Job Search 2.0 Week – Goals

"Where do you see yourself in five years?"

I am sure this question rings familiar with a lot of readers from their own experience, either from asking it or from being asked. I have problems with that question. If I really want the job I should probably answer, "I intend to prove myself as a team leader and move up the career ladder. I want to make partner before I am 35." The interviewers are looking for drive and ambition, among other things.

I am driven, but more in the direction of doing the best job I can. If I worked in customer service that would mean continuously, every day, improving the way and efficiency in which I dealt with customers. If I worked in PR it would mean, to continuously finetune the strategy and the resulting measures of execution. You get the point. I believe it should be possible to advance horizontally on the career ladder as well as vertically. By no means am I saying ‘no’ to being a team leader and having a lot of responsibilities – you can make a difference there as well. However, the goal within the next five years for me as a professional is to help make more customers as happy as possible. Then I am happy.

To achieve improvement and finetuning I am reading a lot of books, surfing the web for free information and listening to podcasts. The amount of information to help expand one’s own horizon is enough for a life-time. In the past year I have read about management, marketing, PR, presentation, language, history of IT and in general, there is just so much out there. Anything, that can improve the performance for the customer should be of interest.

This entry is part of the "Job Search 2.0 Week", you can find the Introduction here, Qualifications & References here, and Skills & things I don’t know here.