What do you want to be doing five years from now?

"What do you want to be doing five years from now?"
"Where do you see yourself in five years?"

This is a similar question to the short term question, but you should answer it a little differently. Here are some examples.

Short Answers
"In five years, I see myself as a valued employee of a company. I want to be an expert at my position and start training to be a manager."

"In five years, I want to be a senior analyst. I want my expertise to directly impact the company in a positive way."

"My goal is to become a lead in five years. Although not everyone gets promoted to this level, I believe I can achieve this goal through hard work."

"Although I really enjoy working hands on as a mechanical engineer, I want to eventually become a manager. I want to continue gaining experience, and after learning many different aspects, I see myself in management."

Long Answers

"Five years from now, I would like to see myself in a management position. I'm going to be learning and gaining practical experience until then, but eventually, I want to become a marketing manager. I know there are a lot of things to learn, but I'm going to be working hard for the next five years. I believe opportunities come to great workers and I'm going to try to be one of them."

"Five years from now, I want to be a senior sales manager. I'm currently training to become a manager, and if I continue to work hard, I feel I'll have a management position soon. After gaining several years of experience as a sales manager, I want to be in a position where I can train and provide my expertise to newer sales managers."

Both answers display characteristics of working hard. The second example also mentions that he or she wants to train newer managers. This is a good answer because it targets one good trait about upper management... the ability to train managers.