So people, esp interviewers, like asking questions like "Where do you see yourself 5 yrs from now?"... unless the interviewer is imaginative enough to come up with something better to assess the candidate..
The same question seems to have a way of cropping up so many times in other situations in life.. only the time length differs.. answering this question basically implies planning ahead.. much much ahead... planning for 5 yrs of ur life now?? How can it be possible? Ok overall you have an idea of what situation you will be in.. like have a job in preferably this industry/service, have a family (with or without children), be staying in a 3 BHK apartment of your own, etc etc.. but can you be sure? Ofcourse not.. and no one expects you to be..
But what happens when you have to take a decision now, based on what you picturise yourself doing even 6 months hence?! Yesterday I was contemplating signing up for a Salsa performance group which is to give a stage perforrmance in April 07.. but I can't decide if I should because I have no idea where I will be 6 months from now.. I don't know which city, which company, what marital status, etc etc I will have by then!! So can I sign up now for something which is to happen so much later?? Ofcourse it is not necessary that 6 months planning scares everybody.. afterall its 'short term'.. but I am approaching such cross-roads of my life that I can't even be sure of next month.. things are waiting to happen, but actually aren't!! So its all waiting and watching to see how it turns out.. and I can do that, provided no one asks me to do something now based on the future!
I've never been able to plan even 2 weeks ahead.. plan in details that is.. I love being 'in the moment', but I wonder if it's due to pure laziness to think ahead, tendency to avoid decisions, or spontaneity that makes me this way!! Some real self-exploration is required here... or just that life has to "work out" soon... tsk tsk.. I can't even decide if I should sign-up for Salsa! That sucks!
Dont say that later will be better...
Now you're stuck in a moment and you can't get out of it..
- Stuck in a moment, U2
This is me...
"And for this award, I would like to thank my mom, my dog.."
15 comments:
ruchi, u can be assured we're all going to be single in the next 6 months if not the 6 years! there! doesn't that clear out some of the ambiguity in ur life? :) you're welcome!! hahaha!
That's a stupid question. They are possibly trying to find out if the employee can plan in advance and more importantly, to see if the potential employee has some ambition. Not that it helps in the least. But not many seem to agree.
Never mind.
Some people ask questions only because they have those imprinted in some wise ass's book.
u stole the endign right out of me.. as i read this.. all i could think of was the U2 song :-)
but yes, i do agree, with so many variables, life can be very unpredictable. That, however, is what makes it fun, and worth the trip..
As Snoopy once said, "Plan life as if you were to live forever, live life like you are going to die tomorrow, but party tonight!"
`Z
Hehehhee.. thanks for the most encouraging words :-))
`individualist
yes, it doesn't make you less ambitious or confused if you don't know exactly where you are going to be in 5 yrs.. you know probably what you want to be, but def not what exactly you will be.. thats why its life and not a well-scripted play! so people who judge you on that are, like you said, sticking to a rule book and are unimaginative :-)
`zoxcleb
cool that you thought of the same song! its quite fitting isn't it! oooh, i like what Snoopy says! :-)
haha..made me relive the last 2 years of my life ..there is so much you wanna do , so much you can do but just cannot cos everytime you are about to decide something , no matter how small or big it is ,that nagging sense of uncertainty comes back from somewhere and spoils it all !!
But i don't know if this thing is ever going to disappear from life..you manage one cross road only to find yourself land up in another ..life has its ways of throwing this to you ...
I can tell you the best way is to start enjoying uncertainty..though i myself have never been able to do that :-))
"Where do you see yourself 5 yrs from now?"---well don't you think,they should first be listing down all their competitors before posing that question ? , 5 yrs is a long time after all :-)
hey this questions suits to corporates as they always keep on giving targets etc., ..it sukcs ur life. I can say i cannot even perdeict for next week....I live one day a time..Insurance , mediclaim aah..iam sick of all this to plan for future..I have made only plan that at age of 50 i will be financially free and retired person and will be moving around globe.This only one plan i have chokced out.;) :)...
good post
`shilpi
yeah, u're right.. uncertainty is an integral part, and things are not entirely in our control... so planning ahead doesnt always seem feasible.. earlier there was the uncertainty of 'what after 10th?', then 12th, then after college, then job, then change of job, then marriage, then change of city etc etc etc.. there is always something that catches u off-guard and makes u indecisive about small things like Salsa classes! Hehehehe..
`manish
yeah, 5 yrs, I'll either be in your seat or your competitor's :-))
`vikas
exactly what I mean... broadly you know where you want to be, but you can't say "I'm going to retire in XYZ city".. you don't have control over that.. so will you buy property there now for retirement? Maybe so, but I, unfortunately, can't do that.. too far ahead for me to think about it now! Hehehehe..
hey join the salsa i suggest...carpe dium..live for the moment ;) and to all the recruiters who ask about the 5 year thingi...ask them back..the eyes might just pop out...;) once again..join :)cheers
kal kya hoga kisko khabar
abhi zindagi ka le lo maza
easier said than done...wish i could do it myself...but amm caught in the mundane...
anyway we must do the salsa thing...or for me i should atleast try... need to get the chest movement right ( sounds corny he he)
And everytime, I am asked that question, I put on a callous look and answer, 'Er, yeah. The manager of this company. :)' And in my mind, the words that are running are, 'Not a dimwit manager who asks stupid questions to evaluate employees.'
i went through some of ur previous posts, its a gr8 blog
Time, changer of seasons, time will see another flower growing.
Climb over the mountains, there you'll find warm winds blowing.
Somewhere in the world there is peace of mind.
Somewhere in the world that's what I must find.
Somewhere in the world there's a place for me in this world.
-Boney M
all i want to say is, Wow! and yeah.. sorry for not regularly replying to ur comments on my blog.
Live for the moment
with plans for shelter ahead
for some sort of storm is always coming
wether is be with hail, or a brainwave from your head
`dewaker
thanks, yes I guess I will do that..
`the vestige
chest, hips, hands.. hehehe.. we need to practice everything! :-))
`individualist
hehehe.. good one!
`ajay
thanks.. keep visiting :-)
`anon
somewhere there is a place for me in this world... hmmm.. so true...
`commander coriander
yes, life's all about storms and the calm before the storms! is this why one sometimes can't let oneself be too happy, knowing that disaster could be round the corner?
`mona
hi.. first time u've visited my blog i guess.. yes life is unpredictable.. but in my case almost everything turns out the way i plan, if and when i plan at all (which is rare!)! so it's worse in a way!
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