Describe your short-term career goals and how Morgan Stanley can help you achieve these goals.
The hiring managers at Morgan Stanley want to understand how this firm's job opportunity fits your short-term career goals. The goal of your response is to show the decision-makers that your immediate and near-future career desires align with what Morgan Stanley can offer.
Short-term career goals are targets that you believe will help you achieve your long-term career objectives. Short-term goals are achievable and meant to keep you motivated on your journey to your larger, long-term goals. Short-term career goals should also help you meet specific work-related objectives over a shorter period, perhaps in 12 months or less.
Having clarity on your short-term goals is the key to delivering a memorable response. If you're unsure of what qualifies as a short-term goal, consider a few of these examples:
- Completing a new certification, workshop, or course
- Improving soft skills such as interpersonal communication or industry networking
- Developing hard skills such as becoming a power user in a particular program
- Reading more business books related to your industry or profession
When discussing short-term career goals, be sure that these goals are clear and related to the job opportunity at Morgan Stanley. You can break down your response using this simple framework:
"In the short term, I would like to (insert an achievable goal). So far, I have (describe the action steps you've taken so far). To meet this goal, I plan to (discuss the action steps you plan to take)."
The average HireVue interview takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. This one-way video interview typically includes 3-5 questions. Depending on the HireVue parameters set by Morgan Stanley, the asynchronous interview platform will generally give you 30 seconds to prepare a response and up to 2 minutes to answer each question. It's important to note that HireVue stops recording as soon as your time limit is up, so it's better to run under time than overtime.
"I have worked as a finance analyst for eight years now and have set my sights on earning a promotion to finance manager. I have committed to upskilling my mentorship and leadership abilities to achieve this short-term goal. I am taking an online course called "Personality Types at Work," provided by the University of Florida. My natural interpersonal skills helped me develop meaningful relationships with my peers. Now I'd like to learn more about personality types so that I can be an impactful leader when the opportunity arises. I understand that Morgan Stanley emphasizes the growth and development of its team members, and I look forward to achieving more leadership and mentorship-related goals in this role."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
In 6 months to 1 year, I will -
Get up to speed with all internal, regulatory, and company procedures, systems
Build a network of resources - knowledge building, best practices, support, training
Refine and adjust my business plan
Sharpen my prospecting skills and develop a disciplined daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly approach, with regular feedback from successful advisors
Marcie's Feedback
These are all excellent short-term career goals that show how you will get off to a great start at the company. Good job! Don't forget to also talk about how the company can assist you in achieving these goals. (Can they provide helpful training and a good onboarding experience? Can they supply you with training resources and materials? Can they give you a 'buddy' who will answer your questions and introduce you to your new colleagues? Can your manager outline their expectations for you early on so you know what you need to accomplish?)
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