Internal vs. external job interviews

- If you saw an opening at your company and applied, it's great news when you get called in for the interview. This means you're in the process of consideration for a lateral or upward move within the company. Many internal candidates make assumptions that can sometimes get them in trouble. For instance, they assume because I already work for the company, they'll see it as easier to hire me. Or people here know me so I'll have lots of internal advocates and endorsers. My manager will put in a good word with the interviewing team or I know what it takes to do the new job because I watched the last person in that position or even my performance history and relationships speak for themselves. I am a rockstar. While hiring an internal candidate is less costly in many cases, it's not always an ideal choice for employers. When hiring, an employer will consider these five attributes of an internal hire as valuable. First, you're a known entity. Others who worked alongside of you have experienced your skills, your talents and commitment to the company mission. Second, you've worked within the company values, mission and business. You bring that insider knowledge to any new position inside the company. Third, you may already have established relationships with decision makers involved in the hiring. And fourth, there is no need to spend money on advertising and recruiting when hiring from within. Finally, it can be a faster hiring and onboarding process to hire an internal candidate who could be interviewed more efficiently and whose backgrounds and reference checks are already completed. Now before you think that you have the interview process locked down, there are also advantages to hiring outside the company. Employers see value in candidates from other employers such as an outside candidate can offer a fresh perspective on the work. They don't have the institutional knowledge of your company, but that could actually be an advantage to a company that seeks new ideas. In some cases, external candidates may come from a competitor's business and bring with them ideas and best practices from that company. They're an unknown entity meaning they have no baggage or potentially negative history with the company. They starting with a clean slate. They bring new skills which other on the team can benefit from learning or being exposed to. And finally, an external candidate will work hard to establish themselves not only in the position but at the company and some employers could perceive that an external hire might work harder than an internal hire because they're trying to prove they belong there. Understanding the positive and negative attributes of internal and external hires empowers you to approach the process with clarity and focus. It's important to take the hiring process seriously and not become complacent since you already work there. Remember, for some companies and some positions, there is an attraction to hiring external candidates so your competition could be fierce.