Let’s understand with the help of an example:
Interviewer: “What are you long term career aspirations?”
Interviewee1: “I look forward to leverage my expertise in ‘Software Development’ at an MNC that offers me challenging job roles and a wider arena to work and perform.”
Clearly, the interviewee is pretty assertive of his needs. He wishes to secure a job in a large organization that provides him with a higher DESIGNATION, a better PAY PACKAGE and more exposure.
Interviewee2: “I look forward to enhance my expertise in ‘Software Development’ and hone other relevant skills as well. My dream is to have hands-on experience in as many technical projects as I can post which I become well adept at the skill I have chosen to work upon.”
Interviewee 2 is more realistic. He is NOT INTERESTED in fancy designations and pay packages but he intends to master the skill that he possesses. Further, he wishes to develop other related skills as well.
If the interviewer is looking for a sincere and hard working candidate; he might select the second interviewee.
Note: It is important to be clear about your aspirations but it equally important to state them appropriately.
What are your short term and long term goals/objectives?
There are two kinds of objectives that a person can have in their professional life, the short term career objectives and the long term career objectives.
Short term career objectives are quite simple, like getting a higher post in a few years or months, or learning a new skill so that you can become more productive for the company or even earning a certain amount per month by a particular time. These are the answers that you can provide when you are asked what your short term career aspirations are. In some cases, you can also speak about any dream company that you would like to work with as your short term career aspirations.
When it comes to long term career aspirations, you can go a bit ambiguous and even out of