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Advance Your Career with an Internal Move
Are you bored at work? Have you outgrown your job? Do you crave a new challenge? It might be time for you to make a career move. But, before you decide to jump ship for a new company, take some time to consider making an internal move. All too often we (wrongly) think the only way to advance our career is to leave our company. Internal moves can also be a very powerful career energizer and accelerator. Internal mobility is a classic career success strategy that should be part of everyone’s career management toolkit.
Internal mobility is just a fancy term that means the ability or opportunity to move from one job to another job within the same company or organization. Advancing your career doesn’t always mean an upwards promotion – internal mobility can also be accomplished through lateral, downward, and/or geographic movement.
Here are a few key career benefits to internal mobility:
1. Accelerates your trajectory. Taking on a new role within your organization is a classic way to accelerate your career trajectory. Moving internally can provide greater responsibility, leadership opportunities, and more visibility for your talents. It can make you even more valuable to the organization.
2. Expands your skills. Internal moves can help you develop new skills. New roles often require us to upskill and reskill. Building up your portfolio of skills and experiences are critical components for a robust and successful career.
3. Enhances your job satisfaction. Often, we leave our companies because we are bored or dissatisfied with our day-to-day job. The right internal move can enhance your work life satisfaction. It can reinvigorate you personally. This is especially true if you like your company but not your current role or team.
4. Demonstrates commitment. Internal moves telegraph your commitment to your company. It says to the organization – I want to invest in you. I want to find more ways to add value to the mission. Every organization wants this kind of employee. This is especially true today as companies are looking for ways to retain valuable talent. In fact, many companies today have internal mobility programs in place to help keep their employees happy and engaged.
5. Reduces risk. Finally (and perhaps most importantly), internal moves are often easier and safer than external moves. You already know the company, the culture, and the players. You know what it takes to be a valuable member of the team. And frankly, they already know you. So instead of spending hours updating your resume, crafting a massive job search, going on endless interviews with companies that you don’t know and that don’t know you–try looking inside first!
Like any career move, an internal career move should make sense for your career advancement. Determining whether an internal move is the right move for you depends on your career goals, ambitions, needs, and wants. In other words, where do you want your career to go? What will make you happy? What do you want more of, less of, or different in your work life? Once you know these things, then you can determine whether an internal move can help propel you forward on your career path. Deciding what kind of move is right for you – up, down, or across – depends both on your career goals and what that move can do for you.
If you’re looking for more satisfaction at work or more happiness in your daily work life, then internal mobility could be the ticket for you. Finding more career satisfaction might be closer (and easier) than you think. In fact, your smartest career move just might be an internal one. For more advice on how to make your internal move, check out Mary Abbajay’s latest LinkedIn Learning course – Navigating Internal Mobility as an Employee.