Got rejected for answering “where do you see yourself in five years?” honestly. And the interview was a cringefest.

I recently applied for a tech internship and got through all the rounds of the process (test, technical interviews of three rounds) and finally got to the HR round of the interview. And it is said in my uni that whoever makes to the HR round has most certainly got the offer. So I was confident. My technical interviews were good, answered most of their questions, they were looking for someone who had a similar profile that of mine. So I thought, what could go wrong?

Well, in the HR round, it started off with the normal introduction etc., the interviewer seemes laid back and friendly, it was more of a conversation and less of an interview…and after a while the age-old question popped up : “where do you see yourself in five years?” So, as confident and comfortable I had become, I said : “I think I'd be looking for my own startup/business as I'd have enough experience of the industry in 5 years or so.” Then he goes : “yeah no but, what is your short-term goal?” Me : “as of now, I want to get into the tech industry and learn more about tech as I have zero experience.” Him : “then why do you think you'll be a good fit for ?” This is where I started to get what he was trying to get out of me. And I was hell-bent on not giving him what he wanted. So I went on : “I think that would be a good fit for me as the profile you are looking for matches my interest, so I'll be able to see what's the real-life experience is like, working with those technologies. I'll have an experience as well.” He tried asking me the same question by turning it up and down and reframing it multiple times, but got the same answer. I'm not gonna start larping for your company and start entertaining you about why would I be a good wage slave to your corporation. I'm not gonna say I'll stick to your company as if I owe something to them, even before actually getting into it. I was nothing but honest about my goals and plans of the future, of my future, and told you because you asked.