If you have your eyes set on getting a promotion, you should know that your interview for that promotion is weighted a lot less heavily than the company’s knowledge of what you’ve already produced while working there. Internal and external candidates are not evaluated in the same ways. In fact, the ways that internal candidates are evaluated is the inverse of how external candidates are evaluated.
For external candidates, interviews and what your references say about you are typically how the hiring team assesses a your candidacy. For internal candidates, a hiring team focuses on what they know about your past work performance with the company.
https://unsplash.com/@linkedinsalesnavigator
As an internal candidate, your interview carries a lot less weight, than the last 3 years of your work performance. This can be good or bad, depending on your situation. If you are a great interviewer but haven’t done much at this company, your chances of a promotion are slim. However, if you don’t feel confident at interviews but have been working your tail off for the last 3 years, rest assured that there is more leniency with your interview performance. This is because hiring teams know that your ability to the job is not really based on your interview, but on the years of experience they have with you.
What this ultimately means is that long term hard work, a lack of disciplinary issues, some critical achievements, and good relationships with colleagues, is what gets you close to that promotion. However, if you’re in the running for a promotion while the hiring team is also considering external candidates, know that those candidates are only standing on promises of what they can deliver. You can stand on what you have already delivered for the company. There is a big benefit there. However, it also means that if there have been any red flags in your performance, a hiring team may take the risk of bringing on someone new. You want the hiring team to have no doubts about you—or at least minor ones—that indicate, in the face of competition with an external candidate, you’re still the best option.