off as a strong candidate for the position you are applying for, it is important to spend some time and think about the question in depth, as it will help you to understand the professional expectations and goals that you have for yourself. You must be having the following questions: How to formulate long term goals? How to approach the career plan? Right! Let us understand the questions and answer them.

Let us understand the questions “Can you describe your long term goals” and why is the particular question one of the favorite questions of an employer to ask to the candidate in a job interview. Any guesses?

Having a well planned future is one of the most important assets for having a successful career. The employer wants to know about your different qualities and by asking the respective questions he/she analysis: work ethic, long term career goals, the ability to focus on your chosen path, determination, how ambitious you are, how excited you are for the following and the future possibilities, the ability to provide results by following a goal oriented plan, the ability to imagine possible outcomes etc. 

For any individual to perform well, it is important to have a mindset that can satisfy the demands of the position (being offered). It is the job of an employer to find whether you are a perfect fit for the particular position. You can increase your chances of getting the respective position by having your long term goals aligned with the goals of the company and train to have the mindset to fulfil the demands offered by the position.

The need and pressure to find the perfect candidate among such talented candidates makes the question ” Can you describe your career goals” one of the most favourite questions to an interviewer to ask to a candidate in the interview.

Now let us discuss how to answer the question “Can you describe your long term goals?” Remember the below mentioned points while answering the respective question, if you want to present your goals and aspirations in a impressive manner in front of the employer.

Ways to present your goals and aspirations in a impressive manner

• Always present and discuss ambitions related to the position (being offered)
• Formulate a goal oriented plan to achieve the desired results
• Importance should be given to the abilities capable of bringing in profits or benefits to the company
• The achievements should be subtly yet effectively presented
• It is important to find a connection between the experience and the long term goals.

Always present and discuss ambitions related to the position (being offered)

Yes, it is important to have a well-thought plan of long-term career goals, but it is not smart to present the entire plan in front of the employer. This can significantly reduce the interest of the employer in your profile and can also lead to rejection. Employers interview a lot of candidates (potential as well as deserving) for any particular position and are always looking for candidates having the extra edge over the others. You can increase your importance in the eyes of the interviewer by presenting them with the long-term goals they are looking for.

Remember to discuss ambitions, aspirations, and goals that are related to the position being offered. Employers are provided with a better understanding of themselves when they hear an answer that can be easily related to the offered position. The answer helps them properly visualize your short-term goals, long-term goals, and career plan; and check whether your objectives properly coordinate with the company’s objectives. In short, it helps them to decide whether you have the potential to fill the position that is being offered by them.

Formulate a goal-oriented plan to achieve the desired results

Having the ability to provide results by following a goal-oriented plan is one of the most important qualities valued by an employer. Employers always want to connect with you on a human level so that they can have a better understanding of yourself. Having a goal-oriented plan can definitely provide you with an extra edge over the other candidates. It shows that you are capable of planning things out beforehand and have the much-needed determination and willpower to follow the decided steps to achieve desired results.

When an interviewer asks you about the long-term goals, always remember that they want to assess your plan to achieve goals. You can tackle the respective questions by explaining few steps you are going to achieve a certain result. If it is about a new skill they want you to learn, you can explain about the classes or workshops you can attend to learn the desired skills. Also, you can explain about various seminars and programs you plan to attend to improve your existing knowledge base and skill set. 

Importance should be given to the abilities capable of bringing in profits or benefits to the company.

An employee is respected and recognized only when they can bring in the numbers on the table. It is important to generate results to survive in the highly competitive market. Your long-term goals should be able to generate results and recordable profits. You can have all the skills in the world, but if you are not able to produce any appreciable results, it will be very tough for you to sustain your position or hold your job.

It is very important for you to have long-term goals that have the same frequency as that of the company’s goals. You should be able to improve yourself at the job and simultaneously help the company to grow. A mutual relationship should be maintained for a successful career. Your long-term goals should be able to reflect the above-stated points.

