For the first time in my life it’s been me doing the interrogation, sitting on the other side of the table and asking the questions of prospective employees. Writing the interview questions was an eye opener, as well as raiding Google and noting down all the obvious ones, I found myself thinking back to the questions that had caught me out at previous interviews and slipping them in for good measure. I told myself that it was because they were pertinent and deep reaching, but really I think it was a case of wanting my newbies to go through the traumas I had. Mean? Perhaps, but I worked my butt off to get into the world of publishing and I think any future employee needs to be willing to do the same – and that all starts with having smart answers to tough questions.
So, I learnt a lot from the process (for instance, the ones who interview well can’t always proofread well) and I have a new starter beginning on Monday. Hurrah!
But there’s always been one interview question that’s perturbed me most – ‘where do you see yourself in five years?’. Not only is it so easy to give a wrong answer (will the answer ‘I want your job’ land you nods of approval for your go-getting attitude or get your interviewer on the defensive and ready to kick you out the door?) but it’s a concept I find challenging at the best of times. Cos, well, ultimately I have no idea where I’ll be in five years’ time.
Numerous friends and family members can recite their own five year plans as if they’re reading out their Chinese order, and hell, many of them are well on their way to achieving their goals, but I dunno, maybe it just doesn’t work for me. I have rough plans and at the beginning of each year I outline my goals for the coming 12 months but thinking five whole years ahead is a bit scary. I might not even be here in five years for all I know! And it gets scarier as 30 approaches – cos all women of my age know that when 30’s around the corner, you gotta have a five year plan. If you want to have kids you’re going to have to make that decision and do something about it, ideally in the next five years. Eeps. There’s nowt like pressure is there?
But perhaps there’s something to be said for living spontaneously, as long as you don’t regret anything you missed out on doing, because you were too busy to plan in the dirty nappies. And that’s always the worry – that regret that you can’t see from where you’re standing now but five, or ten years, down the line it could be a different story.
So I didn’t ask the five year question to my interviewees, it seemed unfair to expect them to have an answer to something I can honestly say I don’t. As long as they do a good job and pull their weight, we’ll go with the flow and see where they end up in five years. That is if I’m still there managing them and not on a beach in Australia or knee deep in dirty nappies.
angiecranfield
