Three questions, about thirty seconds. Find out whether the job in front of you is a step toward what you want or a detour, and what to say either way.
An interviewer asking about five years is not curious about five years. They are working out whether the first year of their job is a step you wanted anyway or a holding pattern you will leave. You can answer that honestly without committing to anything, and it is worth knowing which one it is before you decide how to talk about it.
How clear your five-year direction is, and how much this job moves you toward it.
How long you would actually stay. The width of the range is part of the answer.
Whether this job is on your line, and the wording to use given what you said.
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An interviewer asking about five years is not curious about five years. They are working out one thing: whether the first year of their job is a step you wanted anyway, or a holding pattern you will leave.
You can answer that honestly without committing to anything. Three questions, about thirty seconds, and you will know whether this job is on your line or beside it before you decide how to talk about it.
Three questions
How clear are you on where you want to be in five years?5
Not whether it is impressive. Whether you could describe it to someone in one sentence.
How much does this job move you toward it?5
Based on what you actually know about the role so far, not what you hope it becomes.
Realistically, how long would you stay?
Drag both ends. The honest answer is a range, and how wide it is tells you something on its own.
1 to 3 years