Why ‘Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?’ is out of date

It’s normal for generations Y, Z to get horrified by this question

Choosing a career path. Design by OTCHO.

We are all searching for certainty towards work success. And with ‘all’ I mean both employees as well as employers.

As for employers, HR is stressing us out with the ‘Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?’ question to make sure we are a good fit for the company. On top of that, the media comes along screaming that the latest generation has never job-hopped so much and that we are all pain in the asses for it. For sure, HR wants to avoid that, so asking the right questions is crucial.

Does it make sense to think about where we see ourselves in five to ten years? Does it make sense for a recruiter to ask us this question?

Give young people a break

Let’s start with some numbers.

• The average life expectancy in Europe in 2020, is 80.4 years. [1]
• The average retirement age in Europe in 2018, is about 64 years. [2]
• Meanwhile, the average time a European employee stayed with her employer in 2020, was about 10 years. [3]

So, essentially, the ‘Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?’ question makes sense. Essentially, you are asked whether you plan on staying in the company and whether they should bother investing in you.

The only issue I have with these numbers, is that they don’t control for the ‘identity searching’ part. Are we really supposed to have the 80 years of our lives figured out at 20?

I would want to state ‘of course not’, but unfortunately that’s not how society was built. Today, in many European countries, you make your first study choice at 12 years old.

Then, if we assume that you start working at 24 years old and you retire around 64, then you have about 4 cycles of 10 years to shape your life at work. For sure, the first 10-year cycle is entirely different from the fourth? You are figuring things out. You are learning what works for you and what doesn’t.

So, as a first conclusion, I would argue that asking the ‘Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?’ question does not make sense in the first cycle. Regardless of your generation and regardless of the education system, which is outdated anyway.

The classroom, 100 years ago vs. now

Why generations Y, Z have a harder time answering this question

Second, there is a fundamental difference between the generations prior to and post 2000. The world has changed tremendously and it shifted our mindsets.

First, let’s zoom out. From a scientific perspective, we know that people are influenced by who they are surrounded with. It’s a biological reaction to secure the highest chances of survival. We are tribal creatures. We need to be ‘part of’ the group. If left alone, we are dead.

Maybe this is less true today. We are in an era where ‘danger’ is no longer dodging a lion. Though the behavior to be accepted is still engrained in our bodies. Therefore, we unconsciously shape our thinking and habits to those around us. You are doing this whether you like it or not. [4]

That means that if society commonly decides on a certain ‘definition of success’, you will probably follow that definition party or entirely.

The thing is; definitions change with each generation. [5][6]

• The ‘Greatest Generation’ (people born 1901–1927) grew up during the Great Depression and fought in World War II. Given their tough circumstances, they were obsessed with economic security when raising their children. They raised their kids to build practical and secure careers.
• The ‘Silent Generation’ (people born 1928–1945) survived the Great Depression and was born during periods of war. Hence, they are small in number and were generally raised as kids to be seen and not heard. They raised their kids to long for a secure job and live quiet, idyllic lives.
• The ‘Baby Boomers’ (people born 1946–1964) popularized the ‘live to work’. They put in years of effort to get promoted and, as economy was good, they did even better than expected. They raised their kids with optimism and possibilities. As long as their kids worked for it, they could become whoever they wanted to be.
• ‘Generation X’ (people born 1965–1980) rides further on that wave. Career goals become more ambitious and the Internet leaves an entrepreneurial vibe. ‘Gen X’ kids are told they can be whatever they want — with one big difference — they get an extra sauce of ‘You are special’.
• ‘Generation Y’ or ‘Millennials’ (people born 1981–1995) are now most likely to suffer from mental illness as there is an immense pressure to ‘succeed’ in their own ‘unique’ and ‘special’ way. Social media is creating a picture-perfect world while everyone is trying to keep up with the financial reality of rising unemployment and increasing debt. Homeownership gets delayed, marriage postponed.
• ‘Generation Z’ (people born 1996–2015) is now the first truly digital native generation. Many receive their first cell phones before 11 years old. They are more aware of social injustice and political issues. They possess more emotional intelligence and are more likely to partake in activism.

Consequently, all of the above shapes us. Who we are, who we want to become and who we will work toward.

People are figuring out what they want to do with their lives in their twenties. and the generations Y and Z especially need more time to do that. They have the ‘luxury’ not needing to worry about survival in war or choosing one company for the rest of their lives.

On the other hand, their possibilities have become so endless that they are slapping people into identity crises. Internet, broader acceptance of work-life balance and side jobs make people experience FOMO (‘Fear Of Missing Out’). Commitment to one path of work is incredibly difficult.

So, ‘Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?’ is a horrifying question to ask, and even more horrifying to answer.

Answering this question means you need to say goodbye to an endless amount of possibilities you haven’t even discovered yet. And when you make a decision, you are reminded of what you are missing out on, every single day. Social media will make sure of that.

You not only have to ‘succeed’ in public, with your social media channels being your second bosses, but you also learn about new possibilities every single day. Talking about having a strong footing…

Is this all an excuse to make job-hopping acceptable?

Don’t blindly swallow the data.

If you google ‘job-hopping’, you will find multiple articles and research stating that generations Y, Z job-hop more than other generations.

A survey by CareerBuilder presents that the average length of time spent at a job is going down from around eight years for baby boomers, to around five for Gen X, to around three for Gen Y, and to around two for Gen Z. [7]

A 2016 Gallup report on Gen Y also found that they tend to job-hop more than other groups: 21% of millennials said they’ve changed jobs within the past year — more than three times the number of non-millennials who reported the same. [8]

But is that all sides of reality?

We are comparing data from younger people to their older counterparts.

These are people who are in a different 10-year cycle.

In 2017, Pew Research Center found that Gen Y people were just as likely to stick with their employers as their older counterparts in Gen X. Among the college-educated, the preceding Gen Y even had longer track records than Gen X. [9] Of course, we need to wait for more studies to follow, but…

It’s about comparing data that makes sense.

A comment from Greg, part of Gen X, on job-hopping

Additionally, we have a tendency to complain about our younger generations anyway.

Have a look at this quote. Does it sound like something they would say about Gen Y, Z today?

The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.

This quote comes from Socrates, of all people. It is contributed to the period of 469–399 B.C.

We have been questioning our younger generations for as long as we can remember.

Conclusion

So does it make sense to ask ‘Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?’

I would state the question is outdated for younger people from generations Y and Z. Why?

1. People are figuring out what they want to do in the first 10-year cycle of their working career, regardless of their generation.
2. Gen Y and Z have unprecedently more possibilities than older generations, resulting in ‘FOMO’. The question freaks them out.
3. Changing the question is not an excuse for job-hopping. We have been questioning our younger generations for as long as we can remember. It’s about comparing data that makes sense.

A better question would be: ‘How can we ensure continuous and transparent communication about, on the one hand, your progression needs and on the other hand, our needs as a company?’

Sources

[4] Atomic Habits, chapter 9: The role of family and friends in shaping your habits, James Clear