Move Jobs Internally Or Find Work With A New Employer: Which Is The Best Choice For You?

When the time feels right to find your next job, looking for work with a new employer may seem like the obvious move. But have you considered vacancies within the company you work for now? Staying with your current employer can reduce the amount of time it takes for you to start in a new role, but it can also limit the number of opportunities that are available to you. On the other hand, looking for a job externally can free you from the constraints of your current employer’s company culture, but demands that you prove your value and job fit to recruiters who don’t know you.

Maybe the easiest way to decide is to examine the pros and cons of moving jobs internally against finding a new role externally.

Finding A New Job With Your Current Employer

Here are the benefits and disadvantages of moving jobs within the company you work for right now.

  The Benefits

• It saves you time: Businesses often prefer to hire internally because they know their employees’ work history, reliability, and cultural fit. This means that a job will generally be advertised internally first. This familiarity with internal applicants also removes the need for background and employment checks. This speeds up the hiring process.
• You keep your benefits: Existing benefits that you’ve built up with your employer, such as pension and paid holiday, will be preserved.
• You continue to work in a familiar environment: Moving within the company you already work for means that you don’t have all the stress of starting in a new workplace where you probably don’t know anyone or the company culture.
• You keep your business relationships: You can continue to work with colleagues you know and trust.

  The Disadvantages

• Your opportunities are limited: Looking for your next job with your current employer reduces the number of vacancies you can apply for. It also limits your chances of experiencing different industries and workplace cultures.
• Your career growth may be slowed or stopped: An internal job move may not progress you along your career path. It may even sidetrack you onto a path that doesn’t interest you. Alternatively, your current employer may not offer sufficient chances for career growth.

Finding Work With A New Employer

So what are the benefits and disadvantages of looking for a job externally?

  The Benefits

• It gives you a fresh start: If your reasons for looking for new employment are to change your career path or widen your job opportunities, finding work with a new employer is ideal. It can also help you to escape a work environment that is stale, restrictive or even toxic.
• It offers more learning opportunities: A job with a new employer may provide a wider range of professional development opportunities. If not more, then at least they may be different and new.
• You can negotiate on your own terms: If your current employer refuses to budge on your working conditions and salary, looking for a job externally may be the answer. You can negotiate factors such as flexible working and your salary package to make sure that they suit your needs.

  The Disadvantages

• It’s all new and unfamiliar: While you may look for a new job because you want to embrace change, facing the uncertainty of a job search and the unfamiliarity of prospective employers can be stressful. You’ll have to learn about your new employer’s company culture, the dynamics of the workplace, and the tasks and responsibilities of your new role.
• You may lose benefits: While some benefits, such as your pension plan, will remain, other benefits that you’ve built up during your current employment will come to an end. For instance, you’ll have to accumulate paid holidays from the start of your new job. Some of your current benefits may not be offered by your new employer.
• It will take longer: External recruitment processes generally take longer than their internal equivalent. That includes applicant screening and selection, interviews, job offers, and onboarding.

Wrapping it up

Now you know the pros and cons of moving jobs internally versus finding work with a new employer, how do you decide which is the best choice for you? It all depends on your personal goals, life and career stage, and your priorities. Take the time to reflect on what matters to you most and what you need from your next job move. There really is no one-size-fits-all or right/wrong answers when it comes to this decision. It’s all about you, your preferences, and your needs.