Internal Mobility: Best Practices and Questions for Internal Hiring Interviews

Do you want to keep your best people and give them room to grow within your organization? Internal hiring is a win-win for both you and your employees—keeping their knowledge and skills within your organization and giving them room to excel in their careers.

However, finding the right fit internally takes a different interview approach than your standard external hiring process. Below is our guide to best practices and effective questions you can ask when promoting from within, so you can make smart choices and develop your all-star team.

Crafting the Right Questions:

Internal mobility is awesome! Your employees already know your company inside and out. But how do you know they’re the perfect fit for the new role?

Regular interview questions won’t exactly work the same way as with an external hire. Here’s why: internal candidates bring tons of experience and institutional knowledge, but you need to dig into what they’ve done, determine if that translates into success in the new position, why they want the job, and how they can grow even more in this new position.

Suggested Questions in an Internal Hiring Interview:

1. Reflecting on your time in your current role, what achievements are you most proud of, and how have they contributed to the success of the team or department? What did you do to earn that achievement?
• Let’s see what they’ve already achieved. This question lets you revisit their past wins at your organization. It shows you their skills and if their future goals match the company’s. Look at what they’ve done in the past and you can make an educated guess on how well they’ll do in the new role.
2. Can you share a challenging project or situation you’ve encountered and how you navigated through it? What did you learn from the experience?
• Take a look at something that challenged them. This shows you how they solve problems, bounce back from setbacks, and adjust on the fly. Their answer tells you how they make decisions, get creative, and keep learning—all key skills that are helpful in any role!
3. How do you envision your career path within the organization evolving in the next few years? What additional skills or experiences would you like to acquire?
• Where do they see themselves in a few years? This question gets at their ambition and desire to grow—are they hungry, humble, and smart? Their answer shows you if they’re hungry to learn and develop their skills, which is a big plus for any new role!
4. In what ways do you believe your transition to this new role would benefit both you and the team/company?
• This question shows you if they’ve thought about how the new role helps them grow and how they’ll contribute to the team’s success. It’s all about teamwork and thinking strategically, which are big wins for any company!
5. Can you provide an example of a time when you demonstrated leadership or initiative beyond your current job responsibilities?
• This question helps you see if they have what it takes to move into leadership positions. Great leaders take initiative, get people working together, and inspire. That’s exactly what you want in someone who’s moving up in your organization!
6. How do you approach collaboration and building relationships with colleagues across different departments or teams?
• Does this person work well with others? Do they foster collaboration? Teamwork is key! Learn how they communicate, work together, and get along with different people.
7. What aspects of our company culture resonate with you the most, and how do you embody these values in your work?
• You want someone who shares your company’s values and works well with everyone else. This question helps you see if they understand what your company stands for and how they already live those values at work. That way, they’ll hit the ground running in the new role!

We all want to see our employees and peers grow, right? That’s why promoting from within is a win for any organization. But asking the right interview questions is key. These questions don’t just check if someone has the skills, they show if they can truly shine in the new role and help the company reach new heights. With the right approach, you can turn your internal talent pool into a powerhouse of innovation and success!

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Plus, we offer on demand video interviews that let candidates record their responses on their own time, and scheduling tools to find the perfect interview slot for everyone. Learn more today and start hiring top talent—whether they’re already working with you or not!

About The Author

Drew Whitehurst is the Director of Marketing at interviewstream. He's been with the company since 2014 working in client services and marketing. He is an analytical thinker, coffee enthusiast, and hobbyist at heart.