How To Navigate An Internal Job Switch At Your Current Company

 Navigating an internal job switch is one of the best and easiest ways to find a new role you’re excited about.

Making internal switches is a great way to get promoted, receive pay bumps, grow your skill set, and remove yourself from toxic situations.

When pursuing this option, there are two elements you have to consider: the political and the tactical.

The Political

If you are considering an internal switch, you’ll want to ask yourself two questions:

1. Have you been in your current role for at least two years? (this is the minimum amount of time that MOST companies / hiring managers expect you to stay in your current role when they hire you)
2. Does your current manager know that you are exploring other opportunities? In an ideal world, you will tell them (regardless of how long it has been) and get their buy-in before you try to move.

If that answer to both questions is yes, you should be able to job switch internally with ease.

If the answer to either question is no, you can still switch jobs internally, but there’s a bit more nuance to the process.

You’ll want to find out from HR if you’re even allowed to switch roles within your time frame, or if doing so requires your manager’s approval.

When seeking out this information, try to do so off the record so that you don’t sound any alarms about job searching to your manager.

Now that you have considered the political, you can move onto the tactical (i.e. how you actually make this transition happen).

The Tactical

Using your internal jobs tool, you should be able to look up who the hiring manager is for a given role. If it’s helpful, you might be able to look up org charts and identify peers on the team as well.

Start by reaching out to the hiring manager. Let them know who you are, the work that you’ve done at the company thus far, and why you’re interested in the role on their team.

Express interest and ask them if you should apply or not. If they say yes, there’s a good chance you’ll at least get an interview!

A couple additional considerations:

1. If your manager DOES NOT know you are searching, you will want to state this to the new hiring manager. Ask them if it’s possible to interview off the record and communicate WHY you are hiding this from your current manager.
   
   Be VERY CAREFUL when navigating this. If your current manager finds out you are job searching behind your back…things can get very awkward, very fast.

2. If there’s a team that you are really interested in joining internally, consider reaching out to the hiring manager BEFORE they have an open role on their team.
   
   Introduce yourself, express your interest, and ask if you can take on any side projects.
   
   Ideally, let your manager know that you are doing this, and assure them that it will not impact your current deliverables.
   
   This is the best way to build a relationship ahead of time and become the first person the hiring manager thinks of when they hire for new roles.

And there you have it! That’s how to navigate an internal job search like a pro and ensure that you don’t burn any bridges along the way.