While we are seeing some recovery in the job market it seems to be evident that the recovery is going to be a slow process. This means that companies will continue to be cautious in their hiring and likely to more readily look internally than externally first and with employees less likely to be active in a depressed external job market the competition is going to be tougher.
So are you ready for those opportunities? You need to be ready before the opportunities even arise first of all. It is no good waiting for someone to post a position or worse still only finding out about it when half a dozen of your competitors have already applied. Here are three steps to being ready for that internal promotion and ensure greater likelihood of success;
1. Take the time to look around in your organization and determine what are the types of roles that might be a match for your skills and are going to be interesting to you. Then spend some time talking to people who are currently doing those roles, if you can see if your boss will allow you to job shadow them.
2. Make sure that the people who are going to be making the decisions know about you. Work on raising your profile internally, volunteering for extra projects, being part of key initiatives in the company. Even spend some time becoming an expert in an area that interests you and has been identified by your company as a key for future success.
3. Ensure that your strengths, skills and profile are captured in key communication pieces. This might be as simple as having a branded bio written about your experience and a 'brag' sheet that highlights key strengths AND how you have used them in work situations with measurable results. If your company gives you the opportunity to post your profile on internal equivalents of LinkedIn make sure it is up to date, has all the right details and keywords.
Then when the senior management discussions start you are already on the list.