Bits of Life

XV. Where Do You See Yourself 5 Years From Now?

One of the basic and most probably a staple question when in a job interview is being asked where one sees one's self 5 years from now. When I had the chance to be part of a team that had us members join in as panelists during job application interviews, the most common answer to the above question revolves around the ideals of being an important part of the organization with growth in one's role and contributing to the company's success. Ideal indeed, but almost all the time I follow up with: how can we measure this as truly manifested comes 5 years from now? What is the concrete evidence of being an important part of an organization, how do we gauge one's role growth, and what do we give as contributions which the company needs for its success?

Outside professional life, we can also ask ourselves the same question of where we see ourselves 5 years from now. I know people who see themselves with their own house, own car, and even their own businesses. But the real questions are - how do you get there? Do you build the dream house from scratch, buy an existing one, or inherit a family property? Do you get the car as a work incentive, bought out of personal income, or passed on from one of your siblings after they get a new one? What business do you have in mind, where do you start, and where are you going to get your funds?
How you see yourself 5 years from now, personally or professionally, requires a vision, and it doesn't stop there. You need to know the steps you need to take in order to get there. You need to have a mission - the clear step by step definition of what you do daily in order to achieve your set of goals. Therefore, how we answer the above main question is not only limited to how the whole picture would look but should also answer how the process of painting it should be.

Today, it was nice to see a colleague friend after a long while. After catching up on how life goes by, we got to the point where I was asked for tips on how to progress in one's career in terms of getting up the corporate ladder. I am not the one who has really climbed that high already, but I threw back a question of: what are your plans you lay for yourself while in the company? Simply, where do you see yourself 5 years from now? "I haven't set goals", came the honest answer. Truly, I have known this person from our previous job until we become colleagues again in another where we currently work. I told him/her based on observation, that perhaps this is why there was no growth in his/her career ( 5 years in the same position from our previous company, and more than 3 years now and still in the same position in the current company) because s/he has no clear picture of having one. Or if s/he really sees him/herself advancing, s/he didn't really know the ingredients he needed to boil in his/her pot. Do you want to be employee of the month? Remember, it requires more than just doing your job. It also needs you the basics - to show up (physically or virtually) and to show up on time. Which employee of the month always misses work unreasonably? It also requires you to follow company policies. Which employee of the month always gets corrective actions for the same offense all over again? These and more. Remember, small steps and small things pile up. They matter.

This is where the importance of goal setting comes into play. No matter how long you travel you will never get into a desired destination if you don't have a specific one. Have you had the experience of wanting to do something then getting up from bed abruptly and then walking within the house but forgot what you wanted to do, so you are left lost in the kitchen or the living room asking yourself what you are up to? Somehow this happens because of distractions - you saw a pile of magazines so you browsed on them, you smelled good food in the kitchen so you stopped to have a taste. Then you forgot why you got up from bed and can't recall what you wanted to really do.

Goal setting requires you to see a clear picture of what you want lest you forget about it - wandering but not knowing where to go or what end goal you need to work on with. Thus came the next tip: for short and long term goals, as much as possible write them down and if possible, the steps you needed to do. Let it serve as your reminder and can also serve well as a checklist.

A few years ago, we were asked by our graduate studies professor to make a vision board. This is a collection of drawings, pictures, and other visuals arranged together to represent an image of our goals and ambitions. Each picture, illustration, or quote is an inspiration that can help clarify your aspirations so you can manifest your vision. In my vision board is a cartoon that represents me in my academic regalia as a graduate of a master's degree - check! I have a quote representing my passion for teaching and eventually became one of our company's training specialists - check! There's a photo of my hobby in arts and craft and the dream to market them - check! There's a line about giving back to the community and I have started an annual gift giving to the less privileged I named as "Love Drive" - check! I have photos of tourist destinations and since then I have the luxury to travel even locally - check! Having a clear vision of my goals helped me get to materialize them.

Surely, at some point the circumstances were not in my favor. But I don't allow myself to dwell in such an unfavorable state of affairs. I create my own favorable situation without having to step on to others. You are not invited for career growth in your workplace? Then create your own career opportunities - within or somewhere else. Your growth should not be a matter of chance but a matter of choice. Be wise to know the difference.

So how do we see ourselves 5 years from now? Did our answers when asked this during the job interviews we had before were only to satisfy our interviewers and make a good impression? Or since then, have we clung to it and step by step achieved them? Let us remember that we can dream where the sky's the limit but we also have to work hard and smart if we want to achieve them.