Tips To Answer Interview Question "What are your career goals and how do you plan to achieve these goals?"

An Overview:

While hiring an employee, a company would look for someone who is stable and consistent in their performance. Since an interview is the best, albeit short timed way to find out information about the interviewee, the interviewer asks questions about career objectives, future plans (i.e. career plans).

What Are Your Future Plans?

Asking this question, the employer wants to observe two important things: What goals do you have in your career? And more importantly how will the prospective job fit your plans?
When you are asked about what are your long term career goals, consider it as a chance to speak about how you are stable in your professional and personal life, and how you would like to grow with the company that you are working for. Therefore, you should preset clear purpose, determination and commitment to own career goals by demonstrating how you plan ahead.
In addition, you can explain why you see a merge potential in the said job opportunity and your career goals and objectives – The employer wants to learn how you see the company fits to your future plans (if you have already planned ahead)?

Serious Employees:

Employers always want to hire people who take a serious thought on their career growth and professional development as it would benefit them as well – People with clear vision are most likely to become the company’s talents or the next leaders.
Since planning is a key factor in many jobs, showing that you are self-determined, focused person who knows how to make things happen, may make your job easy improving your chance of getting hired – Your ability to plan ahead can make the difference in their own results (if they hire you). When presenting your plans for the future, your answer should demonstrate honesty, realism and enthusiasm.

What Are Your Short Term And Long Term Goals/Objectives?

There are two kinds of objectives that a person can have in their professional life:
➔ The short term career objectives
➔ The long term career objectives

Short Term Career Objectives:

Short term career objectives are quite simple, like getting a higher post in a few years or months, or learning a new skill so that you can become more productive for the company or even earning a certain amount per month by a particular time. These are the answers that you can provide when you are asked what your short term career aspirations are. In some cases, you can also speak about any dream company that you would like to work with as your short term career aspirations.

Long Term Career Objectives:

When it comes to long term career aspirations, you can go a bit ambiguous and even out of the material world. For example, you can say that your long term career aspirations are to create a path that other people in the profession and line of work may follow. You may even speak about what are your career ambitions, like obtaining the highest post in a company in a while, etc.

Important:

These are generally the answers that you should give when asked about your short and long term career goals. Of course, the goals that you have in your career must not only be planned but also achieved – the next question could be about describing how you are going to set constructive steps for accomplishing your future goals.