When you are interviewing you will be asked about your future and what your plans are. This is a tool that selecting officials use to see where you plan on “being” in a determined amount of time.

You may be asked: What are your long-term goals? What are your long-term career objectives? This is not an opportunity for you to “spill your guts” keep it professional and stay focused. Think about this question before you interview, you shouldn’t take more than 5 – 7 minutes. Talk about your professional goals and what educational aspirations you have. DON’T talk about your personal life or what personal projects you are working on.
Selecting officials want to know: How you plan to achieve your career goals? They don’t want details, this question is meant for them to see if you know how to lay out and achieve goals. This is also a tactic to see how well you focus on objectives and how you plan to achieve objectives. Again, keep it professional not personal – stay focused.

You may be asked: What do you see yourself doing in five years from now? What plans do you have for continuing your education? These questions help selecting officials to determine what kind of professional “drive” and motivation you actually have. It is my personal advice to answer all appropriate interview questions, keep in mind you can “respectfully” decline to answer any interview questions that you don’t feel comfortable answering. If you don’t plan on continuing your education or haven’t thought about what your goals are for the next five years, it’s okay – use your imagination and stay focused on the professional conversation.

Reference:  Armstead, J. (2013). Pep Talks: Answering Training Questions. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Pep-Talks-Answering-Training-Questions/dp/1492834203/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1546981419&sr=8-5&keywords=jenice armstead pep talks

Practice Makes Perfect,
Dr. Jaye