The Internal Job Interview

An internal job interview is when you are interviewing with your current employer for another position in the firm.

Depending on your specific situation, there might be some protocol regarding applying for a job inside your own firm ie. do you tell your manager you are applying for the job?

I once applied for an internal job within the company I was working for and told my manager I was applying for it. I had a good relationship with my boss and he was changing jobs himself having been promoted to another part of the company.

Since he knew the hiring manager of the job I was applying for, I figured it could only help if my current manager told the hiring manager I was the right person for the job and put the good word in for me, which he did.

In some respects – assuming you have a good name in the company – applying for an internal position within your current employer might lead to a quicker and perhaps streamlined interview process.

Since you are already working for the company, the hiring manager might skip the reference check process (or perhaps just have a conversation with your current manager to alleviate any concerns).

In this case, your company might be happy to promote from within and hire an internal candidate like yourself which could save them time and money as opposed to hiring an external candidate.

You might have a specific reason for not letting your manager or colleagues know you are applying for an internal job so you'll need to decide this for yourself.

In my personal experience, I saw only benefits to telling my boss since I knew he'd only help my cause by letting the hiring manager know about my good qualities.

During an internal job interview you might find that the interview itself may operate a bit differently than if you were an external candidate since you are already working for the company.

Having said all of this, remember to consider how you will feel and react if you are rejected for the job and they end up hiring someone else, perhaps another internal candidate or an external candidate.

Also consider what you know about the hiring manager of the job you're applying for and what they know about you.

-Does this hiring manager know you or do they know nothing about you?
-What does this hiring manager know about the department you work in or the work you've done within the company?
-What do you know about the hiring manager?

Remember that if the job you're applying for is being advertised by a hiring manager who does not know you – or who has a negative opinion of you or of the department you work in – the fact you are an existing employee may not help you at all.

Should you receive an internal job interview remember to prepare for it like you would for any interview but also remember to think about how your existing company knowledge could be used to your advantage.