HOW TO PROVE YOU ARE READY FOR INTERNAL PROMOTION

Getting a promotion, while providing a sense of achievement, also has many other benefits. Moving up the ladder in your company shows your loyalty, which is always impressive, and means you don’t have go to the trouble of applying and interviewing at another company.

BE PREPARED TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP ALONG YOUR CAREER PATH

At some point in your career you’re likely to want to change roles within a company. Whether you are putting yourself forward for a promotion or considering stepping sideways into a different position, this guide can help.

INTERNAL V EXTERNAL: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Different factors are in play when you go for a job within an organisation you already work for, as opposed to with a new company. To some extent you’re a known quantity – you may work with the people evaluating you – and the recruitment process is likely to be less structured, involving chats and meetings rather than formal interviews, especially for more senior roles.

This can be both positive and negative. Although you have good access to internal opportunities they can be hard to attain – you are competing against colleagues with similar experience and managers may have preconceived ideas about your abilities, which can work in your favour or not.

It’s important not to be fooled into thinking early conversations about a potential new role aren’t being evaluated. You may not be asked the ‘tell me a time when’ style questions you would face at an external interview (take a look at our guide to behavioural interviews for more on those) that focus on events in your career and your skills. But you will be asked, more subtly, about your motivations, management style and the experiences that validate them.

DON’T SKIP THE PREPARATION

Getting yourself ready for this selection process is just as important as for an external interview. But it’s often overlooked by people who assume there is little they can or need to do, either because they are already known by those doing the hiring or were asked to apply for the job. But you should prepare and you should do so in a way that shows you are ready for a change or promotion, rather than that you are perfect for a particular job (as you might with a new company).

• Think about what makes you ready, how you’ve progressed successfully up to that point and the characteristics that make you who you are. For example: why do people listen to you, why don’t they, how do you influence others, what are you really like to work for? Spend less time thinking about how to summarize your career accomplishments and delivering answers to generic questions.
• Find out what other people think of you. Although you might feel a little uncomfortable doing it, ask two or three colleagues to go for a coffee for an open conversation about your strengths and weaknesses. Share how you perceive yourself (your management style and areas for improvement, for instance) and ask them for their views to get things started. It’s a difficult conversation but will really help you understand your characteristics and attributes, and how to frame them in a career discussion.
• Extend your network.If you are keen to move around a company develop relationships with people you can learn from and who can connect you with other parts of the business. This is an ongoing process that takes time but will have a huge impact on your chances of success. Although bear in mind you can influence, but not control, the opinions your contacts form about you.

THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR DURING AN INTERVIEW

Here are some tips to think about during conversations with internal managers and recruiters:

• Don’t hide failure.If you can demonstrate that you’ve learned when something hasn’t gone well it’s just as valuable as a success.
• Be concise. At the start of an internal interview you’re likely to be asked to talk about your current situation. An easy enough question. But one that can prompt an interviewee to deliver a monologue that includes a life history, work history, career accomplishments and why they’re the right person for the job in a breathless five minutes. Try to keep it short and let your capabilities come out during the rest of the conversation, rather than cramming them all in at the beginning.
• Practise your answerto the above question. Make sure it takes less than 60 seconds to deliver and positions you well for the rest of the conversation by leaving you with plenty more to say. Writing down and reciting to a friend or colleague how you might respond authentically to certain discussion topics or questions is a good way to prepare and will help you edit your answers so they are short and clear.
• Be honest and authentic.Your hiring manager will contact others leaders in the company who know you when you apply for a job internally. You don’t want them to be told things that conflict with how you’ve presented yourself. You need to show you understand who you are – your personality, strengths and weaknesses – and be able to bring that to life, otherwise it will ring alarm bells. As mentioned earlier, asking colleagues for their feedback beforehand can help with this.
• Don’t fall back on generic phrases. Saying you’re a ‘passionate leader’ doesn’t really say that much. Instead think about ways you can show how you are a passionate leader to differentiate yourself from others.

Being honest and showing self-awareness is far more compelling than creating a heightened version of yourself that you think will impress at an interview. It’ll also mean there won’t be inconsistencies with your everyday performance and personality that could come back to bite you.

FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER:

1. Demonstrate readiness for the job, not perfection.
2. Stay authentic, consistent and concise.
3. Find out what others think about you.
4. Share your qualities and attributes slowly during an interview.
5. Practice with someone that’s prepared to be honest.