Job Seeker Blog - Spark Hire

Internal Job Interview Tips

An internal job interview is an interview for a position in the company you currently work for. There are definite perks to doing an internal job interview. For one, you already know a lot about the company and their practices. However, you must also realize that despite being hired with the company already this is still an important and formal interview. Your superiors have recognized your hard work at the company and want to demonstrate that they value your work by interviewing you for a higher position. The company wants your loyalty and skills, but first you have to prove it in your internal job interview.

As the Chron states, you should treat this internal job interview like any other formal job interview. This requires you to dress appropriately and come in a professionally early manner. You may already know who will be interviewing you, so familiarize yourself with their position in the company and think of pertinent questions to ask them.

There may not be a lot of research involved like in other job interviews, but you still need to gather substantial evidence from your time working with the company that demonstrates what you’ve achieved and what you hope to achieve in the future by being hired to a higher position. Be sure to present this to the interviewer so they know you are serious about this new position. Gather a list of successful projects you have done- this will make it easier to reference them.

Familiarize yourself with the position you are interviewing for. Consider what the person who had previously held it did. The more you know about the position, the better you can assert your skills to demonstrate that you are qualified for the role. Although the company has shown that they believe you have the potential to carry out the duties in the position since they asked you to interview for it, you still must demonstrate to the interviewer that you can do it. Also, think of new ideas you want to bring to the table. The interviewer is looking for ways that you are going to improve in a higher position. They want to know that you are taking the initiative and thinking of ways to make the company better.

Finally, don’t take this opportunity for granted or think that you already have it just because you already work for the company. Take this internal job interview seriously and show the interviewer that you have done your interview research. Act in a professional and businesslike manner throughout the interview despite your already existing relationship with the interviewer. Follow up like any other job candidate with a thank you note. Good luck and remember this is still an interview where you must prove yourself, regardless of your existing relationship with the company.

Have you ever had an internal job interview? What advice would you give to others doing the same? Share with us in the comments section below!

IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by plastAnka

Hanna Guerrero

Hannah is an intern writer here at Spark Hire. She is from the northern suburbs in Chicago and is currently studying journalism at DePaul University. She has always had a passion for writing which is why Journalism has proven to be the perfect career for her. She has written for the DePaulia Online on various topics such as fashion, music, movies and television. She loves living in Chicago because it offers exciting events to write stories on. In her free time she enjoys going to music concerts, watching movies with friends, cooking vegetarian food and walking her adorable Cocker Spaniel Coco.

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