Often, hiring managers ask about your future goals to determine whether or not you’re looking to stay with the company in the long term. Additionally, this question is used to gauge your ambition, expectations for your career and your ability to plan ahead. The best way to handle this question is to determine your current career trajectory and how this role plays into helping you reach your ultimate goals.
Example: “I would like to continue developing my marketing expertise as well as my leadership skills over the next several years. One of the reasons I’m interested in working for a fast-growing start-up company is that I’ll have the ability to wear many hats and collaborate with many different departments. I believe this experience will serve me well in achieving my ultimate goal of leading a marketing department someday.”
A significant investment in a process is made only when someone is looking for a long-term solution or answer to a requirement, they feel vacancy exists in their organization. So, when an interviewer asks you about your expectations from your career in coming future, they want to see if your goals align with what the company is looking for in that profile.
Another part of the question is to see if you are a good planner, with a vision about your career track in near and far future. It also checks if the candidate knows properly about the job profile he or she is applying for, with proper knowledge about the company’s organizational structure and hierarchy to plan the career track.
Try to proceed towards the answer with finding a relevance from your educational background , work experience or even field of interest to align with the job profile you are applying for, with enough signals to indicate that you are aligned with the company and the job role not only because of the salary package, but also because you find yourself here comfortable and naturally.