Internal Candidate Insight

If Looking to Advance in Your Current Organization, You Need to Get Ready Now for the Upcoming Interview and Application Process

You’re an internal candidate looking to move up within your company’s ranks. You know the position you want will be open within the next year or two due to a planned retirement.

However, now is the time to prepare for the application and interview process.

You may not want to believe this, but your interview for that position has already begun, and it repeats every day. Your demeanor, knowledge and skills are being observed, whether consciously or unconsciously, by those who will make the upcoming hire. You want to make the deciders comfortable in selecting you for the position before the formal interview process even begins.

As an example of dressing for the role desired, George Washington knew how to interview for a coveted position as the internal candidate. When the Continental Congress first convened in 1774, he was the only delegate who showed up in full military dress uniform. He had experience as a colonel in the Virginia militia. Revolution was inevitable and he wanted to be the one to lead the army. Washington continued wearing his uniform into the Second Continental Congress in 1775.

When the Congress finally decided to appoint someone to lead the combined colonies’ army, the choice was already clear – they selected the person who had been showing up in uniform from the start.

Every day is interview day if you want to move up the ranks in your current organization. If you show up for work sloppy and unprepared, you create a lasting memory when the formal interviews start. Take advantage of being an insider, put on your fancy uniform and show up prepared to lead starting today.