“Where

do you see yourself in five years?”

This question scares candidates, in part because they think that interviewers are
asking it to trip them up in some way. Not so.

An interviewer asks this question for several reasons:

To understand if you actually want this job: If the role doesn’t fit into
your long-term goals, it’s a good tip-off to your interviewer you are just
looking at this as a short-term job to fill in the gaps. Moreover, if you’re not
prepared to answer this question, it might be a sign you don’t really care
about the job.
To see if you even have a plan: Successful people tend to know where
they’re going in life. If you don’t have a plan, an interviewer might worry
you’re not very serious about your career.
To test your ambition: Ambitious people generally make good employees.
If your long-term goals reflect a lack of ambition, that’s not a good sign.
Similarly, if you’re unrealistically ambitious, that also isn’t a good sign.
You have expectations the company can’t match, and you’re unlikely to be
a good fit.
To ensure the company can give you what you want: If a role isn’t a
good fit for your long-term goals, the company wants to know that. You’d
be unhappy in the job, would likely be unsuccessful, and would quickly
leave. That’s not a good thing for anyone.

Ideally, you will have 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year plans, and this role will fit
nicely in line with that.

If you don’t have things quite as nicely planned as this, you can think of the
answer to this question a different way: Where would very strong performance
in this role get you in five years? Hopefully, that is where you see yourself.

If you’re prepared for it, this question can be a great opportunity. You can use it
to tell the interviewer whatever you want about yourself.

I’d love to be lead PM for an emerging business unit where I’ll get to think
about long-term strategy, particularly with respect to monetization models.
I’m particularly interested in mobile, and I could see myself leading a team
 of PMs and engineers on the mobile side. Additionally, I’m really excited
about the ways in which a company can help new employees ramp up faster.
I could see myself creating a more formal new employee training program
where employees get mentorship and training in different areas of the
business.
With this answer, the candidate has demonstrated ambition as well as a passion
for business models, leadership, and mentorship.

You can use your answers to the career vision question to highlight what you’re
good at and what most excites you.