How to answer 'where do you see yourself in 5 years' for position if plan to reapply to residency?

[Slippers]

I am a new pharmacy grad, looking for a pharmacist job. I did initially want to do a residency, but I did not match this year. I may reapply in the future, but if I do, this would not be until a couple of years later, if at all. (After all, I'd need to accomplish something to show that I had improved my application, right?) So if I am to get an interview, how do I answer "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" Should I tell the interviewer I am potentially interested in a residency within the 5 year future or would this make them disinterested in me, seeing me as someone who they will only have to replace? I suppose for a retail position, I could potentially advance to be a student preceptor or a pharmacist in charge, but what type of advancements would be possible for a hospital staff pharmacist? Do they allow staff pharmacists to precept students and move up into management and such?

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[Seriously Serious]

I am a new pharmacy grad, looking for a pharmacist job. I did initially want to do a residency, but I did not match this year. I may reapply in the future, but if I do, this would not be until a couple of years later, if at all. (After all, I'd need to accomplish something to show that I had improved my application, right?) So if I am to get an interview, how do I answer "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" Should I tell the interviewer I am potentially interested in a residency within the 5 year future or would this make them disinterested in me, seeing me as someone who they will only have to replace? I suppose for a retail position, I could potentially advance to be a student preceptor or a pharmacist in charge, but what type of advancements would be possible for a hospital staff pharmacist? Do they allow staff pharmacists to precept students and move up into management and such?

From what I've seen, moving into a management position in the hospital requires (or strongly preferred) at least a PGY1 residency and/or an MBA/MHA/MPH. I've also gathered that moving from a staff position to a PGY training program is frowned upon because you are essentially demoting yourself. If you were interested in PGY training, maybe you should reapply in the next cycle but to programs that are realistically achievable? That or work as a staff pharmacist for 5+ years and obtain an MBA from a decent school and apply broadly to BFE management positions eventually working your way back to the city.

 

[Abby Atwood]

I don't know, so hopefully some of the RPDs on here will weigh in. I think you may want to reapply this cycle if you plan to reapply. I've heard that people a year out from graduation are looked at with a fair bit of suspicion by residency programs and that your odds of matching drastically decrease. It probably gets worse as you get farther out.

Granted, match statistics don't give you all the specifics. People like me who didn't have all the qualifications necessary to match on their first attempt would probably need to make up some ground for the next cycle. Since interviews seem to be pretty spreadsheet and point tally based, I wonder if there are actual point reductions built in that penalize years out of school. Again, I don't really know.

This is just my two cents, but you may want to think about the job you are currently applying to in isolation rather than as a launch pad during the interview process. What do you hope to accomplish within the job system you are trying to enter. When I applied to my current job, I talked about board certification in 4 years.

Addendum: even if you decide to pursue residency, it's not a lie. You are seeking board certification, you just decided that residency training was a faster path.

 

[smercer]

If it is for a hospital position, then simply say that you will be looking to hone your knowledge and take on a more clinical role. This is exactly what a residency will do. However, do not say you are going to be looking to do the residency or leave the position within a year. The cost of training someone is not worth bringing you in to simply have to do the whole process over in 1-2 years.

If it is for a retail position, then don't even mention you ever applied to residency or wanted anything other than retail. Similarly, they do not want to bring in someone who is going to dip for the first hospital position or for a residency.

You may see this is as lying, but sadly, being upfront typically just means you get cut. They want the safe option and unless you know the hiring people, they really are not going to want to bring in someone who the know will be trying to leave quickly.

 

[Bosno]

There's no reason to tell them something that specific that you want to do in 5 years. What I usually say is that I see myself continuing to improve as a pharmacist and gain more knowledge through work and self-learning to expand my impact as a pharmacist. This is true to where I actually see myself in 5 years, but broad enough to keep my options open. This has seemed to work for me in all of my interviews.

Those questions aren't meant as a trap to make you tell them that you want to move up in the company and manage in the future (unless that's what you actually want to do). Not everyone wants to manage or move up the corporate ladder and that's okay. You can say that you want to grow and become a great and well respected leader instead.

But again, if you really do want to manage in the future, then by all means tell them.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Well, from what I learned this week from John Oliver, it is not perfectly acceptable to say that you yourself dead from a nuclear bombing or in the middle of a nuclear wasteland in 5 years.