How to Apply for a Job Transfer
Are your talents being underutilized in your current job? Do you dread going to work every day because you no longer enjoy what you are doing? Has corporate downsizing or outsourcing turned your career path into a deadend? There are a lot of reasons why people come to realize that it's probably time for them to seek out new opportunities for personal and professional growth. Here's how to strategically move forward within an existing organization without burning all of those bridges behind you.
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Things You'll Need
- Research skills
- Computer
- Internet connection
- Notepad and pen
- Good communication skills
- Flexibility
- Updated resume
Instructions
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Analyze the reasons why you want to leave your current position. Be honest! In making your list, it's important to identify the external circumstances that are beyond your control (i.e., a long commute) and the internal factors that are within your ability to approach from a modified perspective (i.e., noisy co-workers who disrupt your concentration). Often, the elements that tend to annoy us the most are of a temporary nature or are conflicts that can potentially be resolved through better communication with superiors, peers and subordinates.
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Identify what type of job would constitute a satisfying transfer (or promotion) from where you are currently working. If you basically enjoy what you're doing, for instance, but have a long and difficult commute that is impacting the amount of quality time you can spend with your family, you would want to look into a branch office or store that is located closer to your home. If you're a gregarious person, but presently hold a position in the bowels of the file room, you would want to seek opportunities at your existing locale that would allow you to be more visible to co-workers and customers.
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Make a list of all of your existing skills and experiences. Identify which ones best apply to the type of job transfer you are seeking. It's possible, for example, that your current boss isn't aware of your volunteer activities as an accomplished fund-raising chairman and community events coordinator. Do you speak a foreign language? If your fluency in Spanish never came up in your first interview, this might be a good time to mention it to your supervisor as a value-added component of your employment and an incentive for her to transfer you to a position where it will be put to good use.
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Review your company's job board for listings of opportunities that match your criteria. If the company has an HR department, pay it a visit and ask how you can find out about personnel openings that are onsite, in branch offices, or at outlying franchises and stores. Research everything you can about your target location so that you can speak intelligently about what it does, how it is fairing compared to the rest of the company, and what you believe you can contribute to its success.
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Prepare thoroughly for a meeting with your supervisor to discuss transfer opportunities. Identify specific accomplishments that demonstrate you have mastered the responsibilities of your current job and are ready for new challenges. Keep the tone positive and upbeat and always take a copy of your updated resume for his review. Identify the type of position you feel would be the best match for your qualifications and how you believe this would benefit the company's bottom line. This advice also applies if you are writing an inquiry letter to the management of the office to which you'd like a transfer.
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Be open to compromise and accepting extracurricular assignments. If you have stated valid reasons for wanting to leave your current job, but there is nothing immediately available, let your supervisor know you'd be interested in being temporarily loaned to a different office and/or tackling special projects in your existing one. This demonstrates that you are up for new challenges and willing to try on different hats in order to prove your abilities and value to the company. Likewise, if your dissatisfaction with your current working conditions may be something that can be remedied by having you physically trade desks with someone else or telecommuting 1 or 2 days per week to alleviate the stress of a long commute.
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Tips & Warnings
Apply your networking skills! If you have a friend who works in a division you're interested in, ask him to let you know if a position is going to be opening up. An insider perspective is also helpful in terms of hearing the pros and cons of actually working there.
Discuss your goals with your current boss before you start sending out inquiry letters. There is always a possibility that she knows of a perfect opportunity coming up in your office in a few months but has not let it be widely known. Likewise, managers know other managers and often chat on an informal basis. Iif your boss wants the best for you but cannot provide the kind of opportunity you're seeking, she can still be a valuable ally in singing your praises to her peers.
Never give "boredom" as a valid reason for wanting to transfer. A prospective supervisor will assume that it is only a matter of time before you become bored with your new responsibilities, too. If you want to score points, it needs to be clear in your presentation that you have researched what will best benefit the company's interests and not just you, personally.
Never trash your current boss, co-workers or office in an email, correspondence, or in person with your prospective new employer. Word travels faster than you think.
