How to Answer “What Are Your Career Aspirations?”

Do you have a job interview coming up? If so, you might anticipate the questions the hiring manager will ask. One of the standard questions is: “What are your career aspirations?” Don't be fooled into answering this too honestly. Remember that your goal is to land this job—and convince them that you want to stay in this role and industry for a long time.

You should answer in a way that demonstrates your dreams are aligned with the role and the company’s bottom line. Present yourself as the ideal candidate for the job, not someone who will leave in a year to attend grad school or change careers.

Let's examine why job recruiters and hiring managers might ask this question. We'll provide five sample answers to help you prepare and ace your interview. 

What is a career aspiration?

Career aspirations are long-term hopes and ambitions. People develop them based on their experiences, including talents, values, lifestyle, and more. Examples of career aspirations might include:

• Working in an industry that you’re passionate about

• Managing or leading successfully

• Using your talents or skills in a role

• Starting or owning a business

• Earning accolades for expertise

In response to this question, you might say that you aspire to become a marketing executive for a wildlife conservation organization in 10 years. Explain why the marketing assistant role you’re interviewing for aligns with that aspiration. It signals a strategic approach to career decisions.

Exercise: What are MY career aspirations?

Some soul-searching can help deliver an honest yet astute answer in your interview.

1. Reflect on past work and school experiences.

2. Consider your interests and passions.

3. Decide whether you will answer with an aspiration of skill, leadership, or industry.

4. Think about how this job role and company supports your aspiration.

5. Practice. Using one of the five examples below, tailor your response to this question.

Why do interviewers ask about your career aspirations?

Hiring managers ask certain questions to determine a candidate’s ability to succeed. They want to know how you will perform on the job, which includes evaluating your personality and working style, technical skills, interpersonal skills, and more. 

For the career aspirations question, interviewers especially want to know that you have put thought into your future career and mapped out specific goals to manifest your aspirations. They want to feel confident that you know exactly why you want to work for this company in this specific job role and can explain why you are a good fit for each other. 

Hiring the right candidate requires time and resources, so companies want to gauge whether or not you’ll stick around for a while to grow with the company.

Going into too much detail about wanting to transfer to a different company or industry in the future is not a good idea.

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How to answer: “What are your career aspirations?”

The best way to answer this question is to be clear that you want this job and that it perfectly aligns with your desired career roadmap. 

This question might appear in different forms:

Where do you see yourself five years from now?

What are you hoping to get out of this role? 

Do you think this position aligns with your professional goals?

Sample answer #1: Skills application

Convince the hiring manager that this is your dream job. Explain why your experience slots into this role, which will help you reach your career aspirations.

I have been a server for 10 years, often supplemented by weekend tutoring. While I loved the hustle and atmosphere of working in restaurants, I am ready to pivot in my career toward a marketing role. It is my dream to become a marketing manager. I believe that my sales experience in upselling appetizers and cocktails to customers and understanding of the food and beverage industry enables me to succeed in this marketing assistant role at a major chocolate company. 

Sample answer #2: Role and work style alignment

Explain your long-term goals and say this role suits your ideal work environment.

As a trained political scientist, I am very interested in this role working in human rights. I have always intended to pursue work related to my postgraduate thesis research on undocumented Mexican immigrants working on Pacific Northwest farms. Conducting research on migrants’ rights for this think tank would be fulfilling. Because the researcher role is both collaborative and independent, it also aligns with my preferred working style.

Sample answer #3: Pursuit of passion

Convince the hiring manager that this job and career aligns with your passions.

For seven years, I have kept a hydroponic garden in my apartment. Although I studied psychology, contributing to the environment by growing my own vegetables and giving the surplus away to friends and food banks has been incredibly rewarding. I love helping others and I am passionate about sustainability, so I would love for this ethos to be a running theme in my career. This role as community manager for a solar panel company feels like a good fit!

Sample answer #4: Opportunities that the job offers

Align the job's perks (like travel) with your own skill set and excitement for learning.

I studied abroad in Ecuador during college, which led me to teach English in Costa Rica for a year after graduation. When I saw that this role requires at least 25% travel, I felt excited that I could integrate my cultural experiences into my career going forward. It’s one of the many reasons I applied for this job. I am near fluent in Spanish, too. Conducting business in Latin America requires a keen understanding of the cultural nuances in each country. I believe I am qualified for this role, and I could see myself doing this for a long time.

Sample answer #5: Leadership potential

Clarify that you aspire to be a leader, and how this role allows you to shine.

One of my career aspirations is definitely to be in a leadership position. I effectively managed three interns in my most recent role as people operations lead at a start-up. Supporting them as a mentor in their career growth was especially fulfilling. At this company, or elsewhere, I hope to work toward becoming the head of human resources so that I can improve employee well-being. Studies show happiness with internal structures and culture is the key to profitability. I want to lead with empathy while achieving business results.

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