Employers always try to find individuals who can work in a team, and it is an added bonus if they have the leadership qualities to lead the team. Make sure you are well aware of the company’s ideals, expectations the company has from their employees, the workspace provided by the company (potential to grow as an individual, and the possible growth in the career). Consider all the points mentioned while formulating long-term goals.

The achievements should be subtly yet effectively presented

Many individuals can formulate plans and goals, but those who can back their strategies, plans, short term, and long-term goals have an extra edge over the other candidates. This can be done by highlighting your recent achievements or the already achieved results. It is important always to maintain a connection between your achievements and long-term goals so that the employer can find a flow between your performance and future goals, making it easy for them to evaluate your tendency to produce results.

The best way to present your achievements in front of the employer (without being a show-off) is to mention them while you are explaining or discussing your long-term goals. For instance, if you want to transition into a managerial role, you can start by mentioning your performance as a lead or a supervisor role and then build into it. Backing up your talk with already achieved results will allow you to come off as a strong, resourceful, and valuable candidate.

It is important to find a connection between the experience and the long-term goals.

As we now know that maintaining a connection between your achievements and long-term goals is important. Similarly, it is very important to maintain a connection between the experience and the long-term goals. Experience plays a very important role in any job interview as experience is one of the main criteria for rejecting the candidate. Not having enough experience for a position demanding many years of experience can create problems (maybe rejection).

Being over-experienced for a position demanding only a few years of experience can seriously affect your value or devalue your credentials. The time frame for your long-term goals should be between 5 to 10 years, and it is important to consider your present experience and then plan your future goals accordingly.

While answering, you should be able to establish a link between your present work experience and your long-term goals, as it makes it easier for the job interviewer to evaluate your performance and possible results. For instance, if you are applying for a fresher job, your long-term goals should be to work as a team lead or supervisor in the next 5 to 10 years. If you are applying for a managerial role, then aiming to work as a senior executive in the next 5 to 10 years can be impressive and considered more realistic.

A few examples for long term career goals

An employer or interviewer appreciates the ability to answer the question concisely by providing and explaining all the important details in a simple format. Following are the points that can be used to prepare an impressive answer:

Learning or mastering a new or a known skill, respectively.

Show your excitement to learn a new skill or to master a known skill. Always go for the skills that are used extensively for the position being offered to you. The determination to learn a new skill or master a known skill shows that you are an individual who is willing to put in the work required to improve the quality of work. Hence you come off as a strong candidate when compared to others. When discussing the respective topic, always remember to explain the process you are going to follow to learn or master the skills.

For Example: “In the next ten years, I aim to become a java expert. I have already taken basic online courses, and I plan to earn certifications from the major java software vendors to showcase my knowledge. I think the following skill would help me advance as a java developer and bring in the results to the company.”

Wanting to transition into management 

When you want to transition into a managerial role, it is very important to show your desire to work for leadership positions. You have to explain the motive of why you consider yourself suitable for the managerial roles. Displaying strong confidence can be very helpful as companies want individuals to have strong personalities for their respective position.

Also, it is important to back your talk by providing impressive results and the achievements you have achieved in your career. Managerial roles involve taking responsibility for all the actions taken under you, so remember to stick to your talk and decisions and don’t talk against your decision when faced with counter questioning from the hiring panel. 

For Example: “I currently work as a team leader and want to transition into a managerial role in the next five years. I have gained a significant amount of leadership experience working as a team leader. In addition, I have also undergone a leadership course from xyz organizations or institutes. In the near future, I see myself taking on executive roles.”

Trying out new career opportunities.

When you are in the process of changing your current field of expertise and want to try out new career opportunities, it is crucial to mention the important points on the ways your previous work experience has trained you for the new opportunities. Remember to maintain the link between the previous work experience and the new opportunity, as it makes it easy for the interviewer to understand your skillset. Explain the different things that you can bring to the table for the new position.

For Example: “For the last three years, I have been learning the skills to support my transition from java developer to a python programmer. I have gone through various online courses from so and so institutes. I think my exposure to the coding background and the news skills that I have learned will translate easily to python programming.”

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