To get you all to give me tips for an internal interview

[ASAS]

Sorry everyone, hijacking AIBU for traffic ...

Have you had or been on the panel of an internal interview? What are your tips?

It's competency based but gonna be a nightmare as I practically know what underwear the panel is wearing. Makes me feel all cringy.

Read the job description over and over.

My last internal interview was competency based and I had my examples perfectly prepared...we were assured all questions would be competency questions.

Then they completely threw me off track at the end with a couple of random ‘and what’s your understanding of the job’ / ‘what do you think the most difficult aspect will be’ type questions.

Luckily I had read the (two page) job description thoroughly but there were plenty who didn’t and got really stuck.

Have a good understanding of the role your applying for and what it would involve. Speak to the current role holder if possible to learn more. Think about the competencies that will get asked about and have some good strong examples to give. Take a moment to think of the best answer you can give rather than rush into giving a feeble answer. The panel will be fine with you taking a few moments to gather your thoughts. Good luck OP.

Oh that's a good tip.

Don't assume that they know how good you are at x just because they know you. Still explain with examples where relevant.

Answer questions as though you don't know each other.
When I have interviewed internal candidates we had to score in the same way as external. If they didn't say it because they thought we know the job they do then they couldn't get the points iyswim.
We did know the job and we did know if they were good or not but they still had to interview well.
Good luck

@tealandteal
Great minds!

Know the company you are working for. Sounds obvious but I’ve interviewed internal candidates and I’ve wondered at times if they’ve actually worked for us at all.

Don’t be afraid to criticise but only if you can offer a good solution. Don’t just sit there saying everything they are doing wrong.

Sell yourself! Just because they know you, don’t assume they know things you have done, managers can have short memories when they have a lot going on.

Listen to what you are being asked. If you can’t think of an answer straight away ask for a minute to think or ask to come back to the question.

Don’t try and be pally, saying things like ‘yes you remember that time I did xyz’, keep it professional, as if it’s the first time they are hearing the information.

Definitely don't assume that they know you can do x, even if you know they know you can do x. If you don't demonstrate it in the interview, you may well still not get the job. I had a colleague who didn't get her own job in an internal restructure because she assumed that everyone knew she could do xyz, but didn't explicitly say any of it in the interview, and clearly didn't prepare anything.

Have some concrete examples ready of e.g. times when you faced a challenge and did something to overcome it, or times when you had to deal with a situation where a colleague wasn't pulling their weight, or a time when you realised you could have done something better, or a time when you were a team player. It's no good just saying you're really good at xyz, back it up with a concrete example of a time when you did it.

I actually haven’t been on the panel for an internal interview but been on panels for competency based interviews and someone in my team is being interviewed for an internal promotion next week and I’m rooting for her (and you OP). We have to be unbiased and score purely on the answers, not prior knowledge so definitely treat it like you would an external one, sell yourself and your achievements, don’t be modest or embarrassed. I do understand the cringey feeling but so will they and I’ve never been part of a panel where anyone has been anything less than kind and fair about a candidate when discussing them and scoring so I really don’t think they’ll be thinking anything bad about you at all. We’ve all been interviewed, no one likes it. I actually feel a little nervous on the other side of it too, it’s just a tense situation but I’m always willing the candidate to do well and represent themselves at their best.
Fingers crossed for you. I’m concerned that the internal candidate in my team might not get it just because we already interviewed an external guy who scored really highly. It just all comes down to answers on the day really. But if she doesn’t, it’ll be so close and not a negative reflection on her and I suspect it wouldn’t be too long before a promotion was offered outside of the hiring process.
Good luck

Do not assume anything.

Answer all interview questions really fully as if you are an external candidate. Where I work all interviews are scored on the application received, the responses to interview questions and the task completed.

Like ShinyMe I've had colleagues who did not get an internal job, because they assumed everyone interviewing them knew all about it.

Good luck

I have had a few internal interviews- more stressful in some ways than external ones. Like others have said sell yourself and don't assume they know what you've done. I tended to not name people but speak about their role if I was saying e.g. I worked with the regional manager on xx and achieved this' etc.
Prepare well. Use feedback that you have had in appraisals and less formal feedback positively in the interview. Think about also areas for development (we all have them) and reflect on things that haven't gone well but be prepared to give a solution.
Good luck!

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.

You're all right, I need to think and speak like an external candidate. Fuck, adult life eh?!