Are you a goal-oriented person?
Are you a goal-oriented person?
Why the interviewer is asking this question:
The question is asked for two reasons: 1) to find out if you set (and achieve) goals in your work; and 2) what your primary motivators are in your work and your life in general.
The best approach to answering this question:
If you have a goal (or, ideally, several goals) which you recently accomplished and are related to the role for which you are interviewing, these are the ideal goals to reference in answering the question. The question technically only requires a yes/no, but you should answer it affirmatively (“Yes…”), then follow with an example of a recent goal you have achieved.
An example of how to best answer this question for experienced candidates:
"Yes I am. I have several key goals set for my role that I am seeking to accomplish over the course of the coming year. Let me tell you about one that I recently accomplished ahead of schedule…"
An example of how to best answer this question for entry level candidates:
"Yes I am. I have quite a few goals that I have set for myself in my education and career preparation. An example of achieving one of my recent goals was securing an internship this past summer…"
An example of how you should not answer this question:
"I guess so. Although my life has been so busy, I’ve kinda given up on trying to complete my goals, so I have a lot of goals that are in a half-finished stage. I never seem to be able to complete them, since there always seems to be something else more important getting in the way…"
About the author: Brian Krueger founded CollegeGrad.com in 1995 and is the former Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition at Amazon.com, where he led a global team of more than 100 recruiters. He is the author of College Grad Job Hunter, the best-selling entry level job search book, and has interviewed more than 10,000 job candidates over a 20-year hiring career at Fortune 500 companies. He wrote the interview advice on this page.
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Similar interview questions:
What are your career goals?
What are your life goals?
Tell me about a goal you have accomplished.
What is the most important goal you have accomplished in your life to date?
Further review: know the answers to these Standard Interview Questions to be fully prepared for your interview!