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My boss recently announced he is moving into another role within the organization. His role will be opening up. What can I do to improve my chances of being interviewed?
I have 11 years with the organzation and 4 years as one of three of his directs. I know most his peers and I feel I have a good working relationship with each person.
Thank you for any suggestions.
Dave
Relationships and nominate yourself
First off, you need to make it known you're interested. Plenty of people think "I'm well qualified, I'm sure they'll ask me" and end up disappointed. I've done that myself -- thought "nobody internal would be interested in *this* job", and then been surprised when people asked "why didn't you ask me?". Make it known right away to your boss that you'd like to be considered. You can just say, "Congrats on your move to the new role. I'd love to be in the running to take over your job here. Do you think I'm suitable for the role, and what do you think I can do to maximise my chances?"
Then, your chances pretty much come down to how well you're known and liked amongst the decision makers. It sounds like you've done a reasonable amount in that direction, and there isn't a lot you can do immediately to strengthen that. I'd pre-wire everyone involved in the decision to the extent you can, asking them about the role and expressing your interest. That allows them to get over any surprise at seeing your name on the list, and gives them a chance to imagine you in the role and get comfortable with the idea. You can also judge whether your application would be totally inappropriate by their reaction to your questions, which would allow you to avoid applying if you don't have a hope, and identify what you'd need to improve to be considered in the future.