Types of Interviews: Promotional Interview

 A promotion interview gives you a chance to climb up the corporate ladder, take a step closer

to your career goal, and of course, earn more money. It is a chance to show the higher ups all

that you have achieved while working with them for years and show time you can take more

responsibility. Wrong! The company already knows what kind of employee you are and

everything that you have achieved while working for them. This is the same case for every

other colleague of yours who is competing with you for the kick upstairs. Even with a good

work record, getting a promotion is a challenge.

Preparation is key to passing any interview. Since for a promotion you will be competing

against other employees of the company, you have to ensure that you set yourself apart from

them. First, it is important to gather information and follow your company’s process for

promotions. You should reach out to the Human resources department about the process and

requirements for a promotion. Make sure you meet all requirements and prepare all documents

or data which might be needed. Secondly, you should check in with your current manager that

you will be applying for a promotion. As you may become peers with your manager, keeping

them in the loop ensures them that you respect them and want a healthy relationship with them

if you become their peer.

If you are looking to get promoted in your own department, it is most likely that your boss will

vet the employee they want to promote and you will not have to give an interview. On the other

hand, if you wish to get promoted to another department, you will have to pass an interview.

Let’s say that you want to shift from the editing team to the creative team, this would require

for you to give an interview showcasing your past work and skills. In the interview it is

important to highlight the achievements that you have made while working for your department

but it is more important to show how these achievements, and the skills you have acquired,

would be beneficial for working under another department.

You can mention hard skills and soft skills that are applicable for the position that you are

applying for. You can always highlight computer skills by mentioning the software you are

proficient in, you can show leadership skills through mention when you helped guide your team

towards a goal, and you can mention interpersonal skills by mentioning an incident when you

successfully collaborated with another employee to work on a difficult project.

Another important part of the process is being sure about the reason for you wanting to shift

from one department to another. If you have worked exceptionally in your current position, you

can keep working there and ensure it is in safe hands. If you want a promotion, you have to

showcase that you have gained all the knowledge you can and given all the skills that you can

to the current position you are in, and that your talents would be much more useful in a higher

position. In order to help you prepare for the interview, below are some sample questions, along

with answers, to help you master the base level of a promotion interview for any position.

Q1. Can you tell me what you know about the position you're applying for?

Ans. I know that the creative lead is in charge of the overall design and execution for the

advertisements along with the creative aspect of marketing initiatives. They also have the

responsibility of creating a cohesive image that embodies the company's brand identity. I

believe an essential part of being the team lead of one group is having good rapport with the

team leaders of the other groups and working together under the creative director.

Q2. What are the various skills that you learned while being the leader of the creative team that

you think are going to be useful for the position of creative team lead?

ans. I have learnt interpersonal skills and the ability to guide my team members as a strong

leader. The creative team lead need to review and approve presentations by members, which I

believe I can do effectively given the numerous presentations I have reviewed as editing team

lead.

Q3. How will this promotion affect your current work relationships?

Ans. I will maintain the relationships that I currently have while continuing to develop my

network. My goal will be to help and mentor my team to create an open and honest

environment.

Q4. If we promote you, how will you deal with your colleagues who were passed over you for

the job?

Ans. I will meet with my colleagues one on one to discuss the change and maintain contact

with them to establish a smooth shift of projects from creative team to editing team.

Q5. Why do you want to move out of your current role?

Ans. In my 4 years as team leader in editing, my projects have achieved a success rate of 93%

and last year we estimated growth of 40%. After editing several creative projects of others and

putting final touches to them, I have learnt what it takes to make a good project and to make it

successful. I believe I am ready to shift from editing to leading a creative team of my own.

Q6. How will you handle it if you don't get the promotion?

Ans. First, I would thank you for considering my request for this promotion. Then I would ask

you for feedback, take some time to work on myself accordingly, and apply for the

promotion again.