Your organization is full of talented, proven individuals who already know about your purpose and mission, and have shown that they are dedicated to helping the business grow.
Why not leverage those resources by considering them first for open positions?
As a hiring manager, finding the best talent is an incredibly important part of your job. Usually, we envision this as having a detailed recruiting and sourcing strategy, scanning through LinkedIn to find the most qualified candidates, and talking to leaders from other companies.
But sometimes, the best fit might already be in your company.
Below, we’ll cover everything you’ll need for internal job postings and provide some templates to help you along the way.
What Is an Internal Job Posting?
An internal job posting is when you recruit from your internal employee pool for a new open role, rather than posting on an external job board. This means you will only consider candidates from your current employee team instead of brand new candidates who would have to go through your entire onboarding and training process.
There are a couple of reasons why this is a popular way to source candidates.
The first is that there is usually a much smaller cost associated with internal job postings. You don’t need to spend the resources on external recruitment and the time it takes to bring someone on board. Instead, you can promote internally and find someone who already knows the value of your business and the mission you have set.
Another benefit is that internal employees already have strong relationships and connections with teams and departments. They don’t need to earn the trust of their coworkers; they already have it. That can make new initiatives easy to get started and help improve internal communication between teams.
Of course, it’s easier to successfully find an internal candidate in a major enterprise with hundreds of employees, rather than in a small startup where there are only a few people to choose from. But it’s always a good strategy to consider when you have a new role to fill, no matter the size of your business.
What To Include in the Internal Job Posting
Just as with external job postings, there are some important categories that you need to include in your posting so that potential applicants understand what they are applying for:
Job Title and Department
The first section should include:
- What the job title is
- What department it is for
- Who the manager will be for the new role
This will help your employees know if they will need to transfer departments or supervisors, as well as what their new title would be.
Location and Travel Requirements
The next thing to include is the location of the job and if there are any travel requirements. Within one company, there can be offices and roles in a variety of locations.
Maybe this new job would call for a transfer out of state or require more travel. There might also be considerations for remote work or in-office requirements, so posting this information helps your internal team members know what the new opportunity will entail.
Job Duties and Responsibilities
The job responsibilities and duties are some of the most important elements to include in your internal job posting.
This lets your team know what they will need to do in this role and what they will be responsible for.
When you have employees switching teams or departments, it’s very important that they understand what they will have to do in this new position and what responsibilities fall under their purview.
Required Skills and Qualifications
You need to be clear about what is expected in the role and what skill sets a candidate will need to have. If you aren’t upfront about this and clear, you might have employees apply for the job who are unqualified or won’t be able to handle its new responsibilities.
You want to make sure that whoever moves into the new role is set up for success and knows what they need in order to do the job well.
Timeline
The final element to include is the timeline you have to fill the role. Switching to a new position is a significant consideration, so you want your employees to have some time to think about whether or not a new place in the company is a good fit for their needs.
At the same time, you don’t want to have a long interview and hiring process that drags out. Instead, set a realistic timeline so all potential applicants understand when they will need to make a decision.
Internal Job Posting Template
A new role for [Job Title] has opened up in [Department] under the supervision of [Department Manager]!
This job is currently [Location and Travel Requirements].
The person hired for this role will handle [Job Duties] and is a great fit for current employees with [Required Skills and Qualifications].
[Any Additional Job Descriptions]
Please apply with HR before [Timeline] or reach out to us directly with questions. We look forward to receiving your applications!
Where To Post the Internal Job Opportunity
It’s also important to know where you plan on posting your job. You don’t want it out there on a public platform like LinkedIn or Indeed if you only want internal team members applying first.
Instead, consider these avenues first:
Internal Company Site or Intranet
If your company has an internal website or intranet platform, that is the best place to post it. This way, the job can be seen by all employees logging into their profiles. You can also pin it to the top of an internal newsfeed so it can be seen by as many people as possible.
With so many remote and hybrid employees, this works much better than posting a printed copy of the open position on a bulletin board, or holding a meeting. You can also field questions in an internal chat feature or by creating a new channel for open-role discussions on tools such as Slack.
Internal Email
Another great way to spread the word to employees that there is a job opening they might be interested in is through an email. This method lets you:
- Get the role in front of all your employees regardless of where they are
- Efficiently receive information questions from employees
- Answer any follow up questions they may have
Just adapt the job posting template from above and make it more email-friendly to readers.
Internal job posting email template
Email Subject Line: Exciting new role opportunity available within [Department]
Hello [Company Name] Team!
There is an exciting new job opportunity for a [Job Title] in [Department] open now under the supervision of [Department Manager].
The [Job Title] is responsible for [Job Duties] and is a great fit for employees with [Required Skills and Qualifications]. The role is [Location and Travel Requirements], so please keep that in mind as you apply.
We are asking that any interested employees apply directly to [HR Manager/Department Manager] by [Timeline] if they are interested in pursuing this opportunity.
We encourage all qualified and interested team members to apply before the role is opened to external channels. For more information and details, please contact human resources directly.
Thank you,
[Email Signature]
Supercharge Your Hiring Efforts With Hunt Club
Finding the best fit for a role is an important part of managing your team and ensuring you have the best people in the best positions. However, rather than looking outward, you should always consider your current eligible employees for roles before extending the offer to other job seekers.
At Hunt Club, we help businesses with their hiring efforts and can fill professional and executive roles quickly and efficiently. To learn more about how we can help you source qualified talent, find your best internal employees, and streamline your recruitment process, contact our team of experts today.
