Curse of the Internal Candidate
Old and familiar versus new and exciting. That is the uphill battle many internal candidates face when they are applying for a position their company has made available to external candidates. Questions begin to linger in the mind of the internal candidate as they wonder "why didn't they just promote me?" The tacit assurance of "you're a strong candidate, we just want to see what's out there" provides no comfort. While some postings are an organizational formality to be endured by the successor in waiting, the bulk of these postings signal danger for the internal candidate. You don't want suspense, you want the promotion.
Put maximum effort into your resume. Yes, the internal employees interviewing you have a decent idea of what you do, but a strong, detailed resume can help open their eyes to the total value you are currently delivering to the organization. Your resume will also be judged against the external resumes, some of which have been professionally edited and formatted. If you deliver a weak sauce resume, you're opening the door for the external candidate to stroll in.
Some of the people in the candidate pool have been actively looking for work, so they will have recent experience interviewing. You need to simulate interviewing. Record yourself answering behavior based questions, if you have not done this yet you will be amazed to see how you look and sound. Once you're comfortable with how you respond on video, get a friend in human resources to practice with you.
Remember that you will be seen as old and familiar, while the external candidates will be seen as new and exciting. It's your job to get the internal folks to see you as new. A significant part of this is casting a vision for the role that amplifies the job description. You have to paint a picture in their mind of how you deliver the value requested in the job description, and how you leverage this role to help move the organization towards its long term vision. If you are successful in communicating this, you become new and exciting.
It's up to you to shake the curse of the internal candidate. Maybe they should have promoted you, but oh well, we're beyond that now. It's time to compete. Make yourself new and exciting. Take that which is yours.
