It’s the granddaddy of interview clichés:
“Where do you see yourself in five years?”
Cue the equally cliché response:
“In a position here with more responsibility, because I love challenges.” (Translation: I Googled “best interview answers” last night.)
Ask a fluffy question, and you’ll get a fluffy answer. But digging into someone’s ambitions does have real value. Research we conducted shows that ambition isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a performance driver.
Here’s what we found when we compared below-average, average, and top performers:
- They dream big. Top performers score 76 out of 100 on professional aspirations (vs. 65 for average, 61 for below-average) and 67 on personal aspirations (vs. 63 and 58).
- They believe in themselves. Their sense of self-efficacy hits 71 (vs. 62 and 52), and a whopping 94% believe they can achieve whatever they set their mind to (vs. 75% and 70%).
- They’re relentless learners. 70% make it a point to learn new skills outside of school or job training (vs. 66% and 53%).
- They raise the bar. 88% consistently look for ways to improve efficiency (vs. 71% and 61%), and 89% set high work standards for themselves (vs. 73% and 64%).
- They don’t settle. Only 13% would be content with a “Satisfactory” performance rating (vs. 20% and 29%), and only 21% turn down opportunities out of self-doubt (vs. 31% and 49%).
- They want recognition. 73% aim for top honors like Employee of the Month (vs. 46% and 31%).
- They never stop growing. 87% are “very motivated” to improve themselves and become better people (vs. 77% and 58%).
While top performers can look like they’re walking on water, they’re not superheroes. One surprising stat from our study shows that 35% of them admit to getting discouraged when obstacles pop up. The difference? They don’t let those obstacles become permanent roadblocks. Persistence is their real superpower.
So how do you spot whether you’ve got a future Mount Everest climber or someone who’ll bail at base camp? It comes down to asking the right interview questions—and ditching the tired, cookie-cutter ones that every candidate has rehearsed to death.
Try adding these to your repertoire:
“What initiative have you taken in past jobs? Ever pitch a new idea to a manager?”
“Describe a goal you achieved that no one else believed you could. Why didn’t they believe in you, and what kept you going?”
“What does failure mean to you? How do you personally define success?”
“In the past two years, how have you upgraded your skills? Tell me about classes, training, or even extra reading you’ve done.”
“Would you rather work with a team less accomplished than you—or a group more successful?”
“What’s the most disappointing feedback you’ve received in a review? What did you change afterward?”
Why grill candidates with the same tired “Where do you see yourself in five years?” when we’ve already written better questions for you? ARCH Profile’s tests come with ready-to-go interview questions baked right in. Let us do the heavy lifting—ask us about the Interview Module.
admArchBlog