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BY Joel Junker

Tips to Answer “What are Your Short and Long Term Goals?”

“What are your short and long term goals?”

This seems to be a question that JMOs often struggle with and one that has come up in probably every interview preparation workshop I’ve conducted in the last month.  My colleague Joel Junker wrote a blog post on short and long term goals a few years ago but in light of all the questions I’ve been getting about it, I thought it was time to reprise and update his post.

The question can really confuse candidates in an interview if they don’t understand the purpose behind the question.  It may seem to be a very benign or innocuous question, but in reality, this is a “fit” and compatibility question to determine if the candidate’s goals are aligned with what the company can offer.    Additionally, the company wants to determine if the candidate is a “giver” or a “taker”.

This question can be even more challenging for JMOs because they are non-traditional candidates, meaning they are not already working in industry, so they do not have as much knowledge about realistic goals in business.

To answer “what are your short and long term goals” effectively, follow these points:

1. Understand the intent of the question.  Its important to ask yourself “What is the question behind the question, and what does the interviewer really want to know?”  Often, but not in every case, a recruiter at a Cameron-Brooks Career Conference will review a resume and determine that the JMO candidate can do the job early on during the interview.  So then, a recruiter turns to the question of fit.  The recruiter is really asking the JMO candidate, “What are your short and long term goals, because I want to know what you want to do and if you can achieve those goals in my organization and be happy?  Are we the right match for one another?”

2. Be specific.  As in all interview answers, you must give a specific answer; otherwise, the recruiter will think that you are talking around the question or feel like you are telling them what they want to hear.  Both will likely frustrate the recruiter and could rule you out.  However, and this is really important, you cannot be so specific with your goals. This is because you do not know enough about the position/future positions in the long term, and if you get too specific, you could talk yourself out of the job.

3. Be smart honest.  You likely have a lot of goals, so do not share goals that you cannot or do not know if you can achieve with that organization.  Instead, share ones you know you can.

4. Start with defining the short term.  I recommend 2-3 years or so.  “In the next 2-3 years or so I want to…..”

5. Be a “giver”.  Yes, the company is asking you want you want to do, but make sure what you want to do will benefit the company.  This is especially important in this current COVID-driven economy.  Companies have issues and problems and they want people that are willing to come in and help solve those problems.  You have a choice to either answer the question wearing your “giver” hat or the “taker” hat.  I recommend choosing the former.

6. Connect your goals with the open position for which the recruiter is interviewing.

If you were interviewing for a Manufacturing Team Leadership position that described the role as leading 25 to 30 associates manufacturing medical devices utilizing Lean and Six Sigma, the short-term part of your answer could be similar to this:

“In the short term, which for me is the next 3 years, I want to be leading a team in an operational environment and making an impact achieving results like I did as a commander in the military.  This is one of the reasons why I am so interested in the position with your organization.  I also want to use my analytical skills and my Six Sigma Certification to improve systems.  I really liked optimizing operations in the military, and I like seeing that this position will have lots of projects with Lean and Six Sigma.  I also want to learn everything I can.  I want to read 1 professional book a month, find a mentor, and be a student of the business studying customer requirements and also competitors.”

All of those things are likely true.  The answer is specific, helps the recruiter understand what you want to do, and also connects to the position.  One caveat:  sometimes candidates will say, “I want to lead a team of people.”  This is frustrating for a recruiter as it lacks any detail or specifics.  You want to lead a team of people to do what?  Notice my answer says, “… in an operational environment making an impact (medical devices)…” and I connect it back to when my roles that area applicable in the military.

7. For the long term, I recommend to use approximately 10 years.  You do not know the position title, nor responsibility of where you will be in 10 years, so you cannot talk about being a Plant Manager, Director, Vice President, etc.  Plus, these job titles often mean different things and take on varying degrees of responsibility depending on the company you work for and the industry you work in.  Focus on talking about growing in responsibility and making a larger impact, which is what you want to do.

The long-term part of your answer could be something like this:  “In 10 years or so, I want to be increasing my responsibility.  This is one of the reasons why I am so excited about business:  the opportunity for growth (notice I am not talking about advancement and looking beyond the initial job) and impacting the performance of a company.  I want to be responsible for increasingly difficult and important issues and projects.  As I mentioned earlier in my short term, I want to find a mentor.  So, at this point in my career, I want to be mentoring others as well.”  Since it is a manufacturing role, you could also add in some place, “I want to be leading even larger groups of people.  I would like to be leading other leaders, and making a significant impact on the profitability of the company.”

8. Avoid more self-serving goals such as talking about continued education and MBAs, certifications, etc. during your goals.    To elaborate a bit more on point #5, remember, the recruiter is at the Conference with an open position and that position is designed to create value for the company.  They have a problem; this position needs to be filled.  This question is about, “Can you reach your goals starting in this position?”  Most companies are not ready to talk about you taking time away from the immediate problem to pursue an MBA.    It would similar to a enlisted person/NCO or even junior officer showing up at your unit and the first thing they want to discuss is what schools or training you will send them to rather than how they can help prepare the unit for the upcoming deployment or training exercise.  While our client companies are supportive and you do want to further your education in business, unless the recruiter brings it up, focus on the recruiter’s immediate problem and the MBA topic can come up later after you have an offer.

9. PCS to Corporate America 4^th Ed. on pages 179-180, covers this topic even more in depth. 

Please keep in mind these are thoughts / ideas and are in no way intended to give you the exact words YOU should use.  Companies want to hear your short and long term goals in your own voice.

To learn more about turning your JMO leadership skills into a successful transition and business success with Cameron-Brooks, visit our website and check out PCS to Corporate America. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Rob Davis