How should I talk about my career goals in an interview?

Welcome to Pressing Questions, Fast Company’s work-life advice column. Every week, deputy editor Kathleen Davis, host of The New Way We Work podcast, will answer the biggest and most pressing workplace questions.

Q: How should I talk about my career goals in an interview? A: It may feel uncomfortable to talk about your ambition to do bigger and better things when you’re interviewing. But, even if you aren’t asked some variation of the clichéd interview question, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” it’s still a good idea to bring up your career goals during an interview.

Here’s how to do it:

Demonstrate a willingness to grow

One way to talk about your goals is to focus on growth and learning rather than achieving a certain job title. Afterall, think how much the world has changed in the last five years. It’s a fool’s errand to try to predict what exactly you’ll be doing or where the company will be in the future. Similarly, promises with bravado like “I’ll be CEO,” or “I’ll be making a lot more money for this company,” will almost certainly backfire with most hiring managers.

Recruiting expert and Fast Company contributor Lars Schmidt says it’s often a mistake to try calculating a direct benefit for the employer. “Today’s workers are more likely to be on a nonlinear path,” he says. He advises instead to “consider shifting the answer to frame it around intangibles, knowledge, and experience you hope to have gained in [the future].”

Show that you have reasonable expectations

It’s important to come across as motivated and even ambitious in an interview, but you also want to show that you are realistic. Just like you shouldn’t outline an exact time-frame or job title, you shouldn’t forecast too far into the future. You can talk about skills you hope to learn and projects you’d like to work on in your first year on the job, both will help your (hopefully) future manager know how to help guide your professional development.

After that, you can mention a longer term aspiration. It’s also a good opportunity to turn the tables and ask about growth opportunities in the role to get a sense of if the job is a fit for your goals.

If you don’t know

All of this advice is good if you know your career goals, but what if you’re unsure? Don’t BS with something you think the interviewer wants to hear. I guarantee you aren’t that good of an actor and you will come off as disingenuous. You can be honest and say you don’t have a full picture of what you’d like the future to look like, but then mention some things that interest you and tie those to what interests you about the role or company.After that you can also turn the tables to help get a picture about what a future at the company might look like for you. I’ll always remember when a candidate did this to me during an interview by asking me about my career path and how I ended up in my position.It was a smart way for her to understand the company’s approach to career development and promotion without asking outright. And, as a bonus, people generally like talking about themselves and this framing shows you’ve done a little research into the person who is interviewing you.

What more advice on talking about career goals in an interview?

• How to nail the most annoying interview question ever
• How to answer questions about your career goals when you’re unsure
• Here’s how you can prepare for these common interview questions
• The secret meanings behind four of the most common interview questions
• How to answer “where do you see yourself in five years?”